Thomas and Rhonda Coon, of Portage, and Mark Koester, of Dewitt, were recently elected to serve three-year terms on the Michigan 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees. Koester was elected Aug. 4, while the Coons were elected Sept. 29.

Michigan 4-H Foundation trustees are volunteers who manage foundation policies and operations, and are community advocates for ongoing and increasing support for 4-H. They are also charged with overseeing the activities of foundation staff members and working on committees to facilitate foundation operations.

The Coons have been dedicated supporters of and donors to 4-H in Michigan, Iowa and Oklahoma. During the Michigan 4-H Foundation’s previous capital campaign, which ran from 2011 to 2018, they joined nine other couples as members of the Leadership 10. (The Leadership 10 was a group of 10 couples who served as the face of the capital campaign by sharing their compelling 4-H stories and support of Michigan 4-H.) Tom and Rhonda were also leadership donors to the County 4-H Endowment match pool, which helped to build and grow 4-H endowments in 31 counties across the state.

Tom Coon recently retired after serving nine years at Oklahoma State University (OSU) as the vice president and dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. In this role, he led a capital campaign to raise funds for a new state-of-the-art teaching, research and Extension facility for OSU Agriculture. Previously, Tom served as the director of MSU Extension for nine years and as a trustee of the Michigan 4-H Foundation. Additionally, he was a professor in the MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife for 25 years.

Rhonda Coon was an active 4-H member in Iowa for 10 years, capping her years as a state 4-H officer in 1973–74. After graduating from Iowa State University, she was the county 4-H youth agent in Plymouth County, Iowa, and served as the executive director of the Iowa 4-H Foundation for three years. Rhonda has also had more than 25 years of experience as an independent fundraising professional. She has raised money for WKAR radio and television and MSU’s annual giving program, and served as alumni director for the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Mark Koester is the vice president of finance and accounting for GreenStone Farm Credit Services. He began his career at the company in 2004, preparing tax returns and providing other services for customers, before moving to the corporate accounting and finance department in East Lansing. Koester earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University. He is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) and a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Michigan Association of CPAs. Koester will chair the Michigan 4-H Foundation finance committee and was elected board treasurer at the Sept. 29 board meeting.

The 21-member Michigan 4-H Foundation board consists of 17 elected members, including up to three youth trustees between the ages of 16 and 22; one member appointed by the Michigan Council of Extension Associations, and three permanent members—the state 4-H leader, the MSU Extension director and the dean of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ex officio). Most trustees are elected to three-year terms.