"4-H helped ingrain leadership traits in me."

Katie Knopp Gaetke, U.S. Air Force

My involvement in 4-H as a young person helped shape the leadership skills I now use every day. Experiences like serving as an officer in the College Hill 4-H Club, being a 4-H camp counselor at Rock Springs Ranch, and representing Riley County as a 4-H Ambassador helped me develop self-confidence, public speaking skills, and team-building capabilities that have made me a better instructor pilot and USAF officer.

4-H, unlike many other organizations, brings together youth of all ages, boys and girls. This structure was so beneficial for me: it provided role models when I was one of the younger members, and allowed even more leadership and mentorship opportunities as I got older.

I joined the College Hill 4-H Club at the age of 8, and there were opportunities to learn and practice leadership skills from day one.

As my club’s recreation leader, I learned that club members and parents were more responsive when I was enthusiastic and the activity I’d planned was creative and well-thought out. I would stand in front of the group of 40-50 kids and adults and explain the rules. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that ability to speak confidently, to organize and plan ahead, to inspire team members, were experiences other kids my age weren’t having. 4-H helped ingrain those leadership traits in me.

- Captain Katie Knopp, USAF

About Katie
A former participant in the Riley County 4-H Program and graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Katie is a Captain with the United State Air Force.

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History of the Kansas 4-H Foundation

The stability of Kansas 4-H ensures a bright future.

The Foundation's inauguration combined private funds to the public programs of Kansas 4-H. While functions of the Foundation started decades before, the Foundation was chartered in 1952.

Through the generations, the Foundation has built a solid team to help maintain the ongoing success with quality staff and an exceptional board of trustees. The Foundation celebrates a long tradition of partnership with both Kansas 4-H and donors wanting to make youth a central focus.

Foundation Timeline

1906 – Early youth groups established by K-State Extension.
1910 – Capper Clubs Organized for various projects.
1919 – Kansas 4-H Leader Otis Hall writes the 4-H pledge.
1927 – J. Harold Johnson becomes first full-time 4-H agent in Kansas, hired by Sedgwick County.
1931 – Alpha of Clovia established at Kansas State University.
1933 – Seventeen 4-H camps held at various locations in Kansas.
1945 – J. Harold Johnson, State 4-H Leader, secures the purchase of Rock Springs Ranch as the State Leadership Center.
1946 – 4-H Clubs purchased Rock Springs Ranch for $22,500.
1950 – First edition of the Kansas 4-H Journal published in Jefferson County, it then spread to a multi-county publication.
1952 – Kansas 4-H Foundation organized to assist Kansas 4-H with private funds and oversee Rock Springs Ranch, J. Harold Johnson served as first chief executive officer. Johnson later retired in 1971.
1956 – The Foundation published the first statewide issue of the Kansas 4-H Journal.
1967 – Foundation became the landlord for newly-built Clovia Scholarship House.
1969 – Foundation purchased Camp Wa Shun Ga to increase camping opportunities at Rock Springs.
1971 – Merle Eyestone named executive director. Eyestone later retired in 1986.
1972 – American Heritage Hall of Kansas is constructed at Rock Springs 4-H Center.
1985 – Step Ahead campaign raises $2.6 million for Kansas 4-H.
1986 – William (Bill) Riley named executive director. Riley retired as Foundation president in 2004.
1998 – Earl W. Parsons Leadership Lodge building dedication at Rock Springs 4-H Center.
2000 – More than 200 4-H teenagers attend the first Kansas Youth Leadership Forum at Rock Springs.
2004 – Gordon Hibbard named Foundation president.