That was the theme for this year’s Lincoln County 4-H Leaders’ Association, Inc. Annual Recognition Banquet held on Saturday, October 17th at Ed and Sharon’s Restaurant. Over 85 Lincoln County 4-H volunteers, members, friends and community supporters attended this year’s banquet. Cindi Christiansen, Sady Plisch, and Jennifer Porath hosted this year’s banquet.
Since 1920, Lincoln County 4-H has helped youth grow the leadership, critical thinking and communications skills necessary to be successful in a constantly changing world. Lincoln County 4-H is part of Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development which is a program of the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension in partnership with local, state and federal government in each Wisconsin county. Youth in grades Kindergarten through 13 (one year after high school graduation and not to extend beyond the age of 19 at the time of enrollment) can join 4-H, regardless of where you live. If you are interested in learning more about 4-H or how to getting involved in Lincoln County 4-H, please feel free to contact Debbie or Amanda at the UW-Extension office at 715- 539-1072 or visit our website at http://lincoln.uwex.edu/ or subscribe to the Lincoln County 4-H Blog http://fyi.uwex.edu/lincolncounty4h/ for up to the minute 4-H news.
Volunteer Years of Service awards
There are 159 4-H Volunteer Leaders in Lincoln County who have given 1,836 years of service to Lincoln County 4-H. Without the dedication and commitment of these 4-H volunteers, the 4-H program would not be possible. On behalf of the thousands of youth that have been involved in the Lincoln County 4-H program for its 95 years of existence, we want to thank each of them for making 4-H possible in Lincoln County. During the banquet we honored all of our 4-H Volunteers for their commitment to the program. Those leaders, who have been involved for 1, 5 10, 15, 20, and 25 years, received a years of service pin and certificate at the banquet. This year’s recipients are as follows:
First Year Leaders
Corning All Stars………………………………………..Cynthia Koehler
Hamburg Hawks……………………………………….… Adam Wegner
…………………………………………………………..Stephanie Wegner
Hi-Lo’s………………………………………………..….Melissa Hafeman
Merrill Busy Bees…………………………………….…Shelby Fehlberg
………………………………………………………………..….Chris Gano
Pesobic Pathfinders……………………………………..…….Joy Erath
Pine River Peppers………………………………….….Kimberly Nowak
Prairie River Eagle……………………………………..Jennifer Thorson
Fifth Year Leaders
Hamburg Hawks……………………………………….…Colleen Schult
Merrill Busy Bees………………………………………Amanda Barkley
…………………………………………………………..….Christie Kunkel
……………………………………………………………….Megan Thistle
Pine River Peppers………………………………………..Sarah Jaeger
……………………………………………………..………Terry Petrowski
…………………………………………………………………Ryan Wilding
……………………………………………………..……Stephanie Wilding
Prairie River Eagles……………………………………..Heather Klimek
Ten Year Leaders
Bit’s N Bridles Loyetta Dennis
Corning All Stars…………………………………………….Judith Ryan
Merrill Busy Bees …………………………………… …….Lea Kultgen
……………………………………………………….……..Bobbie Monson
…………………………………………………………….Arlene Wilharms
Rockfalls Rascals ………….………..………….Dale Williams
Fifteen Year Leaders
Hi-Lo’s Margaret Welke
Merrill Busy Bees……………………………………….….Tricia Lazare
Twenty Year Leaders
Merrill Busy Bees…………………………..…………….Sandra Gipple
Twenty-Five Leaders
Barnyard Friends Jill Reinhardt
Merrill Busy Bees Jane Schulz
Resource Leaders…………………………….………Ann Stoeckmann
Outstanding 4-H Volunteer Leader awards
In 1988, the Lincoln County 4-H Leaders’ Association initiated the annual recognition of two outstanding 4-H leaders. Beginning in 2015, there are two different Volunteer Recognition Awards. The Volunteer of the Year Award for individuals who have served as a 4-H Volunteer for less than 10 years and the Lifetime Volunteer Award for individuals who have served 10 or more years. Both of these awards are co-sponsored by the Lincoln County 4-H Leaders’ Association and the Wisconsin 4-H Foundation.
