Wishing a Happy New Year to All and Recognizing Lorain County 4-H Volunteers

By Lorain County Commissioner, Michelle Hung

Ringing in the New Year brings your chance for new adventures with the OSU Extension, Lorain County 4-H program. The Lorain County Board of Commissioners is proud to sponsor the Lorain County 4-H program.

The purpose of 4-H is to foster skill development in young people. Individuality is valued and each person is encouraged to discover his or her own skills, talents, and interests. 4-H helps young people learn to make decisions, think critically, build relationships, practice leadership, and develop a concern for their community and their world.

I had the opportunity to speak at the 4-H Volunteer Recognition Dinner. Because of the time and hard work the volunteers give to Lorain County 4-H, a total of 1,102 youth participated in 52 4-H clubs engaged in leadership and service projects in Lorain County. 8,145 youth participated in over 300 4-H STEM educational opportunities. The 4-H programming saw an 11% increase of youth engagement over last year.

The purpose of recognition in 4-H is to encourage and support the efforts of the members in learning to improve their knowledge and develop life skills. Recognition for both youth and volunteer members fall into five areas: participation in educational experiences, progress towards personal goals, recognized standards of excellence, peer competition, and cooperation.

Congratulations to all the winners at the Annual Recognition Banquet. Meritorius Award Winner, Laura Smirz. 4-H Alumni Winner, Becky McDonnell and Youth Leadership Award Winners, Amy Gerber, Holden Harker, Emma Lewis.

For more information about volunteering in 2024 visit https://lorain.osu.edu/ or call (440) 326-5851