JUDY VILLARD OVEROCKER, Ph.D.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR and
EXTENSION EDUCATOR, 4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
November 12, 2023
"4-H RECOGNIZES ACHIEVEMENT"
The Richland County 4-H program held its annual 4-H Honor Program on Sunday, November 12, 2023. Recognition was given to 4-H members, adult volunteers and "friends" of the Richland County 4-H program. The top 4-H member honors were given to Member-of-the-Year recipients: Kelsey Snyder, Katie Crider and Sofi Johnson (Shelby) and Hayden Kuhn (Mansfield).
The Outstanding Service to 4-H Awards, given to 4-H advisors on the basis of excellence in 4-H volunteer leadership on the club and/or county level, were presented to: Jacob Hoffman, Lisa Crain and Marcie Leedy.
Meritorious Service to 4-H awards, given to special friends (non-member and non-advisor) of the 4-H program were presented to: Jeremy Wolford (Richland Rural Life Center) and Tribune-Courier (Jenna Wolford), both of Mansfield.
Four teenage leaders were recognized with the Outstanding Junior Leader Award for outstanding leadership and service to the county 4-H program. Honorees included: Carson Abbott, Sarah Smith, Deborah Crouch, and Katie Crider (of Shelby). Two of these teen leaders were recognized with the Junior Leader Merit Award as the top teen leaders in the county for exceptional leadership and service. The honorees were: Carson Abbott and Katie Crider.
The Camp Counselor Recreational Leadership Award is presented to a select group of 4-H camp counselors who have demonstrated outstanding recreational leadership during the county 4-H camping programs. These counselors have motivated campers and gone the extra mile to get campers involved in various forms of recreation and social development. Six honorees were recognized for this achievement in 2023: Liam Kuhn, Abby Snyder, Hayden Kuhn, Kelsey Snyder, Sarah Smith and Jack Stover.
The Character Award was presented to Sean Funk of the Ring Raiders 4-H Club for his passion to help and serve as a role model to others.
4-H members receiving recognition for outstanding officer books/scrapbooks included:
President
GOLD: Carson Abbott, Ring Raiders 4-H
Honorable Mention: Finlay Rowlands, Next Generation 4-H
Vice-President
GOLD: Kaley Bowman, Wild-n-Free 4-H
Honorable Mention: Cailey Fairchild, Bibs & Boots 4-H
Treasurer:
GOLD: Carson Secriskey, Roaming Rovers 4-H
Secretary
GOLD: Abigail Secriskey, Roaming Rovers 4-H
Honorable Mention: Cayden Burns, Ring Raiders 4-H
Health and Safety
GOLD: Westen Rehberg, Roaming Rovers 4-H
Recreation Leader
GOLD: Bryson Bays & Marissa Barciz, Next Generation 4-H
Honorable Mention: Adam Buzard & William Owens, Roaming Rovers 4-H
News Reporter
GOLD: Audrey Wolford, Country Champions 4-H
Historian/News Reporter
GOLD: Selah Ogle, Country Clovers 4-H
Honorable Mention: Anna Blanton, Next Generation 4-H
All 4-H clubs have the opportunity to attain the gold, silver banner or bronze award distinction based on officer reports, project completion, member attendance, public speaking participation, health and community service activities, parent/family involvement, member/advisor training and community awareness/promotion. The Gold Banner Club award was given to the Roaming Rovers (Shelby) 4-H Club. The Silver Banner Club Award was presented to the Ring Raiders (Shelby) 4-H Club. Honorable Mention recognition went to Next Generation (Crestview area), Wild-n-Free (Mansfield), and the Richland Round-Up and Bibs & Boots 4-H Clubs (Shelby).
