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Holmes County 4-H holds volunteer recognition banquet

• December 15, 2023
• 364

The 2023 Holmes County 4-H Volunteer Recognition Banquet was held the evening of Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Harvest Ridge Fairgrounds.

Janessa Hill, Holmes County 4-H educator, and Ella Lorentz, Holmes County 4-H program assistant, welcomed guests to the event and thanked volunteers in attendance for all their hard work, time and dedication to programs throughout the year.

Next, 2023 Holmes County Fair Royalty Queen Alysa Pringle and King Garrett Fowler led the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H Pledge. Holmes County Junior Fair Board member Phin Johnson led the invocation. Johnson invited a few of the 2023 Holmes County 4-H Camp counselors and adult staff to lead with a 4-H Camp Ohio invocation song. Dinner, compliments of the Holmes County Senior Fair Board, was then served.

Roger Boring, Holmes County Senior Fair Board vice president, provided the senior fair board remarks in place of Kerry Taylor, SFB president.

After dinner the following awards were given:

2023 Club Service Awards

—Head Award, Nashville Jolly Farmers.

—Heart Award, Rim Rock Riders.

—Hands Award, Doughty Valley.

—Health Award, Nashville Jolly Farmers.

—Clover Award, Prairie Partners.

Head Award

The Head Service Award highlights an educational program/project that stimulates learning in a 4-H club.

There is no shortage of educational learning in the Nashville Jolly Farmers Club, this year’s recipient of the award. Throughout the year the club completed many projects with its Cloverbuds. Some of these projects included creating chicken in a cup, making slime, chemical reactions, soil layers and super bugs. As the Nashville Jolly Farmers stated in their award application, “We believe that Cloverbuds are a perfect match for the Head Award in 4-H. They are the future of 4-H, and they are always willing to learn and try new things. They are full of energy and excitement.”

Heart Award

The Heart Service Award is awarded to a 4-H club that demonstrates giving to others.

This year the Rim Rock Riders 4-H Club received the Heart Award. The members of Rim Rock Riders created Easter baskets for residents at Greenridge Meadows Assisted Living. According to those who submitted the awards, many lives were impacted by youth who took time out of their day to care of others. As a club they learned that working as a team, they can have a larger impact on the educational value of this project, which taught Rim Rock Riders how to plan, implement and evaluate a project within a budget. Rim Rock Riders set a goal to visit Greenridge Meadows and other senior living communities each year.

Hands Award

The Hands Service Award is all about community service and hands-on learning experiences in a 4-H club.

Doughty Valley 4-H Club embraced this idea of hands-on learning to the fullest. In the words of the awards application, “We choose activities to do which are both educational and giving of ourselves to benefit others, because even if it's in a small way, it could be large for others.”

Doughty Valley had many hands-on activities this year such as ringing of the bells for the Salvation Army, mulching Clark Community Center, planting flowers, fire safety training, laying wreaths in a local cemetery, having guest speakers for its annual luncheon, hosting a petting zoo at the Holmes County Home, celebrating 100th birthdays in the community, and inviting the Coshocton County Sheriff's Department to share its dog training with youth.

Health Award

The Health Service Award features a health or safety activity for special programs.

This year the Nashville Jolly Farmers invited Patty Reining, the director of nursing at the Wayne County Health Department, to come and demonstrate CPR and an AED unit. In the application Nashville Jolly Farmers said, “Health and safety are particularly important to the Nashville Jolly Farmers. We want all the county’s 4-Hers to stay safe and healthy, whether they are working with their animals for fair or using power equipment to finish a project. We are so thankful for the people in our community who give of their time to help teach us about these things.”

Clover Award

The Clover Service Award is given to a 4-H club that has promoted 4-H in fun and unique ways.

This year the Clover Award goes to the Prairie Partners 4-H Club, which said in its application, “Our club and kids have truly taken pride in our community and are doing what we can to help spread the word about 4-H and helping others.”

