Kevin Wentzel

At 9 years old I learned about 4-H from my next-door neighbor and joined the woodworking and electricity projects, activities I still enjoy today. As a teen, I attended the “Wisconsin State 4-H Club Week” at UW Madison and decided that was where I wanted to go to college. I also traveled to Washington DC for what was then “Citizenship Short Course”, a valuable lesson in national government and history. After a couple of years in the US Navy and a master’s degree in computer science. I accepted a job at HP and moved to California. When my oldest daughter, Rebecca, was nine, she brought home a pamphlet from a local 4-H club thinking it sounded interesting. That initiated a new round of 4-H involvement for me and my family. I started a woodworking project, an electricity project and a computer project. I became involved at the county level, became director of the county 4-H camp, lead county presentation day and managed the 4-H food booth at the county fair. At the state level, I helped plan Western Regional Leaders’ Forum.

There was seldom an evening or weekend that the family didn’t have something 4-H going on. In 1998, I chaperoned the California delegation to the National 4-H Conference and met the National 4-H Tech Team. Recognizing that California needed a state 4-H Tech Team, I led the effort to start one. The team focused on the state 4-H website and on teaching tech to youth and adults. In 1999 I was chosen for the planning team for the National 4-H Conference. I also volunteered to be a California 4-H Diamond Star adviser. In 2004 my job transferred me to Texas. I didn’t expect to continue my 4-H activities after the move, but one day I answered a call from the State 4-H office asking for my help in developing a Texas 4-H Tech team. We launched the team with similar educational and service goals to the California team. Fast forward to today, and the team is the Texas 4-H STEM Ambassadors, a strong example of youth-adult partnership. The team’s mission includes building members’ leadership and tech skills and has a heavy emphasis on service, especially teaching STEM topics to others.

What effect has 4-H had in my life? It began a life-long love of woodworking and woodturning. I love teaching kids the mysteries of crafting beautiful things from wood. More importantly, it reinforced a devotion to teaching and service. Education has always been my biggest goal as a 4-H volunteer. It can be teaching woodworking, public speaking, or tech but even more, it’s encouraging young leaders to teach others. I love it when I witness that spark of understanding in a young person’s face as they realize that they can do this! That “ah ha” moment is the true reward for a long career in 4-H and volunteering.