Brorson Farmhands Named the Club of the Year

The Brorson Farmhands 4-H club was named club of the year at the Richland County 4-H Achievement Day. The annual event was held on Sunday, October 14, 2012 at the Richland County Event Center and was hosted by the Brorson Farmhands 4-H Club. This event is a time for 4-H members, leaders and parents to celebrate all the accomplishments throughout the past 4-H year.

Long time 4-H supporter Doug Hall received the Friend of 4-H award. This annual award is presented to an individual or business in recognition of their amazing support and dedication to the local 4-H program. Doug Hall in the past has served as a volunteer leader, the livestock committee chairman, and continues to aid in the processing and packing of the market livestock animals each year after fair. Without the support of businesses and individuals like Doug, the 4-H program would not be as strong as it is today.

This year’s Helping Hand Award was awarded to Alexis Dynneson. This award is sponsored by Mitchell’s Oil Field Service. The Helping Hands Award is presented each year to a member that shows not only great leadership, but also a willingness to go out of their way help others in the 4-H program. Congratulations to Alexis and a big thank you to Mitchell’s Oil Field Service for their continued support of Richland County 4-H.

Members receiving a plaque recognizing 10 years of membership were: Sam Casterline, Alexis Dynneson, Jalyssa Gorder, Ty Handy, William Hier, Hanna Jepsen, Bridger Rice, Jared Rosaaen, Jaycee Searer, and Katie Staffanson. Members receiving an engraved pen for their 4-H involvement for 7 years were: Emily Carda, Hazen Fink, Brady Gorder, Ashton Handy, John Helmuth, Kelby Indergard, Seth Indergard, Ryan Lander, Dillon Lunderby, Kolton Nevins, Rachel Prevost, Somer Reidle, Taylor Searer, and Tom Voll.

The Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, is another great supporter of Richland County 4-H. The chamber sponsored awards for the junior members. This year the awards went to: Jenna Baxter – Top Jr. Beef Judge

Jordan Baxter- Top Jr. Swine and Sheep Judge, as well as the Top Jr. Overall Judge

Katrian Hill- Top Jr. Girl Demonstrator

Sean Earle- Top Jr. Boy Demonstrator

Seth Prevost- Top Jr. Public Speaker

Kyle Topp- Top Crown Demonstrator

Rachel Prevost- Jr. Fashion Revue Winner

Kallie Candee- Jr. Quilt Contest Winner

Thank you to the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture for the support of the 4-H Program.

Shooting sports is by far the most attended activity in 4-H throughout the nation. The past year consisted of 6 shoots in the disciplines of Air Rifle and Archery. Winners of each category are as follows:

Abbey Reis- Top Sr. Air Rifle

Kelvin Hill- Top Intermediate Air Rifle

Olivia Kober- Top Jr. Air Rifle

George Carpenter- Most Improved Air Rifle

Abbey Ries- Top Sr. Archery

Kelvin Hill- Top Intermediate Archery

Olivia Kober- Top Jr. Archery

Zach Sommerfeld- Most Improved Archery

The Horse project is a very popular one for many 4-H youth. The horse awards given this year were:

Will Steinbeisser- Rookie of the Year

Becca Demming- Rookie of the Year Runner Up

Randy Lander- Marla Zing Award

Kyle Topp- Marla Zing Award Runner Up

Autumn Rehbein and Somer Reidle- Barbie Kittleson Award

Poultry is also a popular project for many 4-H youth across the nation. This year Ryder Rasmussen received the poultry award.

Market Livestock projects are a favorite to many 4-H youth. Market Livestock projects teach youth many lifelong skills and prove to be successful projects for all youth. The carcass competition is the final step of the livestock projects. This year’s winners are:

Riley Kostelecky- Top Beef Carcass

Megan Demming- Top Hog Carcass

Every year 4-H clubs have window displays in our community and the surrounding communities to celebrate National 4-H Week. The Award for Best Window Display went to the Missouri River Ranchers.

4-H is geared towards teaching youth lifelong skills that will aid them throughout their life. One skill that 4-H members learn is how to keep accurate and detailed records. Many members received recognition for their outstanding record books. The Sr. winners were:

Jesse Staffanson- 1st place Sr. Record Book

Hanna Jepsen- 2nd place Sr. Record Book

Brady Gorder, Jalyssa Gorder, and Rita Wick- Honorable Mention

The Jr. winners were:

Sierra Osborne- 1st place Jr. Record Book

Rachel Prevost- 2nd place Jr. Record Book

Holly Bouchard, Katrina Meldahl, and Tess Ler- Honorable Mention

This year Randy Searer received special recognition as a long time supporter and volunteer of the 4-H program. Randy donates his time to the 4-H program as the market livestock sale auctioneer and fair ring announcer, as well as serving many years on the Market Livestock Committee.

The 4-H program would not survive without the dedication and hard work of the volunteer leaders who give selflessly of their time to “Make the Best, Better.” Receiving the award for 5 years of service were: Jerry Baxter, Jolene Baxter, Amber Candee, Cherry Colgan, Kelly Fink, Michaela Hier, Tammy Kunda, Kimberly Lange, Lacey Nevins, Karen Pease, and Ruth Walla. Recogitnion of 10 years of service went to Lisa Gorder, and for 15 years went to Charlene Netzer, Patti Searer and Randy Searer.

In the past Richland County 4-H has had amazing leaders whose legacy lives on through scholarships awarded to 4-H members. This year’s scholarship recipients are as follows:

Jaycee Searer- Margaret Swigart Scholarship

Katie Staffason- Pat Whiteman Scholarship

Hanna Jepsen- Ann Baumann Scholaship

Alexis Dynneson and Wade McMillen- Market Livestock Scholarship

Achievement Day was a big success in celebrating all the accomplishments and hard work of 4-H youth, parents and volunteers over the past year. Congratulations go out to all involved in the 4-H program.