Press release
Each fall, local Crawford County 4-H youth, ages 12 and up, receive their Older Youth Opportunities Packet and Applications.
Opportunities like Jr. Fair Board, 4-H Camp Counselor, and State and National Award trips are generally what most youth are anxious to sign up for. Although in the past few years, several new and old opportunities are making a comeback to Crawford County, including the Ohio 4-H Achievement Awards.
When starting the State Achievement Award application process this past fall, Levi Hartschuh never really anticipated being selected.
“I am young and thought it would be good practice until I was older,” says Levi.
Little did he know, just a few months later he would receive the good news.
There are 25 different categories that youth from around the state have a chance to apply for including Beef, CARTEENS, Citizenship & Community Service, Clothing & Textiles, Companion Animals, Dairy, Dairy Goat, Meat Goat, Environmental Sciences, Family Life & Child Development, Foods & Nutrition, Gardening & Horticulture, Health & Safety, Horse, Leadership, Mechanical & Engineering Science, Personal Development, Photography, Poultry, Rabbits, Sheep, Shooting Sports, Swine, Woodworking and Veterinary Science. Only one youth from each category is selected as the statewide representative.
“It is an honor to represent Crawford County,” Levi said proudly.
Along with the other 24 award winners, Levi was presented The 2017 Ohio 4-H Beef Achievement Award in early June at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus. The Ohio 4-H Beef Achievement Award was sponsored by Ohio Cattlewomen’s Association and Dona Tullis.
In Levi’s biography for the awards banquet, he credits the award and all he has learned about cattle to hard work on his family’s cattle operation.
“4-H has taught me different life skills through leadership experiences, hard work, and new friendships. I hope to use these skills in my future to eventually achieve the title of state FFA President, the Crawford County Jr. Fair King, and 1st place in senior showmanship so I can compete in our county Showman of Showmen contest,” Levi said.
Aside from the pride, the best part about being a 4-H Achievement Award winner is the opportunity to attend the National 4-H Congress with youth from all over the country in November in Atlanta, Georgia.
When asked what he was most looking forward to on his trip to Atlanta, Levi said, “Definitely meeting 4-H’ers from around the country and networking with important people to help me achieve my future goals.”
The Ohio 4-H Achievement Awards and banquet presentation is hosted the Ohio 4-H Foundation. Ohio 4-H is the youth development program of Ohio State University Extension, with more than 183,000 young Ohioans participating in 4-H clubs, groups and special interest programs. A special thanks to The Ohio State University Extension and The Ohio 4-H Foundation for making these awards and other opportunities available for Ohio youth.
To see photographs of all of the statewide winners, visit: https://osu.box.com/s/32zij63avwmtu0umv6ws9hsaxxfv6vz7.