Orange County 4-H presented awards to about a dozen young members for the hard work and progress they made in the past year at an annual achievement ceremony on Oct. 28.
“Congratulations to you on all your projects,” Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County Executive Director Lucy Joyce said during her opening remarks. “Thank you for all your community service, your leadership, and your marketing of 4-H in Orange County.”
The local 4-H program is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County and promotes wholesome youth development through hands-on learning and public presentation experiences.
Hannah Wieboldt, a 14-year-old member, was awarded the progression award, service award, and STEM award; she was also given the highest-level individual award.
To qualify for the highest individual award, one must complete 10 projects from six interest areas, perform 25 hours of community service, and take part in at least three county-level presentations.
Hannah told The Epoch Times that she did projects in woodworking, drawing, rock collections, dog training, and science and that her favorite is taking care of farm animals.
“Through 4-H, I have met a lot more people and friends, and I have also got to talk to different people who helped me get better at taking care of and showing my animals,” she said.
In July, Hannah participated in the National Guernsey Convention, and her presentation on the strong points of the Guernsey breed cattle won her third place in public speaking.
Her 8-year-old brother, Silas Wieboldt, another 4-H member, competed at the New York State Fair dairy challenge this year and placed ninth.
Both joined Orange County 4-H at age 5, according to their mother, Megan Wieboldt, who grew up in a 4-H program herself and experienced the benefits firsthand.
“It is an amazing organization where you are not just doing projects but also community service, and probably the biggest thing for 4-H is public speaking skills,” Ms. Wieboldt told The Epoch Times.
The Wieboldt family operates Indigot View Farm in Slate Hill.
Gracie Williams, an 18-year-old 4-H member from the Middletown area, won the leadership award, progression award, and service award; she also won three scholarships.
Gracie told The Epoch Times that she began taking on more leadership roles at the local 4-H program following her participation in the state fair four years ago, right before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
“I was working towards it, and it all went away,” she said. “When everything started playing again, I applied to every single opportunity I could and sought out more opportunities to lead.”
A shy kid who used to hide behind her mother and avoid talking with people, Gracie said confidence was one of the best benefits she reaped from being a 4-H member.
The year 2023 also marks the 100th anniversary of the Orange County 4-H program, which started in a one-room schoolhouse in the hamlet of Coldenham in 1923 and has benefited thousands of local youths over the decades.
“It is exciting to have our 4-H achievement celebration in the year of our 100th anniversary,” Ms. Joyce told The Epoch Times. “We look forward to the next hundred years.”
Orange County 4-H Youth Development Issue Leader Suzy McCormack told The Epoch Times that the program had an early focus on agriculture and has since expanded to include sewing, cooking, fine arts, STEM-related projects, and more.
“It is very much about the young person leading the way; whatever their interest might be, they can take that on and create a project around it,” she said. “The program generally culminates each year at our fair, where youth get to showcase their projects.”
Over the years, the local 4-H has also evolved from a traditional volunteer-led club model to having more paid staff involved to keep the program running.
“We still encourage parents to step up and run the clubs, but many of them have less time than the previous generations,” Ms. McCormack said. “So, we are looking for new ways to provide programming other than saying that is our only way of doing it.”
Orange County 4-H is a local branch of a national network of 4-H organizations, which are sponsored by land-grant universities to empower youth development on a scientific basis.
4-H stands for head, heart, hands, and health, and its pledge reads, “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”
