Woodford County 4-Hers achieve! A special congratulations is due to several 4-Hers here in Woodford County 4-H for achieving at a high level amongst their peers throughout the state! The Kentucky 4-H Achievement Program (what was once known as the 4-H Honors Program) strives to recognize 4-Hers for accumulating an extensive 4-H career as they age through the program. Points are awarded for both 4-H and non-4-H activities, as youth keep record of leadership roles, lessons taught and learned, conferences attended, projects completed, volunteer hours earned and so on. Once points are tabulated for that particular year, 4-Hers are eligible to earn either a competitive or non-competitive award, based on how they score. The non-competitive awards, or Clover Levels, earn 4-Hers recognition at either the 4-H Teen Summit or 4-H Teen Conference and can be achieved by simple accruing a set amount of points and being in a certain grade.
Competitive awards, on the other hand, include scoring a certain amount of points and then being selected at both the District and State Level by a scoring committee. These awards include Bronze, Silver, Gold and Emerald level winners, who must also create a presentation and interview to move on.
What’s at stake, you might ask? All award members receive a certificate of recognition regardless of level achieved. Competitive level winners earn scholarships to 4-H Teen Conference and Gold/Emerald winners are eligible for scholarships for national 4-H conferences as well as college scholarships.
Woodford County is proud of the four 4-Hers who applied this year and will subsequently be recognized at the county and state level! Sawyer Gribble and Trevor Varner both earned Clover Level 2, Cole Vanzant earned Clover Level 5, and Elizabeth Vanzant earned a Bronze Award. A special congratulations is due to these four 4-Hers for all of the hard work they have put into not only their 4-H career, but also the application process itself! For more information on the 4-H Achievement program or other opportunities in 4-H, please emailryan.farley@uky.edu.