I was never much into the project work, but more into the 4-H Jr. Leaders and the leadership opportunities it offered. Truth be known, I never received a blue ribbon in my project work. I did learn some life skills, but never produced top quality products. A third grader in our city program gave me a new prospective on this years later when I was a 4-H Agent in Grant County. He wanted to trade his blue ribbon for a red one, because the red one was prettier. I learned a lot that day.
Two of the things I was most proud of in my county 4-H work was instituting 4-H in the underserved community of Marion, Indiana and reaching out to families with children having disabilities. What joy to see the underserved showing their enthusiasm with their involvement. As for children with disabilities, it was the gleam in their eyes seeing their projects (anything they had made) being displayed at the County Fair.
When I transferred to the State 4-H Department on the Purdue campus, I had another learning curve. Yes, I had the basic knowledge of the 4-H program, but now the stage was larger. It became bigger when I was assigned the state and national 4-H awards program. National 4-H Congress and Indiana’s delegation became my responsibility. Soon I was in a leadership role at this event, until my retirement.
The program I am most proud of was taking some of the trip sponsorship moneys we had for Indiana’s National 4-H delegates and starting a one day event in Indiana called Indiana 4-H Congress. This event still exists 30 years later with leadership workshops and the awarding of nearly 30 scholarships ranging from $1000 – $2000 each.
Would I do this all again? You bet I would.
