GREENVILLE — Many were in attendance Sunday afternoon at the Darke County 4-H Recognition and Kick-Off, held at the All Seasons Place.
“4-H Grows Here” was the theme of the program, which featured the presentation of many awards.
Recipients of the 2017 Friends of 4-H award were (individual) Gary Myers and (business) Anderson Marathon Ethanol, while the I Dare You awards went to Nathan Mueller of Ansonia and 2016 Darke County Fair Queen Molly Hunt of Greenville.
Recognized for outstanding officer books were the following:
• Secretary: 4-Paws 4-H Club, Brant Helman; Ansonia 4-H, Olivia Wright; Ansonia Animal, Julie Oswalt; Banner Bound, Skyler Marker; Barnyard Boosters, Caleb Trobridge; Buckeye Buckaroos, Bailey Wilson; Champion Drive, Breanna Lipps; Darke County Beef, Danielle Nerderman; Darke County Holstein, Clair Schmitmeyer; Darke County Rabbit Raisers, Mara Wetzel; Darke County Sheep & Lamb, Rachel Shellhaas; Friendly Farmers, Emily Schmidt; Fun Bunch, Elizabeth Moss; Genesis, Reganna O’Connor; Jackson Friendship, Leah Scholl; Jr. Nifty Neave, Rebecca O’Connor; Kountry Kids, Rorie Stump; Patterson Patchers, Corrie Rosenbeck; Pets-N-Partners, Cheyenne Meyers; Rabbit Habbit, Courtney Bucklew; Silver Hoofs, Jacquie Gibboney; Top Notch, Kara Hollinger; and Versailles Busy Beavers, Anna Brewer.
• Treasurer: 4 Paws, Josiah Westfall; Ansonia 4-H, Katelyn Warner; Ansonia Animal, John Fischer; Banner Bound, Joanie Hall; Blue Angels, Madyson McDaniel; Buckeye Buckaroos, Kelsy Young; Darke County Beef, Kimberly Winner; Darke County Holstein, Zachary Miller; Darke County Rabbit Raisers, Vance Wetzel; Darke County Sheep & Lamb, Brock Shellhaas; Doggone Kids, Jacob Badshaw; Friendly Farmers, Emily Wenning; Fun Bunch, Dylan Holsapple; Genesis, Courtney Bucklew; Grade A Kids, Maggie Weiss; Jolly 4-Hers, Kurt Meiring; Kountry Kids, Laney Fourman; Odds ‘N’ Ends, Logan Richard; Patterson Patchers, Rebekah Ramey; Pets-N-Partners, Mathew Knight; Silver Hoofs, Autumn Elsner; Top Notch, Jacob Osswald; and Versailles Busy Beavers, Alex Brewer.
• Reporter: Ansonia 4-H, Hannah Hartzell; Canine Capers, Priscilla Livingston; Fun Bunch, Mariana Ramos; Grade A Kids, Cassie Parsons; Silver Hoofs, Alivia Lindamood; and Versailles Busy Beavers, McKayla Hess.
• Historian: Ansonia Animal, Brad Slyder; Blue Angels, Raylea Richards; Darke County Holstein, Alexis Barhorst, Mackenzie Bohman, Olivia Bohman, Lydia Heeter, Renea Schmitmeyer and Shelbie Schmitmeyer; Fun Bunch, Rachel Hoying; Genesis Isaac Gulley; Jolly 4-Hers, Lauren Meiring and Jocelyn Tuente; and Silver Hoofs, Tiffany Byers.
The 2016 4-H honor clubs were also recognized. They are clubs who have gone above and beyond regular 4-H club activities each year. Sponsor is the Darke County 4-H Committee. Recognition levels and awards include: Gold (plaque and $25), Silver ($20); and Bronze ($15).
Gold clubs honored were Blue Angels, Darke County Beef, Darke County Holstein, Canine Capers, Friendly Farmers, Jackson Friendship, Patterson Patchers, Paws-A-Tive Attitude, Pets-N-Partners, Silver Hoofs and Versailles Busy Beavers. Silver club honors went to Ansonia 4-H and Bronze to Fun Bunch.
Also recognized for being 2017 state trip winners were Matt Slyder, who is going to Sea Camp, and Molly Hunt, who is going to Citizenship Washington Focus.
