It’s showcase time for Lee County 4-H

AMBOY – Roll up your sleeves. Being a 4-H ambassador is hard work and living up to new responsibilities in equal measure.

But it’s also rewarding, whether an activity wins best of show or you just put forward your best effort.

Madison Thomas, 15, of Amboy is serving as an ambassador at this year’s Lee County 4-H Fair and Junior Show. She explains that she and others help around the fair office. Sometimes they get to judge a costume contest. Other times they are messengers and couriers.

“We’re like golden retrievers,” she says with a smile and a wink. “We live here for the entire 4-H fair. We’re going to be here all night.”

Olivia Gingras, 15, of Dixon laughs at that description of their dedication. She suggests, if true, that they should have set up a tent in the Commercial Building.

Thomas explains that the job is more than just running errands. 4-H through the University of Illinois Extension has provided them with other skills: “We have to plan. We have to organize. It’s cool to have this experience.”

Gingras says developing good communication skills is important. When 4-H members present their projects, there is interaction with the judges, first in explaining the project and then in answering questions.

“The judging really helps with self confidence,” she says.

4-H is the largest out-of-school youth program in the nation, involving nearly 6 million kids. Some 200,000 Illinois youth – about 1 in 14 kids – are involved. The organization touts providing programs that help build community ties, encourage leadership, and widen the circle of friends and mentors.


Addison Morley, 16, of Dixon is serving as Clovey the Clover, the official mascot for the 4-H portion of the fair. She’s been doing interior design projects since the third grade – “Those are fun for me, my hobbies” – but since the lockdown over COVID-19, she’s been more interested in projects that cater to her interest in the health care professions.

That’s one of the strengths of 4-H: the activities run a wide range. There are traditional ag-related activities, but there is also woodworking, science, technology – even aerospace.

Catherine Bluemher, 19, of Dixon has been involved in 4-H for 10 years. Cooking is, by far, her favorite activity. Coffee cake, cheese muffins, scones, cinnamon roles, Swedish tea rings; the list goes on. But she’s also been involved in photography and the visual arts. After graduation, she wants to enter the field of pediatrics.

Participation in 4-H is down because of the conditions surrounding the pandemic. Thomas sees that as a challenge too. She’s looking forward to doing outreach: To spread the message of the rewards that come form being involved in 4-H.

“We’ll be going to all the kids, second grade to seventh grade, and see if you can encourage them to participate,” she says. “We want to see 4-H grow.”

Troy Taylor

Troy E. Taylor

Was named editor for Saukvalley.com and the Gazette and Telegraph in 2021. An Illinois native, he has been a reporter or editor in daily newspapers since 1989.