The Muskingum County Commissioners proclaimed this week, March 2nd through March 8th, Ohio 4-H Week. The courthouse is lit with green lights, and the 4-H flag is being displayed there throughout the week as well.
Ambassadors Hayden Weck, Braylie Burkey, Koby Bradley, and Educator Jamie McConnell met with the County Commissioners and participated in several media opportunities to promote 4-H, including an interview with the Dresden Buzz.
During the interview, McConnel commented on the impact 4-H has on the lives of young people. “Positive relationships with peers and positive relationships with the adults who are volunteers also the opportunity to mentor younger members as they progress in their 4-H career they have that opportunity in leadership positions. So I think those relationships and the life skills. There is research that shows that students who participate in 4-H are more likely to be civically active, they’re more likely to be financially stable into adulthood because they learn important skills that you need to be successful at a job and in your personal life from communication, to public speaking, to how to organize and plan something whether that be an event or the responsibility that you learn from taking care of a project. So I think it’s those skills that we see develop in our young people that we see them carry into adulthood that make them successful people.
“I am a product of the 4-H program actually here in Muskingum County,” McConnell explained. “I’m a Tri-Valley High School graduate. Because of the experience that I had as a 4-H-er, those relationships that I built, those skills that I learned, that’s why I do the job that I do, to watch these young people learn.”
4-H Ambassadors Weck, Burkey, and Bradley agree that they would like to continue to be involved with 4-H into adulthood. 4-H has been a very important part of many of their lives, including the life of John Glenn and Mid-East Career Center student Koby Bradley, whose family has also been involved in 4-H. “My parents were in 4-H, my grandparents were in 4-H, and also my great grandparents were also in 4-H, it was really just what my family did, and I love it! — The fair is the best part of it. It’s the way you end 4-H, and Fair Week is the best week of the whole year.”
“[My favorite part] is all the opportunities that I get through 4-H, all the camps that I get to apply for and go to, along with making new friends at Fair and 4-H Camp,” said Braylie Burkey, a student at Tri-Valley and 11-year member of 4-H.
“My favorite 4-H memories have probably been going to the national events like Citizen Washington Focus and National 4-H Congress,” said Tri-Valley senior Hayden Weck. “I got to meet so many new people from all across the world actually. I met some people in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and of course all of the states and really just got to make some nice friends.”
“You join 4-H through a club. We have close to 50 clubs in Muskingum County, and they are spread out all over the county, stated McConnell. “Lately, I’ve been telling people, ‘you probably have a club meeting within 10 minutes of your house.’. There are two things people can do. One is to ask around, ask your friends. We have more than 1300 youth that are involved, 250 adult volunteers. Get connected with a club through people that you know. The second thing is they can contact the office.”
Contact the OSU extension office at 740-454-0144. You can also visit them online at u.osu.edu/muskingumcounty4h. The deadline for enrollment is April 1.
MAIN PHOTO CAPTION: Hayden Weck, Braylie Burkey, and Koby Bradley pictured with the Muskingum County 4H banner.