The club helped with 4-H promotion by filling and decorating 4-H bags to third-graders at Holmesville Elementary, created a 4-H display for 4-H Week in downtown Millersburg, and also walked in the Prairie Township Homecoming Parade. The club also provided many layers of community service by helping make the Holmes County Trail look nicer by providing weeding, mulching and planting flowers and also provided trash pickup on a township road in Holmesville. Prairie Partners also collected plastic caps to order and purchase a bench for the fairgrounds in which club members can share for years.

Outstanding 4-H Club Youth Secretary and Treasurer awards

In Holmes County there were 22 4-H clubs in the 2023 year. Each club elects officers at the beginning of each year. Two of those positions require a large amount of documentation and deserve an extra award. Awards are based on submitted records, and total points are calculated based on required documents, organization, readability and presentation.

The 2023 Outstanding 4-H Club Secretary Award went to Julia Sprang from the Lakeville Lakers 4-H Club.

Selected to receive the 2023 Outstanding 4-H Club Treasurer Award was Annabelle Thompson from the Prairie Partners 4-H Club.

Outstanding Camp Counselors

The 2023 Holmes County 4-H Camp Outstanding Male and Female Camp Counselors were recognized. Camp counselors attend a minimum of 24 hours of training each year prior to camp and are responsible for over 180 youth for five days and four nights. This is a learning experience for younger youth attending camp and for the counselors volunteering their time working with the campers. The Outstanding Female Counselor was Jenna Sheldon, and the Outstanding Male Counselor was Noah Cerniglia.

Outstanding Junior Fair Board Members

The 2023 Outstanding Junior Fair Board Members were honored, recognizing members of the team of 30 who went above and beyond throughout the year and were selected by their peers and adult volunteers they worked with. This year's honorees were Garrett Fowler, Phin Johnson, Andi Schuch and Olivia Gerber.

2023 Outstanding Supporter Awards

—Friend of 4-H: RES Auction Services.

—Partner of 4-H: Loudonville Farmers Equity.

—4-H Alumni: Kelly Reusser.

This year the 4-H Alumni Award goes to Kelly Reusser, who exemplifies what 4-H is all about. As a youth this alumnus couldn’t wait until she was old enough to be in 4-H and joined as soon as she could. As a teen she was involved as a junior fair board member and camp counselor and participated in the FFA program. When her time as a traditional 4-H member expired, she didn’t hesitate to become a volunteer and has been taking on additional roles each year.

Throughout the year Reusser volunteers her time with the Barnyard Buddies 4-H Club, is a member of the poultry committee and sale committee, and is the newest adviser of the Woof Pack Dog Club. However, where most people see her volunteering countless hours is during the week of the fair, inputting, checking, proofreading, cross-checking, breaking and rebreaking classes, all to check and correct them before getting the showbills ready to be distributed to the public. She also has been the go-to person for every question imaginable, which ultimately helps parents, volunteers and fair participants navigate the fair with ease.

Volunteers wear a lot of hats. When she isn’t volunteering, Reusser works as a vet tech and supervisor at Charles River Laboratories and lives with her husband Ryan and children Cole and Anna. She is excited to help the next generation, especially her kids, start their 4-H journey this upcoming year.

Friend of the Fair

Tara Sheldon, Holmes County Senior Fair Board secretary, presented the 2023 Friend of the Fair Award to Hipp Farms Mulch and Bark.

Each year the SFB nominates an individual, a family or even a local business to be the recipient of the Friend of the Fair Award. There were several candidates for this year’s award, but one stood out. Anyone who has ever been to one of the many livestock events at Harvest Ridge must have noticed the show arenas, much like during the fair. This is made possible by this year’s Friend of the Fair Award recipient Hipp Farms Mulch and Bark.

Mulch for these events has been 100% donated, and on average they haul nine or 10 semi loads of mulch for each event. The kindness Hipp Farms has shown is truly what has made these events possible, and their continued support will ensure the future of these events for many years to come.