Sewing the seeds

4-H Clubs around the country got their start in 1908 as a corn club teaching Avoyelles Parish students how to grow corn. It has grown exponentially since then and now offers new programs that are designed to address the challenges of an ever changing world. The man at the helm of 4-H in Louisiana who began most of these endeavors is Ville Platte’s own Paul Coreil. For his efforts, he will be inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame in Chevy Chase, Md., on October 6.
“It’s the highest honor anyone could ever imagine getting working in a career of supporting 4-H and its development in Louisiana,” said the 62-year-old Coreil who lives with his wife in Baton Rouge. “I’m humbled by the whole thing, and it’s unbelievable for me to realize that I’m going to be recognized at the national level. It’s also good for Louisiana, and I think it’s good for Ville Platte and Evangeline Parish where I grew up.”
Coreil’s seeds of interest in 4-H were sewed as he grew up in his father A. B. Coreil’s feed store. “I kind of grew up in agriculture since the time I was about 12-years-old,” he commented. “I was delivering fertilizer and was working in the feed store selling chickens. I was also doing everything else that you do in a feed store. It made me appreciate the importance of where food comes from and how much rural Louisiana is important to the state.”
He went on to say that his father had a big influence on his life. “I got to see a lot about the diversity of agriculture working in a retail and wholesale business and going out to the farms delivering the products that they need. I got to experience first hand everything that is involved in producing food and fiber.”
His mother Juanita Smith Coreil also has agricultural ties to Evangeline Parish. Her father Harry Smith had a rice farm in Point Blue. “I worked with him in the rice fields growing up as well,” Coreil said. “He made his living growing rice and a little bit of soy beans.”
The agricultural background that Coreil received from both his parents piqued his interest as he joined the Sacred Heart 4-H Club where his agents were Elaine Vidrine and Newty Jeansonne.
“We lived right on the outskirts of Ville Platte, so we didn’t have livestock animals for show,” Coreil said. “My interest was more in natural resources and learning more about birds and wildlife. I also got heavily involved in food demonstration projects. I learned how to cook through 4-H.”
4-H camp was also a positive influence on the young Coreil because it was the first time he left his parents and spent a week away from home. “I learned a lot about being on my own, a lot about responsibility, and a lot about working together as a team,” he said.
He took his wildlife interests from 4-H and parlayed them into a degree from USL in wildlife management and a master’s degree from LSU. He later became Fisheries and Wildlife Extension Agent in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes.
“That was probably the most profound impact on my life as an adult moving down into Cameron Parish,” he said. “I was working with the natural resources down there with the commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, coastal landowners, alligator hunters, and waterfowl lease holders. I got to really learn about the riches of the State of Louisiana and how important it is to the economy.”
From there Coreil and his wife Arlene moved to Baton Rouge where he received his PhD from LSU. In 2001 he was named as the Director and Vice Chancellor of the LSU Ag Center Cooperative Extension Service which oversees the 4-H program in the state.
While on the job, he expanded 4-H programs such as the shooting sports program as well as other diverse areas to get kids more involved in the program beside the traditional livestock shows. He also created programs like Marsh Maneuvers that are designed to meet today’s challenges.
“Marsh Maneuvers is a wetland youth program,” Coreil said. “Our kids really learn more about what is happening along the coast and what we can do to address it. It also teaches them about being more diligent in dealing with the threats of sea level rise, hurricane storm surge, and salt water intrusion.”
Coreil was also responsible for the expansion and improvements that were done to the 4-H Camp facilities in Pollack, La. “We got to expand the acreage because we got some land donated,” he said. “We built a new multi-purpose building, and we modernized the cabins and the cafeteria to really improve the quality of the camping experience for the kids.”
After retiring in 2013, Coreil served a year as interim chancellor of LSU-Alexandria. He remains currently involved as a volunteer in the 4-H program. “I’m on the State 4-H Foundation Board, and we primarily raise money in support of 4-H particularly for kids who don’t have the resources to go to 4-H camp or to travel.”
Every year he sponsors fundraisers that raise money for the program. One fundraiser event call Guns and Gumbo goes back to Coreil hunting squirrels here in Evangeline Parish. “We do a squirrel hunt every year,” he said. “We raise about $30 thousand a year. It will be the 10th year in February 2018.
Coreil went on to explain the benefits of students joining the 4-H program. “In the classroom, it’s hard for you to have hands on experience learning how to do things,” he said. “Students learn a lot of about theory and take tests, but 4-H gets them out of the classroom and gets them to practice what they learned. It’s a hands on educational process that complements what the school system can do whether it’s showing a livestock animal or planting grass in the marsh where the marsh is eroding.”
All of Coreil’s accomplishments go back to growing up in Ville Platte. “I have a great love and respect for Evangeline Parish and for Ville Platte,” he said. “The experiences I had there obviously helped me throughout my life. I want to thank the community as far as the principles it taught me growing up and thank the 4-H program in Evangeline Parish for having a major impact on my life.”