Mildred Choate-Taylor, a familiar name here in Sequoyah County, is one that may make you think of a great storyteller, maybe connect you back to a specific plate of food, or even your favorite quilt that you snuggle up with at night. However, that name is so much more.

On July 8, Mildred Choate-Taylor became the state leader and president for the Oklahoma Home and Community Educators (OHCE). OHCE is an organization in every single county in the state of Oklahoma that shows a positive impact to youth, young families, seniors and all in between through works that focus on nutrition, food preservation, food preparation, clothing, home improvements, and sanitation.

Thanks to the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, and collaboration with Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Services, and the United States Department of Agriculture, a natural partnership was born. These partnerships emphasize the value of the family, and an education is the solution to contempo-rary home challenges. Today the groups promote research-based information that relates to the family, home, community, and state.

The organization is so elated for her and this deep honor that was bestowed upon her. Here are some of her work and accomplishments over the past few years;

• Mildred joined Sequoyah County’s OHCE back in 2004, where she helped as a member until 2011 where she was elected as the secretary and county council for two years.

• In 2013, Mildred was elected as the president for our county OHCE and county council, where she served for 10 years, while in that same year, she was appointed to the OHCE state board as a committee member, where she served for eight years on various committees.

. In 2019, Mildred was elected the OHCE Northeast District representative where she served for two years. She was then elected as president-elect of the OHCE state board this past year, in 2023.

She was honorably installed on July 8, at the State OHCE Meeting in Oklahoma City.

We cannot thank Mildred enough for her leadership she has displayed in her 20 years as an OHCE member. She is much deserving of this appointment, and she will do an outstanding job as the president of OHCE state board for the next two years.