More than 350 guests celebrated Kansas 4-H youth at Emerald Circle June 2 at Kansas State University. After the traditional Emerald Circle banquet, Discovery Days youth joined agents, donors and families in recognizing the State Project Award winners and participated in an educational program with an ice cream social.
Each year, 4-H youth of all ages submit Kansas Project Report forms, and one state winner is selected from the senior division (ages 14-18) for each project. In addition to learning new project skills, these youth must also demonstrate growth and strength in leadership, organization, civic engagement, and above all, communication.
Kansas 4-H Youth Development celebrates the top achievers in each project area at the Emerald Circle Banquet, hosted by the Kansas 4-H Foundation. In previous years, Emerald Circle was attended by State Project Award Winners, their families, extension agents, and some of Kansas 4-H’s most loyal and generous donors. While the audience stayed the same, this year, organizers merged Kansas 4-H Discovery Days and Emerald Circle with the goal of increasing awareness of the state project awards, giving the younger members something to aspire to and connecting donors with talented 4-H members.
“Being named a project award winner is one of the highest individual achievements within Kansas 4-H,” said Beth Hinshaw, Regional 4-H Youth Development Specialist, K-State Research and Extension. “All it takes is one spark to ignite that passion in a 4-H project that can then create so many learning opportunities and even the possibility of a future career.”
After the awards ceremony, attendees engaged with two guest speakers. Dr. Susan Quiring, a former Kansas Extension agent, delivered a message about etiquette. Rhett Laubach, an Oklahoma 4-H alumnus and motivational speaker, spoke about what it means to #LiveToServe.
"We wanted to connect donors and youth by providing an immersive and educational experience with successful professionals."
JAKE WORCESTER, PRESIDENT/CEO KANSAS 4-H FOUNDATION