By Krista Burkman
Club Reporter
The annual awards night was held on Saturday November 6th at the Luverne Elementary School with “4-H is How We Roll” as the theme for the night. Sunshine Foods donated cheesy chicken for the main course, and each family provided a dessert or side dish.
The event is hosted by the Rock County Ambassadors each year. Krista Burkman is a County Ambassador from the Springdell Club. County Ambassadors apply and interview for the position and are selected by the 4-H County Extension Educator. They are also recognized each year at the awards night for providing youth leadership at the Rock County 4-H programs throughout the year.
After the meal, the evening kicked off with installation of the new Federation Officers, Club Adult Representatives, and Adult Advisors. Adult Advisors are Anna and Mike Uhl. Club Adult Representative for Springdell will be Marisa Maloney who replaced Mike Uhl whose 2 year term was completed. Voted in as Federation President was Krista Burkman.
Next on the agenda was presentation of the Club and Adult Volunteer awards. Clubs are presented awards based on the activities they have done at the club level. This year Springdell won first place for most Active Club. Springdell was presented with a club pizza party sponsored by Pizza Ranch. The Clubs also have the opportunity each year to nominate Adult Volunteers whom went above and beyond in helping the youth of the club. The club nominated Kelsey Buchholz and she won the 4-H Alumni Award. Kelsey is a huge asset to the Springdell Club and always encourages the club members to “be the best they can be.” You can find Kelsey at all club meetings and events helping and assisting in any way needed. Kelsey and Cory Buchholz along with Amie and Ryan Reker were all presented with the Silver Award for 5 years of Adult Volunteering.
Project Achievement and Outstanding Youth Leader awards were also presented. Achievement awards are “once in a lifetime” awards given to members who have done significant work in one project area, been in the project area for 4 years or more, and have shared their knowledge with other 4-Hers. A Clothing & Textile Achievement Award, sponsored by Sewing Basket, was presented to Krista Burkman. A Crafts & Fine Arts Achievement Award, sponsored by Making Memories Last Retreat, was presented to Krista Burkman. A Shop Achievement Award, sponsored by Cleveringa Construction, was presented to Zach Uhl. The Outstanding Youth Leader Award, sponsored by Minnwest Bank, is based on providing leadership to younger members and being a role model. This award was presented to Zach Uhl.
The National Key Award was presented to Krista Burkman. This is the highest award given to a 4-H member. To be considered, members complete an application, must be over 16 years old, have been in 4-H for more than 5 years and been an active youth leader for at least 3 years. Krista was also recognized as being a Minnesota State Ambassador. She is one of 27 4-H members who were selected to serve the State of Minnesota. Selection as a State Ambassador is one of the highest honors that a 4-H member can achieve. State Ambassadors are youth leaders and spokespeople for the statewide organization along with planning and facilitating various activities such as Minnesota State Fair, statewide leadership events such as BLU, YELLO, and TEEL, and sharing their story with the general public.
4-H members also compete in two age groups for the Fantastic 15 and Fab 15 award. The Fantastic 15 award is for youth in grades 3-6. This award was presented to Colton Buchholz, Lillian Maloney, and Norah Maloney. Fab 15 award is for youth in grades 7 and up. This award was presented to Krista Burkman and Zach Uhl. 4-H members also compete for the Cloverpower award. This award is given to youth their first and second year as 4-H members. The Cloverpower award was presented to Colton Buchholz.
The final awards a 4-Her can compete for are project disks. This award is based on project records completed and submitted for judging by members. These records are judged by adult volunteers and older youth leaders. The top record winners were Cloverbuds: Caylix Buchholz, Coyer Buchholz, Hayden Devine, Memphis Haeffner, Connor Snell, and Noelle Snell. Clothing & Textiles: Krista Burkman, Communication Contest: Krista Burkman, Crafts & Fine Arts: Zach Uhl, Fishing Sports: Aaliyah Stensland, Food & Nutrition: Lillian Maloney, Geology: Colton Buchholz, Home Environment: Colton Buchholz, Indoor Gardening: Norah Maloney, Photography: Krista Burkman, Tractor: Zach Uhl, Self-Determined: Zach Uhl, and Shop/Wood Science: Krista Burkman and Zach Uhl.
The evening ended with drawing of doors prizes donated by various businesses.
If anyone is interested in joining the Springdell 4-H Club we meet the second Sunday of each month at the Garretson Legion starting at 6:30 pm. We are always accepting new members. Our next meeting is Sunday November 14th.
