Vicki Hayman, Food Safety and Nutrition Educator receives UW Extension’s highest honor

Laramie, WY.  –   Vicki Hayman, Weston County nutrition and food safety educator for the northeast area of the state, was recently awarded the Jim DeBree Excellence in Extension Award – UW Extension’s highest honor – during extension’s annual conference in Laramie in December.

As a member of extension’s Healthy Eating Focus team, Hayman teaches food preparation skills; Dining with Diabetes and other Chronic Diseases; and the Real Food program, all with hands-on learning and resources to ensure healthy changes last after the end of class.

Audiences can open a newspaper, turn on the radio or catch a podcast, blog or Pinterest post for new ideas and Hayman’s take on eating for health, fitness and enjoyment.

She prepares a biweekly column for the Weston County Gazette (Upton), The Sundance Times (Sundance) and the High Plains Sentinel (Wright). She submits a monthly column for the Newsletter Journal in Newcastle and articles for the quarterly Backyards and Barnyards magazine for small-acreage landowners.

Hayman promotes interaction and cooperation among agencies and organizations through a variety of roles, said Smith. These include adviser, coalition member, facilitator and liaison.

The Jim DeBree Award is named in honor of the retired Wyoming extension administrator and given each year to an extension employee who demonstrates a high level of professionalism, performance and leadership within their program areas and communities.

Hayman joined UW Extension in 1997 and is based in Newcastle.