4-H offers something for everyone

Give Jaci Tweeten a soapbox for just a few minutes, and she can tell you — eloquently yet simply — why 4-H matters.“You know, when people ask me that,” the Chickasaw County ISU Extension youth coordinator said, “I guess my best answer is this: The things you do in 4-H will benefit you forever.”The more detailed answer is that the communication skills, the leadership opportunities and the creativity that all 4-H members and leaders build on are all critical components in the real world.So during National 4-H Week, which kicked off on Sunday, Tweeten will sound like a college sports coach at times because she’s, in a sense, recruiting.“We’re using the week as a way to sell the benefits of 4-H to kids and their families,” she said. “I want to grow our program in this county. Trust me, what you do in 4-H is really building for your future.”Not that the 4-H program in Chickasaw County is lagging; instead, it has more than 160 members who belong to 10 4-H clubs.From the Jolly Blue Bells to the Devon Dreamers to the Bradford Eager Beavers, just to name a few, 4-H has a strong tradition in Chickasaw County.
 
For more of this article, see Tuesday's New Hampton Tribune or Thursday's Nashua Reporter.