The San Benito County 4-H program has been known for many of the opportunities it provides for today’s youth. These include showing animals at the fair, participating in different projects and especially helping youth develop their leadership skills. 4-H has been helping to create the leaders of tomorrow for generations and continues to do so today by sending “4-Hers” to leadership conferences.
On July 25, 20 local teenage 4-H members went to the annual California 4-H State Leadership Conference at UC Davis. I was one of the very fortunate members who had the opportunity to attend this conference for the third time. In order to attend the conference, a 4-H youth must be members in good standing to represent their club; they must be a high school student; and have been in 4-H for at least two years. This year’s conference was themed “There is no place like 4-H,” because it was the Centennial Celebration for the 4-H program. The anniversary celebration gathered more than 500 youth leaders from around the state.
The four-day conference allowed high school youth to build their leadership skills and qualities through guest speakers and educational sessions taught by members of the UC staff, 4-H adult and teen leaders. Some of the sessions included team-building activities, healthy living tips, career opportunities and technology. We also participated in service learning projects such as building owl houses for a wildlife preservation program and mulching trees in public parks around Davis.
“I attended SLC because I really wanted to build on the leadership skills that I learned from LCORT (Leadership Conference of Regional Teens),” said Emily Brewen, of San Benito County, a first-time participant in the state conference.
Brewen, who is a member of the Bitterwater 4-H Club, said she believes by attending SLC California’s youth can develop new ways to lead and manage situations that they will have to face later in life.
An excellent group of 4-H young adults known as the California 4-H state ambassadors were in charge of planning this most anticipated event of the 4-H year. SBHS Class of 2013 graduate Annie Tobias was one of these phenomenal leaders.
“This past year has been a great experience for me,” Tobias said. “I wanted to become a state ambassador because 4-H has always been a huge part of my life. I learned a lot about planning large events and about working as a team.”
Besides all the educational aspects of the conference, the state ambassador team was in charge of making the conference fun with recreational activities such as a Centennial Celebration night, a pool party and dance themed “A Horse of a Different Color.”
“To me the true learning is when the delegates get to interact with people from different areas and see how things are done in other places so they can bring new ideas back to their own county,” said Tobias.
The conference wrapped up with a touching slideshow of the past 100 years of 4-H and a warm farewell from the state ambassadors to all of the counties that sent delegates.
“Being a part of this team was unlike anything else I’ve worked on; we really became like a family,” Tobias said. “I would absolutely recommend SLC to any 4-Her eligible. There really is nothing else like it in the program or in any other youth programs. Even if leadership isn’t really a main priority for a youth, there is so much going on at conference that anyone would have a great time.”