This year’s recipient of the Volunteer of the Year award is Beth Krueger who has been a leader for 8 years in the Merrill Busy Bees 4-H Club. During her first year as a leader, Beth quickly became involved in providing help wherever she could to her club members and leaders. From there, Beth has become involved at a county level serving as the coordinator of the annual Communication Contest since 2010, a Director on the Lincoln County 4-H Leaders’ Association, Inc. Board of Directors for past two years, teaching workshops at our annual Project Discovery Days for the past two years and coordination of the 4-H Dairyland and Baked Potato Stands at the Lincoln County Fair for the past two years. As a leader in Lincoln County, Beth dedicates numerous hours at both the club and county level to provide positive, educational opportunities for all youth in the county to develop citizenship, leadership and life skills.
The Lifetime Volunteer Award recipient was Donna Barkley who has been a volunteer leader for 18 years with the Merrill Busy Bees 4-H Club. Donna enjoys sharing her skills in arts and crafts with youth and others. When the Merrill Busy Bees first started making club banners, Donna and her family volunteered to help and have created numerous beautiful club banners. The Merrill Busy Bees 4-H club goes to Pine Crest and other assisted living facilities each year to lead activities for the residents and provide them with a handmade seasonal gift. Donna ensures that the club will have enough of these gifts so every resident receives one. A few years ago the Lincoln County Fair Association wanted to have barn quilts for the wings of the Livestock Pavilion. Donna and her family quickly volunteered and have created 3 of the barn quilts that are hung on the Livestock Pavilion. Sue Kunkel who nominated Donna for this award said, “When 4-H has a need Donna is always willing to step up and help get a project done. Lincoln County is very blessed to have Donna as a 4-H Leader.”
Friend of 4-H awards
Since 1963, the 4-H Leaders’ Association, Inc. has been recognizing two people, committees or organizations as “Friends of 4-H.” This year’s awards went to Park City Credit Union and Ron and Faye Mittelsteadt.
Park City Credit Union was nominated for their on-going support of the 4-H program in Lincoln County. Their support has included providing a place for individual 4-H clubs and groups to hold fundraisers such as bake sales, supporting 4-H’ers by purchasing their animals in the Market Animal Sale each year, and supporting the Lincoln County Fair as a sponsor of the day. In 2014, they saw a need for seating for the various judging events during the county fair so they purchased portable bleachers which are moved for shows like the dog show, rabbit shows, poultry shows and the small animal sale.
Ron and Faye Mittelsteadt were nominated for their support of the wheelbarrow flower project that was initiated two years ago. When this project was initiated the Lincoln County Fair Association talked with Ron about what would be the best types of flowers to use in the wheelbarrows. Ron not only identified the flowers that would work best, but Faye and Ron agreed to donate the dirt and fertilizer needed for the project. This educational program helps young people throughout Lincoln County learn how to design, plant and care for flowers that are planted in their group’s wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrows are then displayed during the Lincoln County Fair and after the fair they are placed at assisted living facilities or in other locations for the community members to enjoy.
Key Awards
Lisa Krueger, a member of the Merrill Busy Bees 4-H Club was the recipient of the 2015 4-H Key Award. The award was presented by Mark Duley, representing Lincoln County Farm Bureau. The prestigious Key Award, one of the highest honors a 4-H member can receive, honors a select group of 4-H participants annually. The youth receiving this award are ones who have demonstrated consistent growth in their 4-H involvement, developed and applied their leadership skills, and actively participated in the functions of their club and their community. For the 40th consecutive year the Key awards are being sponsored by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Foundation and Rural Insurance Companies.
Lisa Krueger has been in 4-H for 9 years. In this time frame she has been very active. She has shown each year at the fair, has participated in the county bowling days, Communication Contests and the Music/Drama Festivals. With the contests she has been chosen to represent Lincoln County at the Wisconsin State Fair for numerous years. She has also participated with the Project Discovery Days and has been a leader for the last couple of years. Lisa has been selected to represent Lincoln County for Space Camp, The Spirit Trip, Wisconsin 4-H State Conference, Citizenship Washington Focus Trip and this year will be attending the National 4H Congress meeting in Atlanta.
Wisconsin 4-H Foundation Community Servant Award
The Wisconsin 4-H Foundation Community Servant Award is a new award that recognizes a 4-H member or 4-H group who demonstrates exemplary service to their community. The Wisconsin 4-H Foundation is providing this new award to each county through the generous support of their donors. Each county names its own Community Servant Award winner.
