Holmes 4-H youth earn the spotlight at annual banquet

While the Holmes County Senior Fair Board was busy handing out its honors and awards at the annual Holmes County 4-H Volunteer Recognition Banquet on Thursday, Oct. 28 at Harvest Ridge Fairgrounds, the junior fair board also was presenting its annual honors, giving credit to the young people who continue to make the 4-H program a success while honoring the many achievements of the county’s 4-H clubs.

The board doled out its annual awards for Head, Heart, Hands, Health and the Clover Award, as well as honoring the Secretary Award and Treasurer Award recipients.

Presenter Brianna Vansickle defined how the award process is conducted, noting each club must submit a form describing their various activities and accomplishments throughout the year.

Clubs are awarded point amounts for different accomplishments, and those that receive at least 75 points in the year are named 4-H Honor Clubs. That list included 4-H clubs from Buckeye, Doughty Valley, Green Acres, Holmes County 4-H Shooting Sports and Nashville Jolly Farmers.

For the major awards, a committee selects each recipient based on their accomplishments throughout the year.

“The clubs that participate always have great ideas and activities,” Vansickle said.

The Head Award went to Buckeye 4-H Club, whose members showed great participation across the board and created Bunny Day Camp, something presenter Olivia Gerber said was crucial because so many 4-Hers are involved with rabbits.

“As a result we have an amazing rabbit program in our county, and the youth really enjoy it,” Gerber said.

The Heart Award was presented to the Nashville Jolly Farmers 4-H Club, which built a float and participated in this year’s Memorial Day Parade. The group also implemented a flower sale as its new fundraiser and planted flowers at the church where it holds meetings.

The Hands Award, which honors community service and hands-on learning, was presented to Doughty Valley 4-H. The club has been heavily involved in community service for years and created a luncheon to give back to its supporters. They planted flowers at the Clark Cemetery, Clark Community Center and the entrance to Lake Buckhorn and gave back to the community center by hosting a ring toss game at the CCC annual auction, giving the proceeds back to the center.

The Health Award, which focuses on safety, was given to Green Acres 4-H Club, which designed nutritional meals that would be healthy for people.

The Clover Award, which represents the positive ways a club promotes Holmes County 4-H, went to Holmes County 4-H Shooting Sports. Club members and their families provided snacks, hot dogs and drinks to customers at Tractor Supply Company in Millersburg on Aug. 7, where club members set up tables at the entrance to promote 4-H.

The Secretary Award was presented to Keira Howard of Buckeye 4-H Club, an 11-year 4-H member who has shown market goats, breeding rabbits, market rabbits, pet rabbits and art projects.

According to presenter Ashley Tate, “Keira did an excellent job of taking notes and participating in club meetings, activities and community service events, and her club advisor mentioned how exciting it was to see her personal growth.”

The Treasurer Award went to Alexis Stump of Buckeye 4-H, where she has served nine years.

“Alexis’ treasury records were remarkably organized, detailed and thorough,” Tate said. “She not only does an exceptional job as our club treasurer, she did an outstanding job with her livestock projects.”

Holmes County Extension educator Janessa Hill presented the 4-H camp awards, noting this was a special group of young people who helped make camp a success.

“What an amazing group of camp counselors I get to work with,” Hill said, noting countless hours of preparation are put in by the group to prepare for 4-H Camp.

Members honored were Jenna Sheldon, Jude Cerniglia, Noah Cerniglia, Ally Ogi, Alex Pringle, Alysa Pringle, Genna Miller, Megan Jones, Lauren Jones, AJ Jones, Brianna Vansickle, Zaylie Vansickle, Logan Vansickle, Emma Stitzlein and Carolyn Rohr.

She also presented the Outstanding Counselor Awards, which are voted on by the campers. Those honors were presented to Jenna Sheldon, Ally Ogi, Alex Pringle, Genna Miller, Lauren Jones, AJ Jones and Brianna Vansickle.

“These counselors have gone above and beyond and were ready for anything and everything that was thrown at us at this year’s camp,” Hill said.

Hill and junior fair board advisor Ella Waltman also spoke glowingly about the Holmes County Junior Fair Board members, with AJ Jones, board president, giving a review of the year. He said developing new fair events like Showman of Celebrities and the cornhole tournament were huge successes and will hopefully be a part of the fair moving forward.

“It was a fun, busy year to remember, and I hope next year is even better,” Jones said. “It’s been a wonderful ride with memories that will last forever.”

Waltman then presented awards to a veteran and rookie board member who were voted on by their peers on the last day of the fair.

The Outstanding Veteran Member honor went to Brianna Vansickle, of whom Waltman said, “She is kind and willing to go out of her way to help all members throughout the year. She is definitely one of those people who is recognized by her peers.”

Outstanding Rookie Member of the Year was presented to Garrett Fowler, who Waltman said stepped up in so many ways that most people wouldn’t even realize he was a new member. “He provided a positive experience to the whole group.”

Finally, Waltman honored President AJ Jones, Vice President Rebecca Schuch and secretary-treasurer Ashley Tate for their hard work.

“Janessa and I try to stay as hands-off as possible,” Waltman said. “We let the youth decide what they want to do at the fair, and this officer team stepped up and ran with the challenges. They did so many different things. AJ really brought the board together in unity. Becca decided that we needed to revamp Saturday and did so much behind the scenes including the Celebrity Showman event. Ashley keeps me organized, and she helps run our social media. These three carried our board this year more than anyone will ever know.”