4-H honors tenure members with awards, scholarships

The Cass County 4-H Fair recognized those in the 4-H community who had completed 10 years of membership Saturday night.

Tenure members are those who stayed in 4-H for 10 years and will be competing in their last 4-H fair.

Several scholarships and awards were presented during the ceremony. Elizabeth Rance was recognized by the Cass County 4-H Dog Club. Kathryn Rodkey and Kendric Personett were given The Indiana Farm Bureau Award. Kaylyn Zeigler won the Indiana 4-H Association scholarship, the Helms Family Scholarship and the Ted Blank Scholarship.

Zeigler, a recent graduate of Pioneer Junior/ Senior High School, called her decade in 4-H an amazing experience. The awards were a culmination of a lot of work, she said.

“It’s been a thing in my family,” she said. “My older brother was in it and I was helping him when he was in (Mini 4-H). It’s just insane that it is over already.”

She said one of the most important things she learned during her time in 4-H was not to be afraid to try something new.

“There are so many different kinds of projects and every opportunity you don’t take is a missed opportunity,” she said. “Try everything because you might fall in love with it.”

Zeigler is the 4-H junior leader vice president, president of the Jefferson Busy Bee Club and attended the national 4-H conference in Atlanta in November. She shows poultry, sheep, swine, beef steers and goats.

She will be a student in the Murray State University honors college this fall and will major in agricultural education.

This year’s tenure members are Whyatt Albaugh, Allison Conrad, Adeline Cripe, Lily Cunningham, Kyle Henry, L.J. Hillis, Kinsey Mennen, Bailey Mills, Elizabeth Rance, Lana Reese, Kathryn Rodkey, Conner Shedron, Anna Shewalter, Ava Sylvain, Maggie Taylor, Dixie Wagoner, Violet Montgomery Hunter Williams, Kendric Personett, Kaylyn Zeigler and Jasmine Zimmerman.