4-H: A Passport to Possibility

Mar 14, 2018
2 min read

To date, I have had an extremely exciting week. It began with Ohio 4-H Conference! I served as the chairperson for the 2018 Ohio 4-H Conference Teen Luncheon. There were over 500 youth participants. A huge shoutout to Teen Luncheon Committee Members-- Thank you!

I have since been showing our guest speaker, Mr. Clirim Sheremeti, Founder and CEO of 4-H in Kosovo, around Ohio and assisting in the preparation of meetings. He and I have attended numerous business meetings with 4-H youth and professionals, attended Plowboy Prom (a fundraiser hosted by Collegiate 4-H at The Ohio State University), presented to 4-H Clubs and a school, met with Collegiate 4-H members, and has looked at a Rotary Club in the states.

We have met with Mr. Dustin Homan, program manager- 4-H special projects, to discuss the possibility of 4-H professionals and/or a collegiate member traveling to Kosovo to assist in the development of their program.

We then met with Dr. Tom Archer, state 4-H leader, where he informed Mr. Sheremeti about Ohio 4-H and an exchange of programming ideas occurred.

Next on the agenda was a meeting with Ms. Jane Wright, curriculum manager, where the topics of how to develop “projects” and programs was discussed. Mr. Sheremeti will be starting a dog club upon his arrival home, and Ms. Wright has offered a skillithon kit to them. This will assist in one of the education portions of this project.

A meeting with Dr. Hannah Epley, older youth specialist, and Ms. Kayla Oberstadt, older youth programming and Ohio Military Kids Camp, also took place. This offered a chance to discuss older youth programming and teen leadership opportunities, as well as bring another perspective to the table.

Next, was a meeting with Ms. Mary Lynn Thalheimer, with the Ohio 4-H International Program. There is possibility of a student exchange program being developed between Kosovo and Ohio.

This visit has been extremely productive and I am looking forward to seeing 4-H grow globally.