Volume 17, Number 1, Fall 2006

National Conference Connects 4-H Youth from Across the Country

Cyndi Mark

More than 300 youth and adult delegates gathered in Washington, D.C., March 25-30 for the National 4-H Conference. Delegates share ideas and form recommendations to guide future national 4-H youth development programs. Michigan’s youth delegation included five teens: Caitlin Gilmore, Isabella County; Alexandria Haynes, Oakland County; Gabe Holdwick, Huron County; Alana Moody, Emmet County; and Pamela Nichol, Sanilac County.

Conference activities centered on the theme of “Connect 4-H – Let’s Get Together,” and included workshops and other events that emphasized civic engagement, youth-adult partnerships and professional development. Recommendations formed during the conference reflected the overall “connection” theme. Delegates most strongly voiced a desire to increase and formalize the opportunities for state exchanges, allowing them to experience the lives of 4-H youth all across the country. Youth also encouraged the idea of connecting with each other through a national 4-H camp and through more national 4-H communication vehicles. They want to stay connected to 4-H during college and recommended the formation of a national 4-H college scholarship program to encourage access to educational opportunity. Delegates also recommended they use the communication skills they’ve gained in 4-H in a national 4-H public speaking contest.

Delegates met with their congressional representatives and staffs to discuss 4-H programs in their states and how they have personally been affected by their involvement in 4-H. Capitol Hill Day kicked off with the USDA Assembly, where delegates were welcomed to Washington, D.C., by USDA officials. Cathann Kress, CSREES director of National 4-H Headquarters, shared the delegates’ top recommendations about the future of 4-H youth development programming.

Next year’s conference will be March 24-29, and applications will be available on the Michigan 4-H Web site starting in mid-November. Youth delegates must be 15 years old by January 1, 2007. In addition, Michigan delegation members are expected to participate in statewide activities when they return home.