The Hi-Lo’s 4-H Club was selected to receive this award for Lincoln County. Under the guidance of Caroline Lemke and other club leaders, young people in the Hi-Lo’s 4-H club identify a community need, plan a project to address this need, and write grants to garner the necessary funds to carry out their identified community service project. They learn how to research a proposed project, set up meetings with business and other key stakeholders to discuss the project, and to secure necessary permits and approvals from various entities (i.e. DNR, Corp of Engineers, City Council). Working with adults, the youth then implement the project and celebrate their accomplishments. Some of the projects the club has completed include building items for the play room and sewing pillowcases for the new homeless shelter in Tomahawk, building display racks for the library, building roofs on the baseball dugouts in a community park, built a wheelchair ramp at the Historical Society, landscaping around the ramp, building a foot bridge to connect a hiking trail at a city park; landscaping at the fair grounds and building benches and twelve picnic tables for the county fair. Their club has been publically recognized for the numerous contributions they have made through the local media, by community leaders and by plaques identifying their efforts.
Memory Book awards
Youth do a tremendous amount of work on their memory books each year. Members completing a memory book for the first time receive a certificate and seal. Members completing a record book for additional years receive a seal to add to their certificate they already received. Each member completing a memory book also receives a $5 chamber certificate from either the Merrill or Tomahawk Chamber depending on where they live. Amara Lazare and Ricky Fehlberg from the Merrill Busy Bees 4-H Club completed a 2014-15 Memory Book.
Graduating 4-H Member awards
4-H Leaders’ Association President Becky Kludy recognized our graduating 4-H members during the annual recognition banquet. This year’s graduating 4-H members are:
Rebecca Barkholz – Rebecca was a member of the Hi’Lo’s 4-H Club for 10 years. Rebecca has carried Foods and Nutrition for many years and has learned so many important skills such as; budgeting, following a recipe and how to make food. She served on the State 4-H Youth Leader Council and she served as President of the Hi-Lo’s for 2 years and served as Vice-President before that. Rebecca says her most memorable 4-H activities was attending 4-H Summer Camp, both as a camper and a counselor. She also really enjoyed participating in CWF. Rebecca held roles outside of 4-H by serving on Lincoln County Teen Court as a panel member. Rebecca says she will look back five years and be glad that she took advantage of all the trips 4-H offered. She saw and experienced so many things that she otherwise would not have been able to do. Some of the projects she was involved in, included Candy Making, Dance, Foods & Nutrition, Photography and Youth Leadership.
Brenda Krueger – Brenda was a member of the Merrill Busy Bees for 9 years. She has participated in the Music Festival, Drama and Communication Contests, 4H Bowling, parades, June Dairy Breakfasts, volunteering/visiting at Pine Crest and Bell Tower. She has also performed at the State Fair for the Communication and Music Contests. Her projects for the fair include: Rabbits, Clothing, Photography, Foods and Preservation, Nature, Flowers, Woodworking, Arts & Crafts. This last summer she had the opportunity to go to Washington DC, where they met with our State Representatives and learned about the history of our nation. She also got the chance to take a tour of the Pentagon and visit the New Zealand Assembly. This was a once-in-a- life time trip that she will never forget. Brenda is also part of the Church Youth Group, Special Olympics and dance.
Heidi Massa – Heidi was a member of the Hi’-Lo’s 4-H Club for 7 years. Heidi has carried Foods and Nutrition and she shared that this project taught her how enjoyable preparing food can be as well as the satisfaction of hard work well done. Heidi was her club’s Historian, Secretary and most recently the Treasurer of the Hi-Lo’s. Heidi held many leadership roles outside of 4-H including teaching Sunday School for 6 years at her church, FCA, NHS—Historian, FBLA-President, and Student Council Treasurer. Heidi shared that in five years she will look back and be glad she was in 4-H. She said that 4-H is so much different than any other activity that is around these days. To her, it still embodies the principles of the past that we are seeing less and less of and it makes us thankful for what we can learn from the past and what we can learn to do for ourselves. Some of the other projects Heidi was in, included Cake Decorating, Food Preservation, Foods and Nutrition, Knitting, Music, Photography, Self-Determined, Speaking, and Youth Leadership.
