4-H Impact April 2024

A workshop in Forest County for older youth leaders to increase knowledge of and skills using parliamentary procedure, civic engagement, and understanding of county government to enable participants to engage in civic action more comfortably.

4-H members and adult volunteers must work in groups to make decisions throughout the program. Most often, members use parliamentary procedure to do this. However, we rarely teach our members how this is done! I led a three-hour educational session to teach the purpose and the basics of parliamentary procedure, especially the process of managing motions. Six youths and one adult participated and increased their skills in parliamentary procedure. After the workshop, one of the adults thanked me for including the youth and told me her kids were making motions the whole way home.

Supporting 4-H youth and adult leadership in the Sheboygan County 4-H Horse and Pony project by mediating conflict and coaching decision-making during project meetings and programs, which increases youth engagement in the program.

Increased tension and conflict among adult volunteers prompted my increased presence and coaching through conflictual situations. I have attended committee meetings, project member and family events, and facilitated mediation and agreement between adult leaders. As a result of my presence, coaching, and mediation, the Horse and Pony project has experienced stronger engagement at the subcommittee level, increased communication between adult leaders, and stronger engagement of youth leadership within the project as reported by youth participants, the Area Extension Director, and adult project leaders. As program quality increases through spark exploration, increased belonging, and positive developmental relationships, youth engagement in the 4-H program increases, leading to an increase in the thriving trajectory of youth.