Released: January 30, 2003

Kansas 4-H Youth Plan Programs to Help Kids

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Old advice – If you want to know what someone needs, ask ‘em – is still good advice.

Teenagers can see the needs of young people in a way that others can’t. Asking them to help plan programs that serve them can improve the programs and their effectiveness, said Lindy Lindquist, who has helped introduce a youth council concept that allows Kansas youth to do just that.

Lindquist is an associate K-State Research and Extension 4-H youth development specialist who has nearly 30 years of experience working with Kansas’ youth.

The youth council concept is an idea that Kansas delegates brought back from a national 4-H conference a few years ago, she said.

Jason Stallman, Reno County 4-Her and delegate to that conference, said, "The concept interested Kansas’ delegation because we saw a way in which youth could help shape the programs – and the future of 4-H – to meet needs we saw among our peers."

The council, which now is in its third year, offers an opportunity for 4-H members to share ideas and participate in program planning.

"Council members say they develop a new appreciation for what it takes to plan a successful program," said Beth Hinshaw, 4-H youth development southeast area specialist, who serves as co-adviser to the Youth Council with Lindquist.

"Council members also learn to work together as a team – one of their prime responsibilities is planning a yearly Leadership Forum at Rock Springs 4-H Conference Center. The just-for-kids conference for teens ages 14 to 19 focuses on personal skill development; responsible citizenship; and career concepts," Hinshaw said.

The 2002 conference attracted more than 200 Kansas youth; the 2003 conference is being planned for Nov. 21-23, she said.

Kansas 4-H Youth Council members are elected from 4-H membership during the Leadership Forum each fall; officers are elected during the January meeting of the following year. Members of the 2003 Kansas 4-H Youth Council are:

Northeast: Blake Oetting, Post-Rock District/Mitchell County, and Bernadette Trieb, Riley County;

Southeast: Jessica Coen and Lydia Roberts, who are both from Franklin County;

South central: Lindsay Graber, Reno County, and Jamie Smidt, from Dickinson County, who also has been elected secretary;

Southwest: Amanda Sullivan, Grant County, who has been elected vice president; and Julie Woods, Walnut Creek/Rush County, and

Northwest: Melissa Hillebrand, Norton County, who has been elected president, and Katie Maddy, who also is from Norton County.

National 4-H conference delegates also serve as members of the 4-H Youth Council. Listed alphabetically by county, they are:

Barber County: Walinda Arnett;

Barton County: Julia Stoskopf;

Franklin County: Kristen Kay;

Phillips County: Dale Jessup;

Post Rock District/Mitchell County: Josey Heller, and

Shawnee County: David McCandless.

Jason Stallman, who helped introduce the idea to the state, has since completed his education and accepted an assignment as the agriculture and 4-H agent in Rooks County. He now shares agent-adviser responsibilities for the innovative kids’ council with Barbara Addison, 4-H agent in Finney County. Joseph Thomas, a former 4-H member from Franklin County, serves as a volunteer adviser to the group.

For more information on the Kansas 4-H Youth Council, interested persons may contact their

local K-State Research and Extension office.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Nancy Peterson, Communications Specialist
nancyp@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News