Nobles County 4-H recognizes achievements during annual banquet
Nov. 14—BREWSTER — Nobles County 4-H families came together Sunday evening to celebrate a year of achievements with their annual banquet, hosted by the Clovers 4-H Club at the Brewster American Legion. The evening also provided a time of remembrance for 4-H'er Molly Clarke, who was killed in a late September UTV crash. 4-H families provided photos and video clips of remembrance in a Powerpoint program following the awards ceremony. Molly was a member of the Graham Lake Braves 4-H club.
The evening's program began with the presentation of the Business Friend of 4-H, awarded to Paul McCarvel, owner of PM Music, who ensures the sound system is working in Olson Arena during the Nobles County Fair. The Friends of 4-H, recognized for their many hours of volunteer work with the program, were Tim and Stacy Bickett.
Top 4-H honors of the evening went to Jocelyn and Joshua Horn of the Grand Prairie Rockets, who were recipients of the Nobles County 4-H Key award. The William H. Danforth "I Dare You" Award, given to those who have excelled in leadership during their 4-H career, was presented to Karissa Bickett and Logan Barber of the Elk Tip Toppers; Brynn Bullerman and Josh Horn of the Grand Prairie Rockets; and Jasmine Noerenberg of the Clovers.
Recipients of a $250 Nobles County 4-H scholarship were Karissa Bickett and Logan Barber, of the Elk Tip Toppers.
Outstanding Youth Leader awards were presented to Grace Barber and Karissa Bickett, of the Elk Tip Toppers; and Jocelyn Horn and Joshua Horn, of the Grand Prairie Rockets.
Outstanding Youth Leaders in their local club were: Karissa Bickett and Grace Barber of the Elk Tip Toppers; Jasmine Noerenberg, Ally Kilker and Macy Vanderlinden of the Clovers; and Joshua Horn, Jocelyn Horn, Jacob Henning, Quinn Steve and Whitney Henning of the Grand Prairie Rockets.
Recognition of outgoing and incoming 4-H Federation officers was conducted. 2021-22 officers included President Luke Gordon, Vice-President Joshua Horn, Treasurer Karissa Bickett, Secretary Jocelyn Horn and Leader-at-Large Quinn Steve. The 2022-23 officer team includes President Karissa Bickett, Vice-President Jocelyn Horn, Treasurer Grace Barber, Secretary Quinn Steve and Leader-at-Large Emma Hietbrink.
Pearl Clover (15 years of adult leadership): Kim Lambert and Melanie Wagner
Gold Clover (10 years of adult leadership): Sara Barber and Monica Horn
Silver Clover (five years of adult leadership): Brad Baumgartner, Judy Christians, Darren Ponto, Baylee Ross, Dale Ross, Vicky Ross, Lorie White, Matt Widboom, Teresa Widboom and Teresa Wieneke
The following youths were recognized as Cloverbud graduates, as they are now 8 years old and may join a traditional 4-H club: Rylan Bents, Holden Clarke, Gregory Gainey, Lincoln Graber, SouKyra Groenwold, Miles Hein, Clara Heitbrink, Collin Stude, Annabelle Altman, Katherine Flynn, Jarett Dailey, Lily McGraw, Rhett Nordby, Cortland Nystrom and Paisley Correll.
Young Achievers were nominated by their 4-H Club for their participation in 4-H activities and early leadership skills. Recipients were Brylin Boltjes, Makenna Boltjes and Kelsey Taylor of the Rushmore Central Hustlers; and Bristol VandeKamp of the Indian Lake Progressives.
Members achieving 10 completed years of 4-H work include Grace Barber, Spenser Nickel and Regan Schaefer of the Elk Tip Toppers; Torrin Clarke of the Graham Lake Braves; Mackenzie DeGroot of the Clovers; Skylar Fisher and Kaiden Haberman of the Indian Lake Progressives; Katelyn Frodermann of the Grand Prairie Rockets and Bailey Ponto of the Okabena Bees.
4-H graduates include Brynn Bullerman, Austin Henning, Cheyenna John, Marshall Wagner and Alysha Weineke of the Grand Prairie Rockets; Karen Dykstra and Madison Schaefer of the Elk Tip Toppers; Daryan Ossefoort of the Graham Lake Braves; and Taylor Ponto of the Okabena Bees.
Nobles County 4-H'ers have the option to complete records on the project areas they are enrolled in. The following members were recognized for excellence in records completion:
Violet VanderKooi, Cloverbuds: Cloverbud records
Brooke Erwin, Clovers: pets, participation records
Ally Kilker, Clovers: beef records
Jasmine Noerenberg, Clovers: participation records
Grace Barber, Elk Tip Toppers: citizenship, sheep, youth leadership and goat records
Karissa Bickett, Elk Tip Toppers: participation, citizenship, food & nutrition, fashion review, youth leadership and sheep records
Emma Hietbrink, Elk Tip Toppers: beef, corn, dog, food records, sheep, soybean, swine, veterinary science and woodworking records
Austin Henning, Grand Prairie Rockets: dairy records
Jacob Henning, Grand Prairie Rockets: dairy records
Whitney Henning, Grand Prairie Rockets: performing arts, food, creative and fine arts, home environment, clothes you buy/fashion revue, rabbit, dairy, goat and cat records
Jocelyn Horn, Grand Prairie Rockets: participation, citizenship, purchased clothing, constructed clothing, consumer education, crafts and fine arts, creative writing, exploring animals, foods and nutrition, food revue, needle arts, performing arts, photography, robotics and upcycled clothing records
Joshua Horn, Grand Prairie Rockets: participation, computer records, illustrated presentation, safety and photography records
Alana Steve, Grand Prairie Rockets: participation records
Quinn Steve, Grand Prairie Rockets: participation records
Drew Wempen, Grand Prairie Rockets: photography and shop records
Ella Wempen, Grand Prairie Rockets: child and family development and photography records
Dylan Schuett, Indian Lake Progressives: beef, sheep and photography records
Leah Schuett, Indian Lake Progressives: beef, foods and sheep records.
Bristol VandeKamp, Indian Lake Progressives: participation, non-garment and sheep records
Alex Hoffman, Okabena Bees: dairy goat, meat goat, sheep and participation records
Ava Vander Kooi, Okabena Bees: vegetable gardening, poultry poster, global connections, dairy and crafts records
Liv Vander Kooi, Okabena Bees: non-garment, indoor gardening, food revue, food preservation, food and nutrition, flower gardening, fashion revue, demonstration, dairy, crafts, clothes you buy and child and family development records.
Brylinn Boltjes, Rushmore Central Hustlers: participation and science inquiry records
Makenna Boltjes, Rushmore Central Hustlers: participation and foods records
Izaiah Groenewold, Rushmore Central Hustlers: beef and participation records
Ryan Groenewold, Rushmore Central Hustlers: beef and participation records
Kaitlyn Taylor, Rushmore Central Hustlers: food and nutrition, crafts and fine arts and participation records
Kaylee Taylor, Rushmore Central Hustlers: participation, needle arts and crafts and fine arts records
Kelsey Taylor, Rushmore Central Hustlers: participation records
