4-H Vice President

For the past five years, every summer I have been enrolled in 4-H. Last year was my final summer participating, as I will soon graduate.

When you enroll in a 4-H project, you are expected to show up to County Judging to have your work evaluated. While the judging metrics and the ribbon system have changed over the years, County Judging is a good way to get rewarded for your hard work.

Additionally, the best individual out of everyone who took the same project will be awarded a certificate, qualifying them to be judged at the Ohio State Fair. Besides 2020, when COVID cancelled the State Fair, I’ve gone to the State Fair for a project every year I’ve been in 4-H. The judging process there is naturally much more difficult, but I have won an Outstanding Project award there for a cooking project two years ago.

Last year was a relatively normal 4-H experience for me, even though it was my last year. I got the best ribbon at County Judging and went to the State Fair for a project, but there was one part of that year’s experience that differed. During that time, I was able to be elected Vice President of two separate entities.

The first entity was our local club, Baughman Guys and Gals, based in Wayne County, Ohio. It was my first year being a part of that club, but I ran anyway and won the Vice President seat. My duties were small and limited, mostly since most of the club business is handled by the adults. I made sure to do as much as I could, but it seemed that the adults weren’t willing to pass some of their duties to younger people.

My second Vice President position was far more engaging and fulfilling, thankfully. In 4-H, there is an entity called the Food & Fashion Board whose job is to manage early and late County Judging as well as design, set up, and run the County Style Review. The Style Review is the ceremony where all the kids who showed up to Early judging are recognized for their achievements and receive State Fair certificates and other awards.

I’d been on the Board twice before, so I was very used to the system and the duties that were expected of us, which is why I ran for office. I was hoping to get the President position as I believed the other candidate to be a poor choice of character, but as he had been on the Board longer, he received the President’s office and I became Vice President.

My judgment of character was correct, as our President then failed to show up for any meeting after the election and failed to show up or help while we set up and ran the Style Review. This is where I assumed his roles, leading my fellow Board members in the meetings and managing the setup of the Style Review.

Because of the President’s absence, my most important duty was to run the Style Review with a crowd of around 150 individuals. I introduced 4-H County officials to the crowd, presented 4-H members and their achievements, helped fix sudden problems backstage, answered attendee questions, managed general issues, and closed the entire program with a short impromptu address.

I’m proud of how I stepped up on short notice to lead the Style Review and how I handled unexpected issues. I learned a lot from this event and am confident in my skills should I do something similar.