GREENSBURG – Head, heart, hands and health: Since the start of the 20th century, 4-H has been a cornerstone of youth development.

In Indiana, a fifth “H,” help, is providing local 4-H clubs and county 4-H fairs this summer with opportunity to flourish. Stewart Seeds employees volunteer for everything from club leadership to project judging.

“There is no comparison for me to being involved in 4-H, first as a parent, but also as a Stewart representative,” Chris Linville, Stewart district sales manager from Osgood, explained. “The more people get involved with 4-H, the better it is for the kids and for our local communities. It is an opportunity to come together and make a difference.”

Linville and his wife are co-leaders of the Dreamweavers 4-H Club. Their children are active with hog, meat goat and dairy goat projects, as well as “non-walking” projects like sewing. In addition, Chris helps manage the meat goat barn during the Ripley County 4-H fair, co-promotes the tractor pulls and does crops judging at other county 4-H fairs.

Steve Pitts, district sales manager from Milan, has also been active in the same county. He served on the county 4-H board until recently, and has served as a judge in other counties for field crops, conservation, wildlife and forestry projects. 

“I am considering becoming the adult leader for conservation and wildlife and similar projects because they are worthwhile projects and there is a need for that help,” Pitts said. “I find it is good to give back to the community and to help direct youth as they move toward making decisions toward careers in the life sciences. The future is bright for 4-H in this area. It is great to see so many young people involved.”

Ripley County has placed special emphasis on helping move 4-H forward, as numbers and funding decline in many parts of the country.

“About 15 years ago, our community took a look at where we were at with 4-H and the county fair and made some changes. Today we have a very good fair. Our enrollment numbers are up and we are adding buildings for projects,” Linville said. “And even though my kids are almost done with their 4-H participation, I plan to remain involved at some level in the future.”

Jeff Altman, Stewart Seeds district sales manager from Chalmers, Ind., is similarly active with 4-H. He has two daughters that show pigs, sheep and goats and several other projects, and he is director of the swine barn and field crop projects. Altman is also an executive director for the White County Agriculture Association Fair board.

“I find 4-H is a great way to meet people and give back to local communities. I am Stewart’s face in many communities and I want to do everything possible to be an asset to 4-Hers and to the company,” he said. “We are very blessed to have a large county fair. “We have more than 800 kids, which has been a pretty steady number for us. We do a lot of work with schools to tell students about the benefits of 4-H, and it pays off.”  

Altman says White County shares some of the same ongoing challenges as other counties, namely funding and volunteers, but adds, “We want to maintain a free fair, so we rely on our communities for help. While we could always use more volunteers, the ones we do have are very dedicated. And even though we have some challenges, the future is very bright for 4-H. It provides kids with skills they’ll have their entire lives.”

Roughly 6 million youth nationwide participate in 4-H, which is the only federally authorized – and largest – youth-serving organization. The group serves youth in third to twelfth grades through a variety of programs in both rural and urban settings. Indiana 4-H stresses that programs are hands-on, age-appropriate and university-based. Clubs help youth improve self-confidence, learn subject matter and develop important skills that include leadership, citizenship, communication and decision-making.