Growing up, we are taught to listen to our momma’s. The love. The wisdom. The knowledge. They taught us life lessons as we made mistakes along the way. They helped us learn to pick ourselves back up as we fell so many times. They instilled in us our morals and made us feel like we are the most special people on the Earth. That’s because, to them we are.

Union County is laid out in beautiful mountains and valleys of prestigious land by nature, but in order for the land to inhibit its full potential, we the people must do our part to keep it clean. Dump sites and roadside litter are perceived regularly across the county and citizens and the community must work together to minimize the litter epidemic.

Remember those cozy evenings as a child when your mother or grandma invited you up in the lap of her rocking chair and tucked you under a soft quilt that she had made with her own hands from old hand-me-downs. She would let you pick a favorite book or two and you would spend the evening reading, giggling, and creating memories, all the while you were inhaling undetected skills that you did not perceive to be a part of the experience. “It’s never too early to start reading to your kids,” shares UT Institute of Agriculture Assistant Dean and Professor, Dr. Matt Devereaux.

Ashley Mike is a country girl through and through, with a life spent on a farm and a love of home, family and the outdoors. So, it's no surprise that she's found a career in the UT Extension, an organization dedicated to helping families and communities develop important rural skills, stay healthy and be successful right here at home.