Youth celebrate October as National 4-H Month

Members of the Lollie Bottoms 4-H Riders offered rides on a horse during the 4-H Party on the Lawn at the Faulkner County Courthouse. Sierra Puckett, front, a member of the Lollie Bottoms 4-H Riders, leads the horse for the rider, Sarah Lynn Blount, a member of the Green Garden Project 4-H Club. Assisting with the ride are Grace Brodsky, left, also a member of the Lollie Bottoms 4-H Riders, and Ashley Moore, a member of the Faulkner County Hooves, Spurs and Furs Show Team.
Members of the Lollie Bottoms 4-H Riders offered rides on a horse during the 4-H Party on the Lawn at the Faulkner County Courthouse. Sierra Puckett, front, a member of the Lollie Bottoms 4-H Riders, leads the horse for the rider, Sarah Lynn Blount, a member of the Green Garden Project 4-H Club. Assisting with the ride are Grace Brodsky, left, also a member of the Lollie Bottoms 4-H Riders, and Ashley Moore, a member of the Faulkner County Hooves, Spurs and Furs Show Team.

Members of Faulkner County 4-H clubs are joining others across the United States in celebrating October as National 4-H Month.

The local 4-H program is sponsored by the Faulkner County Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture.

The local 4-H’ers gathered Oct. 3 for a 4-H Party on the Lawn at the Faulkner County Courthouse in Conway to celebrate the first week of the celebratory month as 4-H Week. Faulkner County Judge Jim Baker read a proclamation denoting October as 4-H Month in the county.

“I joined 4-H 62 years ago,” Baker told the crowd. “That was the first time I held any kind of office — I was the song leader.

“Take advantage of any opportunity that 4-H gives you. It will change your life.”

Baker continues to support 4-H; he is a charter member of the Faulkner County 4-H Foundation, which provides scholarships to local 4-H members.

Todd Smith, area manager of Farm Bureau Insurance of Faulkner County, recognized another longtime 4-H supporter — the late Lloyd Westbrook — by donating $500 in his name to the Faulkner County 4-H Foundation. Westbrook served as president and member of the foundation’s board of directors.

The 4-H Party on the Lawn featured exhibits presented by many of the more than 20 4-H clubs in the county, as well as hot dogs and chips, served by Cecil Oursbourn of Farm Credit Services of Western Arkansas, who serves as president of the Faulkner County 4-H Foundation.

Melanie Malone, Faulkner County Cooperative Extension Service staff chairwoman, said there are more than 500 4-H members in the county, plus more than 60 adult volunteers.

“The 4-H program is very important to our youth, ages 5 to 18,” she said. “We use the learn-by-doing approach to help our young people develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to become competent, caring and contributing citizens of the world.

“Today’s 4-H’ers do more than just show animals at the county fair. They learn about citizenship and leadership, … cooking and arts and crafts, … technology and other subjects,” she said.

Rachel Harris, 17, of Greenbrier agreed with Malone’s assessment of the 4-H program.

“I moved here 10 years ago from Clinton, Mississippi, and joined 4-H, at first, just to make friends. But I’ve learned life lessons, life skills,” she said.

“I’ve done a little bit of everything in 4-H,” said Harris, who is a senior at Greenbrier High School. “I’ve showed pigs, sheep, chickens and rabbits. I’ve also done a lot of community service.

“I love doing community service. Each year, I try to adopt a project and concentrate on it. This year, I will be supporting the Bookcase for Every Child project.”

Harris said 4-H offers “endless opportunities.”

“If you have any hobby at all, you can find it in 4-H,” she said. “There’s sewing, cooking, bicycles, animals, shooting sports, public speaking, technology and much more. There are so many different things that you can do.”

Harris is a member of the Faulkner County Shooting Sports 4-H Club. She competes as an individual and as a team member, participating in local, district and state events.

“Starting Nov. 10, I will be the new president of the Faulkner County 4-H Teen Leaders Club,” she said. She said these students planned the recent 4-H Week activities and will be instrumental in working at the annual awards program, set for 6 p.m. Nov. 10 at Antioch Baptist Church in Conway; that event will feature the theme “4-H Academy Awards.”

Harris, the daughter of J.W. and Anita Harris, plans to attend Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and double-major in animal science and agriculture education.

“I want to be either an ag teacher or an extension agent,” she said.

Malone and Harris both said the 4-H program depends heavily on volunteers.

“We could not do 4-H without our volunteers,” Malone said.

“It’s important for parents to get involved,” Harris said.

“In our shooting sports club, we cannot have practice without having parents there to help,” she said. “They are crucial for our club, for sure.”

Dorothy Yeager of Greenbrier has been a 4-H volunteer for 50 years. For her, 4-H is a family affair.

“I was raised in New Mexico and was a member of 4-H there. When we moved here, I came on board as a volunteer. I now have my own club, the Cloverleaf 4-H Club. I have 36 members, from ages 5 to 18,” Yeager said.

“I now have my grandkids in the club, and I’ll have a great-grandchild in it within a year,” she said, laughing.

“We built a 20-foot-by-40-foot room for our 4-H kids to meet in. We call it the 4-H Pavilion.

“I recommend 4-H to everyone. I have never had a 4-H kid to be in any kind of trouble — 4-H teaches responsibility.”

For more information on 4-H in Faulkner County, call the Extension Service office at (501) 329-8344.

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