Greene County's finest at the 4-H Fair

By Patti Danner Winners Thursday night at the Greene County 4-H Fair

I spent a good amount of time this week at the Greene County 4-H Fair, mostly taking pictures of various shows, events and random people and animals that caught my eye.

I was lucky enough to be present Wednesday evening, during an impressive but brief thunderstorm. I got some pretty sweet pictures of some pretty nasty clouds, and a few of people running for cover.

What impressed me most about the 4-H Fair was the devotion and dedication of the young people whose hard work was on display.

Whether they had made food, crafts or were demonstrating the animals they raised, the kids invariably gave their projects their all.

From the very small to the almost-adult, every kid I ran into over the course of the 4-H Fair was happy to be there, and proud of themselves.

I was raised in the suburbs, so livestock-raising was not a common experience for most kids in my neighborhood. We did have one neighbor who had a couple of goats, and one who had horses but that was my total experience with animals other than pets of the household variety. I'm sure this is one big reason these kids impress me so much, but there's no denying these 4-H kids are impressive.

In particular, I was taken by the devotion of the Junior Leaders.

They not only succeed in their own projects, they mentor the littler ones, shaping their future successes. I think there is no better way to inspire a kid than by example, and the Junior Leaders provide very good examples to them.

To see the pride on the faces, the smiles of achievement and even the frustration of second place, was heartwarming and inspiring to me.

Another most impressive theme witnessed during the days of the 4-H Fair was the spirit of cooperation among them all.

Although the shows are about placing and winning and being judged, the 4-H youngsters demonstrated, without fail, the ability to set aside geographical differences, school rivalries and matters of social status to work together to achieve success. I think this bodes well for the future.

Whether working as a group on a project, cleaning up after an event, showing a younger member how something is done best, or teaming up to wash a heifer, the 4-H kids of Greene County demonstrate unity, teamwork, responsibility and dedication.

When we see young people working together to achieve goals, to get things done, we are seeing directly into the future of the world, and that future looks mighty bright with kids like these in charge.