MSU Extension 4-H

Saginaw County 4-H alumna Gail R. Frahm, of Saginaw, is among 12 4-H alumni inducted into the 2022 class of the Michigan 4-H Emerald Clover Society. Frahm was recognized on Sept. 30, during the Michigan 4-H Legacy Awards Celebration hosted by Michigan State University Extension and the Michigan 4-H Foundation in East Lansing. 

The Michigan 4-H Emerald Clover Society honors former Michigan 4-H members whose professional leadership and community service reflect the ultimate outcome of 4-H membership – extraordinary use of an individual’s head, heart, hands and health to make communities, the country and the world better places in which to live. This recognition is provided by Michigan 4-H Youth Development with support from the Michigan 4-H Foundation. 

Frahm is currently the executive director for the Disability Services Resource Center in Bay City, a nonprofit organization that provides awareness and support to people with disabilities. In addition, Frahm uses her many years of experience to help others manage their businesses through her company, Toga Consulting. Previously, Frahm had a 28-year career with the Michigan Soybean Committee and Michigan Soybean Association, holding multiple roles, including 16 years as executive director. 

A member of the American Business Women’s Association, or ABWA, for 31 years, Frahm was the District V vice president in 2021–2022. She has been a delegate of the ABWA Eastern Michigan Council for three years, serving as chair in 2019 and 2020. In 2022, she was named Woman of the Year by the ABWA Eastern Michigan Council. Frahm has been a member of the ABWA Cass River Chapter for 31 years, serving in each executive board and committee chair position over time. 

“4-H and growing up on a farm taught me responsibility, once a project was started, no matter what, you committed to finishing it,” said Frahm. “This has been the driving force behind both my personal and professional successes throughout life.” 

Frahm was an active 4-H member in Saginaw County for 10 years. As an adult, she volunteered with 4-H for more than 20 years, helping with two community clubs, leading the livestock quiz bowl team and more. Over the years, Frahm and her family opened their barn to local youth who didn’t have a place to house their 4-H livestock projects and opened their home to international 4-H youth exchange participants. 

Frahm is an active member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, where she serves on the financial review and technology committees, as costume chair for the Living Nativity program, as Sunday school superintendent, as vacation Bible school chair, and as coach of the basketball and track teams. She is also a member of the church’s parent teacher league and of the adult choir. 

The Michigan 4-H Legacy Awards Celebration was hosted and emceed by MSU Extension Associate Director Matt Shane, a Kent County 4-H alumnus and 2014 4-H Emerald Clover Society inductee. Also inducted into the 4-H Emerald Clover Society Class of 2022 were: Larry J. Gould, Morenci; Jon D. Hausserman, Fenwick; L. Janel Horrocks-Boehmer, Williamston; Alice A. Kempf, Holton; Karen Kolberg Kietzer, Stevensville; Dian M. Liepe, Pullman; Sarah J. Pion, Cassopolis; Rachael N. Ramirez, Birch Run; Melissa A. Souva, Bronson; Schawna M. Thoma, Anchorage, Alaska; and Mary J. Yeomans, Midland.

Michigan 4-H Emerald Clover Society members are inducted every two years. The inaugural class of 62 members was inducted in 2002 to coincide with the national 4-H centennial. For more information on the 4 H Emerald Clover Society and its members, visit www.mi4hfdtn.org/ecs. 

The Michigan 4-H Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that supports Michigan 4-H Youth Development. For more information about the Michigan 4-H Foundation, visit www.mi4hfdtn.org. Michigan 4-H Youth Development is the youth-serving program of MSU Extension. Nearly 100,000 youth are involved in 4-H with the support of 9,000 adult volunteers. For more information about Michigan 4-H, visit www.4h.msue.msu.edu.