By Kate Pittack/Extension 4-H Agent
Texas 4-H Roundup week has officially come to a close. I may be a little sleep deprived, but I wouldn’t trade the late nights and early mornings for anything. It takes a lot of volunteers and county agents from across the state to successfully pull off an event of this magnitude.
Henderson County was well represented at the event. I mentioned last week that two of our members received scholarships and we also had a youth, Leo Varos, place first in his archery category. While our members who participated in the presentation and speaking contests may not have placed, they have already won in my opinion.
We truly do prepare youth to lead and succeed through the 4-H program. While it’s nice to go to a district and/or state event and place high in your category, that’s not necessarily a measure of success. Being able to stand in front of a group of 50 adults and peers and give a 10 minute presentation is a huge accomplishment.
4-H encourages dreaming big and setting goals. As an example, we have a young lady who just graduated from high school and is setting her sights on becoming a member of the U.S. Archery team. The leadership and life skills she has gained through her involvement in the program will without a doubt equip her to accomplish her dream.
This week, we’ve got three young men attending the Bobwhite Brigade leadership camp being held in West Texas. If you’ve never heard of the Texas Brigades, their mission is to educate and empower youths with leadership skills and knowledge in wildlife, fisheries, and land stewardship to become conservation ambassadors for a sustained natural resource legacy. I know one of the individuals attending has his sights on becoming a game warden one day.
To summarize everything up, every youth has the potential to be a true leader and participating in 4-H can help them grow the life skills they need – like confidence, responsibility, independence and compassion. We have tomorrow’s leaders being grown right here in Henderson County through their experiences in our program.