County Council Delegate

I thought there might be a few of you who are not familiar with 4H leadership, so I thought I would explain this a little. 

One of the many things I like about 4H is the youth leadership roles.  Yes, there are adults who guide the members but for the most part we like to sit back and let the youth do the work.  There are many levels of leadership in the 4H program.  Most members begin at the local club level.  In are particular county we have several clubs who meet on various nights in various places.  Each of these clubs have business meetings to discuss the events that are coming up and how to work together as a group to provide benefits to the community and beyond.  Here in lies the motto, "To make the best better." 

So our boys (as previously noted in a post) have been elected to their positions for the year.  Henry continues to hold a club position as 3rd Vice President.  He will organize the snacks and game for each of our monthly meetings.  Sean has taken the next step in leadership as the elected delegate for our county council meetings.  This brings us to the next level in leadership.

At the county level, the members are organizing events that affect the entire county.  In our county we have 7 clubs who often work together to provide food and support for community activities.  He also must relay information about 4H contests and the deadlines.  One such event coming up soon is Media Day when we provide snacks for the various news outlets who support us throughout the year (more on that next week).  Another large activity combines our county efforts with a larger State level event called One Day (more on that next month!).

So Sean has the job of going to these meetings and gathering the information for upcoming events.  He then prepares a report to present to our club.  This report is emailed to all of our members before our club meeting.  Then if there are any questions or clarifications, Sean is to discuss this at our club meetings. 

Now, what I have seen is that the earlier a member is elected as the county delegate, the more likely they are to 'advance' in the leadership of 4H.  In subsequent years, a member can be elected in officer positions at the county and state levels.  There are also national positions for the real go-getters! 

All of this to say, if you think your child would like to take on high level leadership in 4H get them in the door early at their club and county level.  I wish I had known this early on, so I wanted to share this with all of you.  Also, what better way 'to make the best better' than being fully involved in the leadership aspect of this awesome youth organization!

Today was Sean's first step in this direction.  I think he enjoyed it and I hope we can continue to give him these opportunities. 

Also, for anyone else out there with 4H leadership experience, I would love to hear your opinion on this topic.  Send in a comment any time!