Holmes 4-H honors volunteers at annual banquet
Holmes Extension educator Ella Lorentz, left, stands with Outstanding 4-H Camp Ohio Counselor honorees Jenna Sheldon, Payton Taylor, Garrett Fowler and Derek Coleman during the 4-H volunteer banquet ceremony.
The annual 4-H Volunteer Recognition Banquet took place in the Harvest Ridge expo building on Nov. 21, where the 4-H community came together to celebrate its many accomplishments that took place this year.
Among them were the accolades handed out to some of the finest individual efforts from the county’s 4-H club members who do the recording for their respective clubs.
“In our county we have 23 4-H clubs,” Holmes County Junior Fair Board and 4-H member Jenna Sheldon said. “Each club elects officers at the beginning of the year. Two of those positions require a large amount of documentation and deserve an extra award. We would like to recognize the top secretary and treasurer from our 23 4-H clubs.”
Receiving the Treasurer Book Award was Annabelle Thompson of Prairie Partners, and the award for Treasurer Book honorable mention went to Hudson Stryker of Woof Pack 4-H.
On the other side of the ledger is the work done by each club’s secretary.
The Secretary Book was bestowed upon Nevah Markel of Lakeville Lakers, and the honor of receiving the Secretary Book honorable mention went to Rollin Hendrix of Prairie Partners.
The Outstanding Junior Fair Board Awards were presented as well.
The 2024 Holmes County Junior Fair Board had another remarkable year,” JFB member AJ Helterbrand said. “It was full of growth, leadership development and impactful contributions to the success of the Holmes County Fair. This year the junior fair board members continued to show their passion and commitment, taking on more responsibilities.”
The groups collective effort created a positive experience for all fairgoers, with the JFB working diligently behind the scenes.
“The JFB helped promote leadership skills for the next generation of fair leaders,” Helterbrand said, adding the board also proved to be invaluable in promoting and attending many 4-H events throughout the year.
JFB member Lexi Ogi then named the recipients of this year’s Outstanding Junior Fair Board Member Awards, a list that included Brianna Poventud, Sara Berger and Courtney Crider.
Ella Lorentz, who spearheads much of the 4-H activity in the county as OSU Extension Holmes County educator, introduced the 2024 Outstanding Camp Counselors.
“In 2025 we will enter our 15th year camping together with Knox County 4-H,” Lorentz said. “Over the years many things have changed, but I’m happy to announce our camp numbers have started to grow once again.”
Lorentz said in 2024 there were 12 camp counselors from Holmes County who served as part of the full team of 35 counselors at Camp Ohio, noting the recently completed interviews for 2025 camp counselors resulted in upward of 50 applicants, with 21 of those applicants hailing from Holmes County.
“This is a true testament to the group of teens we have and the passion and effort they have put into the program as campers are now returning to be counselors,” Lorentz said. “I’m so excited to work with this group again this year as we will be spending more than 24 hours of training together and will be at Camp Ohio June 5-9 with around 200 youth from Holmes and Knox counties.”
She said this past year, several camp counselors stood out, and they would receive the Outstanding Camp Counselor Awards.
Included in that list were the two Outstanding Female Camp Counselors: Jenna Sheldon and Payton Taylor.
Lorentz said Sheldon was a well-seasoned counselor while Taylor was a newbie, but the two combined their gifts and talents and created a wonderful experience for their campers.
“I’m sure that these two camp counselors have already begun to plan new ideas for camp this year,” Lorentz said, “including ideas of how we can improve camp.”
The two Outstanding Male Camp Counselors were Garrett Fowler and Derek Coleman, and Lorentz said the newcomers to camp counseling were put together in a cabin, and they responded by exhibiting all the necessary skills.
“I never once heard either of these camp counselors complain about anything,” Lorentz said.
The evening celebrated the many accomplishments of Holmes County’s 4-H youth leaders, and honoring them should serve as a terrific way to jump-start 2025.