Locals head to 4-H Congress

SANDERS COUNTY – The next generation of leaders had an opportunity to show off their skills as they attended the Montana 4-H Congress in Bozeman.

In all, eight Sanders County teens hit the road for the multi-day event, which has become an important tradition for 4-Hers throughout the state.

The event challenged those who participated, pushing each participant to give it their all. Not only were the kids able to show off the life skills they have gained through 4-H, the congress also gave the kids an opportunity to network with like minded individuals.

The event kicked off on Tuesday evening with a motivational speaker. On Wednesday, the contests began.

Those who competed were already experts in their demonstrations. The students from Sanders County had to go through 4-H demonstrations earlier in the year. The process ranked each individual on their presentation, their props used and the effectiveness of their demonstration. The top three students later went on to 4-H Congress to represent the county.

In a heated competition, the kids represented their county well. In all, 11 individuals took place in the finals competition, three of which were from Sanders County. Mahala Sweet was able to secure fifth place for her demonstration.

Abby Croft and Josh Wulfekuhle also competed in the demonstration competition, although they did not place. Kaitlyn Havens showed off her quilt during 4-H Congress.

With Sanders County representing almost 30 percent of the finalists, MSU Extension Agent Meghan Phillippi said the numbers were reflective of the strong local program.

“It’s really a good representation of the good demonstration program we have here in the county,” Phillippi said. “Most of the counties don’t have such a strong demonstration program anymore.”

Phillippi said the success of the program is for a plethora of reasons: families support it, volunteers donate their time to judge and everything works together well.

“I’m really appreciative of that and it’s evidence when we get to 4-H Congress. Our kids do pretty well,” Phillippi said.

Four other students from Sanders County participated in other aspects of the event.

Austin Newman competed in livestock judging, while Logan Naegeli, Tanna Cole, and Rachel Worrall took part in the Wildlife Habitat Education Program.

In order to participate in the two programs, the kids had practice ahead of time to prepare in advance.

The event wasn’t all work, every night the kids had a dance they could attend – something many of the kids looked forward to. The social activities helped the kids deepen their network within the 4-H community.

Phillippi believes that 4-H has helped the kids with many life skills.

“As people graduate from 4-H and move onto their adult lives, 4-H has helped with a lot of life skills, communication skills being a big one,” Phillippi explained. “(The skills) serve them throughout their lives.”

Phillippi said the transformation is evident when watching junior members put together a presentation and seeing that process become more efficient with the senior members.

The participants were also able to take part in a variety of different workshops on Wednesday afternoon. An equine workshop, and range workshop were included, among others.

“Competing at that level was good, but the most important thing is working with other teams and the connections they make,” Phillippi said. “It’s fun to see kids from other counties get together and build relationships with people who are probably going to be a part of their lives in some way or another for the rest of their lives.”

The work for some of the kids began a few days before 4-H Congress, when pre-congress began. The pre-congress event allows the teens to come together and set up different committees to help organize the opening ceremony, the lighting and the behind the scenes work. The event spanned from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning before 4-H Congress and gave the kids an opportunity to take a hands-on approach in organizing their event.

Croft, Wulfekuhle, Naegeli and Havens participated in the pre-planning of the event.  

Phillippi said all the kids who attended were well behaved and herself and chaperons Karen Dwyer and Sarah Naegeli had nothing to worry about during the outing.

“We take a really nice group of kids go to congress. It’s fun to work with them,” Phillippi said. “We never have any issues with the kids. They’re doing what they are supposed to.”

To reward the teens for their hard work, the entourage stopped at the Ringing Rocks outside of the Pipestone exit on their way back home. The kids were able to experience a little piece of Montana, exploring the musical stones, before heading back home to get back into the swing of their routines.