Area youth focus on building leadership skills
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA["Whoa - That's cool!" "How did you do that?!?" "That was fun - can we do it again?!" Those were just a few of the phrases heard during the 2011 Illinois 4-H Junior Leadership Conference held recently at Lake Williamson Conference Center near Carlinville. Almost 80 Illinois seventh and eighth graders attended this year's event, focusing on the theme EXTRA! EXTRA! Lead All about It!
Delegates from across Illinois focused on learning new skills in the areas of photography, wind power, communications, geo-mapping, local government, and parliamentary procedure. They can now take those skills back to their local 4-H clubs and share with other 4-H members working in those project areas. Youth also participated in an international community service session, focusing on making items for orphanages in the Dominican Republic and learning how they can make a difference no matter how old they are or where they are located in the state. Fun and laughter dominated the evening program as the delegates participated in and learned various leadership and team-building activities they can take back home.
The Jr. Leadership Conference is planned and implemented by the Illinois State 4-H Youth Leadership Team (YLT). "Our older 4-H members and recent alumni who serve on YLT really enjoy working on this conference for the junior high youth," states Debra Stocker, Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development and Advisor to the Youth Leadership Team. "They focus on demonstrating skills the members can learn and do at home, encouraging them to share the information with other 4-H'ers when they go back to their 4-H clubs. We really want to stress that leadership opportunities exist beyond the local club and that junior high youth need to stay involved to be able to take advantage of those opportunities."
Randolph County 4-H members who attended the 2-day conference are pictured above left to right: Country Crusaders 4-H Club member Michaela Stewart from Coulterville, Prairie Schooners 4-H Club member Elizabeth Koester from Red Bud, and Wine Hill Toppers 4-H Club members Hannah Ehlers and Hadley Ehlers from Campbell Hill. Also pictured is Kevin Carey, Chair of the Illinois State 4-H Youth Leadership Team.
The Illinois 4-H Junior Leadership Conference and Illinois State 4-H Youth Leadership Team are supported by the University of Illinois Extension 4-H Youth Development program. To learn more about the 4-H opportunities available in your community, your county, or on the state level, please contact the University of Illinois Extension Office in Randolph County at 443-4364 or check out the Illinois State 4-H website at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state4h/.