Forty-seven youth were honored as recipients of the county’s 63 county medal awards. These awards are given for outstanding project and/or activity achievement. The 2023 recipients
and the category(ies) won:
Carson Abbott – Safety & Safety Education
Julia Auck – Personal Development, Family Life
Mariah Barciz – Gardening & Horticulture
Marissa Barciz – Personal Development, Family Life
Bryson Bays - Sheep
Shelby Bays – Goats, Sheep
Tanner Beer - Rabbits
Anna Blanton – Family Life, Rabbits
Leah Blay - Horse
Kaley Bowman – Food & Nutrition
Asher Clark – Alpaca
Lily Clark – Alpaca
Elizabeth Cole – Photography
Carson Cook – Swine
Kash Cooke - Swine
Katie Crider – Leadership
Deborah Crouch – Achievement, Citizenship, Public Speaking
Isaiah Crouch - STEM
Sawyer Eshelman – STEM
Ryder Frech – Beef
Brooklyn Gilger – Food & Nutrition
Jett Hale – Rabbits
Lilly Heydinger – Rabbits
Logan Hoffman – Shooting Sports
Ashley Huber – Horse
Ava Irwin - Photography
Sofi Johnson – Leadership, Public Speaking, Safety & Safety Education
Hayden Kuhn – Citizenship
Makenzie Mills – Dog Care & Training
Selah Ogle – Food & Nutrition
Lexy Pace - Safety & Safety Education
Westen Rehberg - Poultry
Gracie Rodman – Veterinary Science
Finlay Rowlands – Natural Resources, Poultry
Lane Schuster - Swine
Abigail Secriskey – Achievement, Leadership, Public Speaking
Carson Secriskey – Achievement, Leadership, Wood Science
Evan Smith - Goats
Sarah Smith – Achievement, Public Speaking, Safety & Safety Education
Makayla Spoerr - Poultry
Chloe Stigall – Clothing & Textiles
Jeff Stigall – Agriculture
Evan Stuart – Public Speaking, Safety & Safety Education
Mary Thompson – Pet Care/Small Animals
Caroline Tilton – Beef
Emma Tingley - Horse
Lysander von Ehrenkrook – Natural Resources
4-H members in attendance were given recognition for completion of their 4-H project year. The Richland County 4-H Committee presented membership pins to youth with ten or more years of membership:
10 year 4-H members: Allyson Arnold, Wade Bolin, Braden Boyer, Madison Boyer, Marissa Circosta, Caleigh Cook, Morgan Cook, Dakota Craner, Isaiah Crouch, Cailey Fairchild,Boden Gallaway, Trenton Gallaway, Rylee Gowitzka, Sarah Hoak, Kassie Kleman, Hayden Kuhn, Maggie Lantz, Mandee Lantz, Michaela Lantz, Monae Leedy, Alexis McClain, Katelyn Messmore, Adalie Miller, Audra Music, Molly Parks, Gracie Rodman, Brevyn Shaffer, Abigail Smith, Abigail Snyder, Makayla Spoerr, Makenzie Spoerr, Brooklyn Weinandy, Linzy Weyhmeller
11 year 4-H members: Mariah Cook, Bergan Leonhardt, Macey Parks, Jack Stover
12 year 4-H members: Leah Blay, Karsyn Blust, Cadence Fairchild, Sofia Johnson, Kathryn Lindenberger, Ashley Markley, Kelsey Snyder, Arica Uplinger
13 year 4-H members: Allyson Cook, Deborah Crouch, Aubrey Hoffman, Caroline Tilton
14 year 4-H members: Carson Abbott, Ryan Culler
Adult volunteers were recognized for their years of service to the 4-H program. Special awards were given to advisors with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 or more years of service:
Five years of volunteer service: Katy Buzard, Nikki Carpenter, Christy Keith, Heidi Kleman, Jake Kleman, Joni Parks, Laura Stine
Ten years of volunteer service: Joe Arnold, Justin Bays, Heather Fairchild, Marcie Leedy, Laura Messmore, Ben Newmeyer, Krista Dull, Kim Stover, Kristen Wasilewski
Fifteen years of volunteer service: Ben Crouch, Amanda Lantz, Marie McKenna, Jim Overocker
More than thirty years of service: Cathy Gardner (39 years), Diana Kelley (40 years)
Carson Abbott, retiring 4-H member, served as Master of Ceremonies.Sponsors for the 2023 Honor Program included: BlueScope, OSU Extension - Richland County, Mansfield Noon Optimist Club, Villard Educational Grant Fund and the Richland County 4-H Committee.
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