The award winners include:
Alison Van Eenennaam, Davis
Shirley Peterson, San Luis Obispo
Frank Mitloehner, Davis
Karen Varcoe, Riverside
The EatFit nutrition education team, Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Kern, San Joaquin, Tulare, and Yolo counties.

Alison Van Eenennaam, Outstanding New Professional Award -- In nine years, the UC Davis Cooperative Extension animal genomics and biotechnology specialist, has developed a robust research and extension biotechnology program that has garnered the interest and respect of her colleagues, livestock producers, governmental agencies, and the general public. The foundation of Van Eenennaam's exceptional biotechnology program is her ability to identify the most pressing clientele issues and develop projects that resolve those challenges. She secures small local grants to initiate projects, which in turn help her get larger federal grants. Van Eenennaam uses alternative media to capture her audience's attention. One of her short movies, which presents biotechnology simply so anyone can understand the intricacies of genetic engineering, has won two prestigious awards. As a result of her academic excellence, she has been appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to serve on the National Advisory Committee On Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture (AC21).

Shirley Peterson, Outstanding Extension Award -- The UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for San Luis Obispo and Northern Santa Barbara Counties has demonstrated excellence in extension in a wide array of areas throughout her career. Peterson has an outstanding record of academic excellence in childhood obesity prevention, nutrition, food safety and financial literacy. Her educational programs have been extended statewide, nationally and internationally. She has developed "Eat Smart. Play Hard. San Luis Obispo County!" and "The Lunch Box" program, both available in English and Spanish. She chairs the statewide Money Talks program, which provides teens with financial literacy information in fun and interactive ways. Her other projects include food safety training, curriculum development for caregivers of young children and community-based organizations. She also provides professional development for her fellow nutrition, family and consumer science professionals through facilitation and training seminars.

With the $4,000 award, Peterson is making contributions to the scholarship fund for Monica Ros School in Ojai and to the San Luis Obispo High School swim team.

Frank Mitloehner, Outstanding Research Award -- The UC Davis Cooperative Extension air quality specialist aims to improve livestock production systems and describe the nature of their environmental impact. Some of his research studies concern air quality in the San Joaquin Valley, which ranks as the worst in the country. Mitloehner's research is vital to California's $4.6 billion, 1.8 million-cow dairy industry because producers must comply with strict new pollution regulations. On a larger scale, the cattle industry contributes greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Affectionately called "Dr. Dairy Air" by his students, Mitloehner [pronounced MIT-lern-a] has become an internationally respected expert for his work determining the amount of gas emitted by cattle. He has developed new ways to measure airborne pollutants and methods to measure the impact of cattle on air pollution. One of his most visible studies is his work conducted in 'bovine bubbles,' which contain cattle and allow precise measurements of their gas emissions. At the invitation of the Office of the Chief Economist in the White House and the USDA, he serves on a federal advisory committee on climate change.

Karen Varcoe, Outstanding Leadership Award -- The UC Riverside Cooperative Extension consumer economics specialist has demonstrated leadership in her field of expertise and as past Human Resources Program Leader for ANR. During her 29 years of service with UC, Varcoe has been a model of strong leadership. As a Program Leader, her leadership resulted in stronger and more cooperative human resources programs that crossed disciplinary boundaries, earned additional funding sources, and offered opportunities for advisors to expand their applied research projects. As a Cooperative Extension specialist, her greatest achievements include development of the award winning Money Talks for Teens series as well as the Gateway to a Better Life curriculum, which helped welfare recipients transition to financial independence. Varcoe takes time to coach, mentor and inspire colleagues to take on leadership roles in their discipline. She enhanced her leadership skills by successfully completing the National Extension Leadership Development Program and was selected for a Kellogg Fellowship at the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy in Washington, D.C. One of her letters of recommendation stated, "Dr. Varcoe is a leader of leaders."

The EatFit nutrition education team, Outstanding Teamwork Award -- The award-winning EatFit program was developed, implemented and evaluated by Marilyn Townsend, UC Davis Cooperative Extension nutrition education specialist; Lucrecia Farfan-Ramirez, UC Cooperative Extension director for Alameda County and child nutrition advisor for Alameda County; Marcel Horowitz, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development advisor for Yolo County; Margaret C. Johns, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for Kern County; Cathi Lamp, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for Tulare County; Anna Martin, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for San Joaquin County; Lenna Ontai, UC Davis Cooperative Extension family & early childhood specialist; and Dorothy Smith, UC Cooperative Extension director for Amador County and nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for Amador and Calaveras counties.

EatFit promotes healthy eating behavior among youth. Using nine lessons and a Web-based eating analysis, it provides a fun, flexible and interactive way for teachers and educators to integrate obesity prevention and nutrition education into their programs, particularly at schools in low-income communities. Because of its positive results, the EatFit program also won the 2009 Jeanne M. Priester Health Award, which recognizes one sound and innovative health education program in Cooperative Extension nationwide. To date, the program has been used by 35 counties reaching 105,000 California youth. Students participating in EatFit adopted healthy eating and physical activity behaviors while improving their academic performance in mathematics and language arts.

The Distinguished Service Awards recognize service and academic excellence in UC Cooperative Extension over a significant period of time. The awards highlight innovative methods and the integration of research, extension and leadership by UC Cooperative Extension advisors, specialists and academic coordinators.