Recipients of the year’s leadership award were: 4 Paws, Brant Helman; Ansonia 4-H, Mark Mayo and Olivia Wright; Blue Angels, Charity Barnes and Raylea Richards; Buckeye Buckaroos, Libby Spoltman, Cassity Ditty and Sierra Keller; Canine Capers, Kennedy Hughes; Darke County Beef, Grant Flory; Darke County Holstein, Patrick Schmitmeyer and Webb Kress; Darke County Rabbit Raisers, Samantha Holzapfel; Darke County Sheep & Lamb, Haleigh Powell and Brock Shellhaas; Darke County Swine, Ben Albers and Katelyn McKenna; Doggone Kids, Jacob Bradshaw; Friendly Farmers, Addison Metz; Fun Bunch, Elizabeth Moss; Genesis: Molly Hunt, Hayley Maher and Mitchell Schmitmeyer; Jackson Friendship, Morgan Hissong, Molly Barga and Blake Scholl; Jolly 4-Hers, Janelle Hoelscher; Joyful Jets, Wiley Knepshield and Shelby and Devin Rock; Odds-N-Ends, Craig Shoenleben and Nylani Beireis; Patterson Patchers, Colleen Pohlman and Megan Schulze; Paws-A-Tive Attitude, Erica Gilbert, Landon Black and Breanna Smith; Rabbit Habbit, Courtney and Chris Bucklew; Silver Hoofs, Jacquie and Cassie Gibboney and Jennifer Teegarden; This-N-That, Emily Miller; Top Notch; Jacob Osswald and Wyatt King; and Versailles Busy Beavers, Kasidy Davis, Alex Brewer and Carley Timmerman.
Named 2016 achievement award winners were: 4 Paws, Joslyn Crist; Ansonia 4-H, Grace Dapore; Blue Angels, Karson Beck, Maura Yount and Blake Addis; Buckeye Buckaroos, Tiffany Shiverdecker, Bailey Wilson and Krystin Monroe; Canine Capers, Lauren Heitkamp; Darke County Beef, Isaac Gehret; Darke County Holstein, MacKenzie and Olivia Bohman; Darke County Rabbit Raisers, Jamie Hemmelgarn; Darke County Sheep & Lamb, Collin Peters, Caleb Kaiser and Jacob Prasuhn; Darke County Swine, Levi Livingston, Kaelyn Marker and Tyler Martin; Doggone Kids, Makennah Hutcheson and Jack Reed; Friendly Farmers, Emily Wenning and Mattie Hiestand; Fun Bunch, Koryann Elliott; Genesis, Carmen Badell, Josie Winemiller and Aldon Edger; Jackson Friendship, Jessica Thomas, Kristopher Marshal and Jocelyn Hoggatt; Joyful Jets, Brenna and Devin Rock and Kylee Freeman; Odds-N-Ends, Megan Wood and Logan Richard; Patterson Patchers, Lindsey Westgerdes and Noah Barga; Paws-A-Tive Attitude, Chad Millikin; Pets-N-Partners, Hope Schaaf; Rabbit Habbit, Evan Rammel and Logan Winner; Silver Hoofs, Jerrod Teegarden and Maggie House; This-N-That, Hunter Biddlestone; Top Notch, Blake Brandenburg; and Versailles Busy Beavers, Anna Brewer, Dawson Petitjean-Cress and Madyson Hess.
Recipients of 2016 county medals were: Ian Gehret and Isaac Gehret in beef; Shayla Stephan in child care; Carmen Badell, Charity Barnes and Maura Young in clothing and textiles; Julie Oswalt in community service; Jenna Mangen in consumer and family science; Kurt Meiring in electricity; Blake Addis and Courtney Bucklew in family life; Cason Yount in food and nutrition; Logan Richard in healthy living; Chris Bucklew and Lauren Meiring in hobbies and collectibles; Molly Hunt in photography; Kylee Freeman in poultry; Cameron and Cooper Bucklew and Matt Slyder in rabbits; and Dylan Holsapple and Hayley Maher in wood science.
Also recognized were the 4-H volunteers, and it was noted that Debra Richards has been one for 44 years.
In 2016, there were 1,270 community 4-H club members, 230 adult volunteers, 45 community 4-H clubs and 1,823 4-H school-enrichment students.
