To describe my 4-H story as being transformational would be an understatement. My story began 55 years ago in Nicholas County, West Virginia, and it is a story that continues to this day. It is a story of many individuals who cared and shared generously of their time and resources to create a legacy through the positive development of others. To borrow from Sir Isaac Newton who said “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”, my 4-H story is about giants who lifted me–and so many others–upon their shoulders to allow me to see further and to dream of possibilities I could never have imagined.
This list of giants is long. It includes my 4-H agent as a youth Rush Butcher and his wife Ruby; Harley Cutlip, the long-serving director of Jackson’s Mill (West Virginia’s state 4-H camp); the many Extension professionals with whom I have been privileged to work over nearly 40 years in Virginia; and, the many dedicated volunteers who are the backbone of the 4-H program. I am quick to acknowledge, though, that the list of giants also includes the thousands of youth with whom I have been blessed to interact over the years. One of the great joys of life has been being able to witness their growth into adulthood and to appreciate how they have manifest and honored the 4-H pledge and are making our communities, our country, and our world better. They are educators; they are business leaders; they are my dear friends. Thank you, 4-H, for shaping who I am.
