Why do people pay a significant amount of money to take 50 hours of coursework and give 50 hours of volunteer service to become a certified Extension Master Gardener (EMG)? What is the incentive to remain an EMG? Why do they volunteer for Extension instead of a local hospital or other community organizations? This study answered these questions to enhance Extension educator training on volunteer management and engagement, recruitment, and retention of EMGs. The EMG program director and program manager partnered with a family and consumer science specialist and staff to co-develop the study and collect data. Six focus group interviews with EMGs (n=26) and eight focus group interviews with Extension EMG county coordinators (n=15) were conducted and recorded via Zoom in November 2024. The comments obtained in the focus group sessions were transcribed and coded into themes in each of the combined groups interviewed. Focus group comments revealed information that needed to be and could be addressed immediately. This led to four technical reports containing recommendations for program improvement in recruitment and retention of EMGs directed to Extension administration, the EMG program director and manager, Extension EMG coordinators, and EMGs. In addition, data will be used to formulate questions for a survey to be administered to EMGs in the fall of 2025. In this session, you will learn about the research study, the focus group data collection process, results and recommendations for program improvement, and the necessary steps to continue developing this knowledge.
