Doughty Valley 4-H treats community to lunch
A nearly packed gymnasium at Clark Community Center turned out for the Doughty Valley 4-H Club’s annual appreciation luncheon on Sunday, Nov. 12.
The Doughty Valley 4-H Club is grateful to all who gave to support it over the past year.
On Sunday, Nov. 12, it gave back in the form of a full-meal lunch to express thanks to the community.
“This is something we do every year as a way to say thanks to our community,” said Jarrett Schafer, Doughty Valley 4-H Club member. “We invite the community to come in, and we serve them a nice, little lunch.”
That nice, little lunch may have been the former in that description, but there was nothing little about it. The club went all-in for the meal, providing barbecued chicken, ham, noodles, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, fruit and dessert.
It was a feast fit for a king and queen, and the club prefers to think of everyone in the community who has shown support as royalty.
“This event means a lot to us, and being part of the Doughty Valley 4-H Club also means a lot to all of us as members,” Schafer said. “There’s a lot of kids involved in our 4-H club now that had family members around here who were part of it over the past number of years.”
Celebrating the event this year was something even more special than usual because this is the 100th anniversary of the Doughty Valley 4-H Club. In honoring its past, the club collected and displayed much of the memorabilia from the past 10 decades including many of the club’s registrations and notes from the past. There were plenty of photos, awards and more on display.
Doughty Valley adviser Marcia Troyer, who has served in the advisory capacity for the club for 39 years, said this is one event the kids really enjoy because they like serving and connecting with the community members.
“Our black binder has every single member’s name in it going back to 1925,” Troyer said. “It goes up to 2016, and I am in the process of adding the most recent names to the list.”
Troyer said celebrating 100 years is an incredible achievement, and sharing the history of the club and showcasing it for the current club members to better understand what the club has been through over the past century was important, as was showing the community the club remains a vital part of building character and work ethic in the youth.
That connection between club and community was evident in the number of people that crammed into the gymnasium at Clark Community Center for the meal.
“Look at this turnout; this is fantastic,” Troyer said. “Look at how this day turned out. There’s a connection here between our club and this community, and seeing this type of turnout makes us all feel like our giving back to the community is so worthwhile.”
Troyer said these types of service events are a staple of what 4-H can provide for youth, and it is a win-win for everyone involved, as the young people gain lessons in giving back to the community.
“One of our main efforts is to promote community service,” Troyer said. “This is teaching our young people what they need to do for their families and community and how to step out of their comfort zone and serve. It’s a fun way to give back.”
Troyer said it has been close to three decades that the club has been doing the appreciation meal, the early days boasting a wiener roast before the club moved to the format it now has. They have done a variety of different meals, from the Thanksgiving-type meal this year to soup and salad meals in the past.
“I think we all like this one because it is very fun creating the meal,” Troyer said.
With more than 40 young people in the 4-H program and another dozen Cloverbuds, the club continues to be a vital part of the community.
The club also handed out its annual Community Service Award with this year’s honor going to Dave Mast, journalist with The Bargain Hunter.
Mast, who also is co-owner of AloNovus Corp., the parent company of The Bargain Hunter, thanked the club for the honor and said covering the club is the easy part because of all the wonderful work it does in the community.
“This is one of the most active 4-H clubs I’ve seen,” Mast said. “This is an amazing club, and our 4-H program in Holmes County is awesome. The only reason I get to do what I do is because of the effort these kids put into this club.”
Aside from this event, Doughty Valley 4-H members have planted flowers at the cemetery near Lake Buckhorn and done service work for the Holmes County dog warden, and that is only a tiny glimpse into a group that is highly active.
In addition to the meal, the club sold scented soy candles it had made in conjunction with local candle-maker Calico Creations of Big Prairie as a fundraiser.