Impact of a planned public relations program by the Cooperative Extension Service in Muskogee County, Oklahoma

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of a public relations program by the Cooperative Extension Service in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. A second purpose was to determine the awareness of the Cooperative Extension Service by the general public in Muskogee County, Oklahoma using a random sample. The telephone interview technique was used to collect the data. Ten questions were designated with appropriate weighted numerical scores to assist in determining the respondents' awareness of the Muskogee County Cooperative Extension Service. Statistical procedures employed in the study included frequency distribution and Chi-square.Findings and Conclusions: The responses by the awareness participants in this Study revealed that 56% were aware of having an Extension office in Muskogee County. Most of the involvement by the respondents and their family members in Extension was in the 4-H program area. Seventy-four percent who had contacted the Extension office for information made the contact by telephone. Almost 21% of the respondents had participated in an Extension sponsored meeting, with over 93% of those respondents indicating that the information they received was valuable. Well over a majority of respondents read news articles about Extension or 4-H activities and news columns by Extension agents. Close to 48% of all respondents requested additional information about Extension programs, with a majority of those respondents indicating the area of agriculture. Two-thirds of the respondents felt that increased funding of Cooperative Extension would be beneficial for the residents of Muskogee County. Muskogee County residents' occupation, sex, wanting to receive information, or feeling that increased funding of Cooperative Extension would be beneficial had no relationship with the awareness of Cooperative Extension; however, age, involvement in agriculture, education level, race, and household income, had a relationship with the awareness of the Cooperative Extension Service. Over 91% of the respondents had some awareness of the Cooperative Extension Service. The overall awareness level in Muskogee County was found to below