My 4-H Story (Part 1)

Photo by Gala Ruleva on Unsplash

My time in 4-H had an extreme impact on my life, not just as a child and teenager but as an adult. Without the influence of 4-H, I would not be the person I am today. The projects I participated in and the people I met as part of my 4-H experience shaped me into the person I am today. My introduction to 4-H would be slow but quickly swell. It would be something I would center my life around from childhood into early adulthood. I don’t think my mother realized how much of an impact 4-H would have when she enrolled me at ten years old.

I was introduced to 4-H when my mother found a flyer about it at our church. We attended an interest meeting and decided to give it a try. My first project in 4-H was judging market lambs. The contest was held at the district show at the Wade Kennedy Livestock Facility. At the time I started in 4-H, the facility had

The following year, when my sister and I started showing pigs, we had to do repairs to our pens before we could put our animals in them. This facility was not designed for the high volume of animals which it held during the District Show. There was only one wash stall for the whole pig barn. When you needed to bathe your animals before the show, you knew you would be standing in line for at least an hour. The arena was tiny, the large weight classes of animals had to be broken down into smaller groups to accommodate it. seen better days…