Morgan Norton – Morgan was a member of the Merrill Busy Bees for 12 years. As a 4-H member Morgan served as Secretary and Vice-President in her club. She has volunteered several times with caroling and basket giving at the local nursing homes. Morgan has been a 4-H Ambassador helping with fund raising, local 4-H events, and helping out with activities going on at the fair. Morgan also served as the Secretary and Youth Member of the 4-H board of directors. Morgan also shares that 4-H gave her many opportunities to travel across the United States on different trips. These trips have helped expand her world view as well as aiding her in making many new friends. Morgan’s involvement in 4-H has helped her to grow up to be a more well-rounded person and an active volunteer. Morgan shared that 4-H has made such a great impact on her life and she will cherish the memories that she has made along the way. As she moves on in her studies and life, Morgan says she will always be a Wisconsin 4-Her!
Katherine Reiter—Katherine was a member of the Hi-Lo’s 4-H Club for 9 years. Quilting is a project that she took a lot of the time and she says it definitely paid off in the end, as doing the project taught her the importance of patience and attention. The most important leadership role she held was being President for the Hi-Lo’s 4-H Club. Katie shares that organizing and leading meetings was a great experience for her. Some of Katie’s favorite activities have been the Hi-Lo’s summer brat fry, bake sale, chocolate-covered strawberry sale, Relay for Life, the Knitting Club, Project Discovery Days and of course the County Fair! Katie was in Badger Girls State and was voted City Alderman. Katie said she is most glad that she stayed with 4-H throughout middle and high school. It was very rewarding to see the club grow and evolve over time and she was glad to have been a part of it over the years. She was able to try many different projects and give this knowledge to the next generation of 4-her’s. She is proud of having been president but she is even prouder to have been an active member. Some of the other projects Katie was in, included Clothing, Creative Writing, Drawing and Painting, Foods and Nutrition, Knitting, Self-Determined, Speaking, Videography, Art, Dogs, Electricity, House plants, Pets, Photography, Robotics, Small Engines, and Woodworking.
Joshua Schmidt – Joshua was a member of the Barnes Creek Buccaneers 4-H Club for 15 years. Joshua has been involved in the Beef Project for many years and has learned that it is very important to never give up. He was the President of the Barnes Creek Buccaneers since 2011. Joshua participated in 4-H Bowling and has be a mentor for members of his club for the Communications Contest.
Jared Sparks – Jared was a member of the Hi’Lo’s 4-H Club for 3 years. Projects that Jared was involved in, included Computers, Aerospace, Pistols, and Small Engines. Outside of 4-H, Jared was involved in highway cleanup projects, high school play, he helped prepare and serve meals at his church, he helped to build a smartphone app for an outreach program, he mentored and led future high school students at lock-ins and was an Honor Band Student.
Alexandra Zedler – Alexandra was a member of the Hi-Lo’s 4-H Club for 6 years. Alexandra was the Vice-President of the Hi-Lo’s. She participated in 4-H Camp. While she was there, she became really close with her cabin mates and had a lot of fun playing games with the whole camp. Alexandra held outside leadership roles of Captain of the Cross Country Team, Historian of Student Council and Treasurer of the Science Club. Alexandra said she is glad she participated in many different activities 4-H had to offer. Some of them included 4-H Camp, Project Discovery Days, Music, Lip Sync Festival and the activities the Hi-Lo’s planned. She said she not only enjoyed doing these activities but also learned a lot about being a leader and helping her community. Some of the projects she was involved in, included Cake Decorating, Candy Making, Clothing, Foods and Nutrition and Photography.
2014-15 4-H Ambassador Awards
The 2014-2015 Ambassadors were recognized for the incredible amount of time and energy they contribute to the Lincoln County 4-H program in emceeing, promoting 4-H and planning various activities. A big 4-H thank you goes out to Ambassadors Lily Cordova, Dillon Gnewuch, Bailey Iwen, Jeza Kleinschmidt, Morgan Norton and Jared Sparks.
Outstanding Fair Volunteer awards
In 1990, the Lincoln County Fair Board initiated and the Lincoln County Fair Association, continues to annually recognize Outstanding Fair volunteers. This year the Outstanding Fair Volunteer Award was presented to Laurie Heidemann. Laurie was nominated for the many hours she has volunteered for the Lincoln County Fair. For many years, Laurie has helped with the preparations needed for the judging that occurs at the Lincoln County Fair in both Junior and Open Divisions. This has included assisting in assembling of the exhibitor pre-fair informational packets, assembling the department boxes for judging, entering judging results that are submitted to local media and whatever else is needed during fair week.