Supervisors Gets Report From 4-H Participants

Two local students who participate in 4-H, Karlie Nielsen and Jozef Kuehn, gave presentations to the board at their meeting on Tuesday, February 21.
Nielsen recently returned from the Citizen Washington Focus trip and told the board about her journey east.
The 4-H Extension office organizes trips every two years for students who want to participate, and the fund raising begins shortly after sign-up. This year, the trip cost $2,300 per student.
Nielsen described the trip which passed through Chicago, including time at the Sears Tower and the Navy Pier. From Chicago, the group headed for New York City, where they visited the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, and saw The Lion King on Broadway.
They traveled to Ellis Island, saw the Statue of Liberty and the Gettysburg museum as well.
After leaving New York, the group settled into the National 4-H Center in Washington D.C., where they attended workshops, learned the process of writing and passing bills, and organized their own committees.
While in Washington, the group of 65 kids from six counties around Kearney County had tours of Arlington National Cemetery, Union Station, and the White House. Nielsen added that while there, they saw Sarah Palin and met Ben Nelson.
On the way back to Nebraska, the bus stopped for a tour of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Museum.
Prior to each visit, the kids were assigned a specific location they had to research and give a short presentation on prior to the group’s visit. Nielsen was assigned Liberty Hall.
According to Rhonda Herrick, an extension educator, the trip included close to six days on board the bus between locales.
After Nielsen, Jozef Kuehn talked about his involvement in 4-H. Kuehn said he learns something new every year, and has shown steer since fourth grade.
He highlighted the Family Fun Night, where 4-Hers and their families get together for a night to relax and talk. He also enjoyed attending the Discovery Night, where several career paths are presented, included veterinary science.
“There’s always a lot to learn.” Kuehn said, “Like how to treat your animal… the steer likes to step on my feet.”
The kids learn how to feed and medicate their animals as necessary and how to handle them at a show.
Kuehn said he had convinced two more people to show steer and is considering showing a cake this year. He pointed to lessons in responsibility and herdsmanship learned from involvement in 4-H.
He said, during the fair, points are given for clean stations and he said a clean area will garner more notice from people, as well as earning points on a chart hung during the fair.

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