The University of Missouri Texas County Extension will host an open house at its new location on Main Street in downtown Houston from 10 a.m. to noon Friday.
Area residents are invited to visit the facility, meet Texas County Extension Council members and talk with MU Extension regional specialists who provide and oversee local programs and activities. The staff at the new Houston office includes human development specialist Angie Fletcher, youth development specialist Janice Emery (who directs the county 4-H program), nutrition program associates Dana McGuire and Anita Collins, and office manager Trisha Adey.
Fletcher said the move from the old “Loretto House” on U.S. 63 to the space on Main Street that received a major makeover thanks to grant funding and labor provided by Downtown Houston Inc. has worked out great.
“We didn’t even have a furnace at our previous location, so we’re really enjoying being comfortable when it’s cold,” she said. “We are so appreciative of this facility.”
The new location includes a sizable community room with flat-screen TV available for rent for meetings or other gatherings. Still unfinished in the space are a walk-in cooler and spacious kitchen equipped with several professional-grade appliances.
Fletcher said Rep. Robert Ross and Sen. Mike Cunningham will be on hand at the open house, and will present resolutions to 2015 Century Farm recipients, including the families of Clifford and Erma Campbell, Mike and Roberta Lybyer and Ronald and Barbara McCall.
The new MU Extension office in Houston is at 114 W. Main Street, Suite 2. The phone number is 417-967-4545.