4H

Mary Ann

Throughout your life, you become members of different organizations and clubs.  It may be Girl or Boy Scouts, fraternities or sororities, church groups, Kiwanis, Rotary, VFW, book clubs, sport teams, and on and on.  All of them have influenced you in some way adding to the fabric of your life. It is our tribe or community.  It is a place where we belong. 

As I look back on my life, I belonged to many clubs, but the one organization that really influenced my life and helped me become who I am was the 4H.  I think most people think of 4H as a farmer’s club, and it does have famers.  However, it is far more than that. 

I was in 6^th grade and joined the Dog Husbandry Club that was sponsored by the Purina Company and run by our local commissioner who had a rescue center for unwanted animals.  We were lucky to have such a caring man lead us.

 My brother, Timmy, and I loved our English and Irish Setters, so this club was made for us.  We learned about grooming, feeding, training, and showing our dogs.  We learned about responsibility with charts that depicted our hours devoted to training and grooming, and we would post the amount of feed we used to care for our dogs.  We would have a local dog show in the spring and a County 4H fair dog show later in the summer.  We demonstrated our mastery of skills at those shows.

As I grew older, I would do demonstrations about canine care – Primp Up Pooch or First-Aid for Pooch.  It gave me experience in public speaking, a skill I have used my whole life.  I would later become the club’s president, so I was learning leadership skills in that role.  My role expanded with the following years.  In my senior year of high school, I became a Keystone Winner representing the state of Pennsylvania at the National 4H Conference in Chicago, IL, 

We stayed at the Conrad Hilton – a big change for a small-town girl!   What an experience to be with hundreds of 4Hers representing their states.  Big cooperations like Ford or General Motors sponsored banquets for us, Miss America spoke, and we were guests of the city at their various attractions such as the Field Museum and a night club called The Cheetah.  It was truly a life-changing experience for me – there was a big world out there that I wanted to see. 

 4H gave me opportunities and experiences that have lasted a lifetime and shaped the person I have become.  I always loved the 4H Pledge. It is a meaningful way to live one’s life, and each leave of the clover represents a different H – head, heart, hands, and health.  It has always stayed with me, and I can readily recite it.   Let me share it with you.

4H Pledge

I pledge my head to clearer thinking,

My heart to greater loyalty,

My hands to larger service, 

And my health to better living, 

For my club, my community, my country, and my world.

What a positive way to live life!  However, the 4H Motto is what has been a true North Star in my life.  It is To Make the Best Better.  Whatever I have undertaken, I have tried to make it even better. The 4H gifted a pledge and a motto that has shaped my life, and I am so thankful for those words.