In nearly every corner of the Johnson County Fairgrounds is a nod to what they have done.
4-H’ers who recently graduated high school have spent years, or in some cases a decade, of summers showing projects at the Johnson County 4-H and Agricultural Fair.
They have spent hundreds of hours caring for livestock and have spent tedious hours putting together cooking, sewing and Lego projects and learning skills their club leaders hope they take with them for a lifetime.
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A select group, called the 4-H Honor Group, has spent months planning and executing projects that are meant to give back to the fair as a last goodbye to 4-H.
Fifty-six recently graduated high school seniors are celebrating their 10th year of 4-H this summer, which means they joined the program the earliest they could and kept up with it through elementary school, junior high school and high school attending meetings, working on projects and showing them at the fair, said Heather Dougherty, Purdue Extension educator for 4-H youth development.
An additional 30 teens have not been in the program for an entire decade but are still in their last year of the program. Twenty of the teens between both groups are in the 4-H Honor Group, a group made up of final-year 4-H’ers. The group, which formed 15 years ago, have annually planned and built a project that helps improve the fairgrounds.
Students reaching a decade in 4-H can be a feat with extracurricular activities, academics and sometimes jobs all competing for their time, Dougherty said.
“It is kind of ownership that you completed something for that long,” she said. “The 10-year members have figured out how to do that.”
All 10-year 4-Hers will be honored at the annual Johnson County Fair Queen Pageant on Sunday and some are eligible for scholarships because of their years in 4-H.
The 20 members of the Honor Group are building a booth for announcers in the grandstand area and have refurbished and added benches throughout the fairgrounds.
The Honor Group started about 15 years ago when a group of students shadowed fair board members and then came up with project ideas, Honor Group adviser Amy Kelsay said.
Now their projects are an annual part of the fair.
Honor Group members received a list of suggested projects from the fair board and in January and began to plan which projects they could feasibly do, Kelsay said.
They presented their suggested projects to the fair board and got to work funding the projects by asking local businesses for donations.
“It is their job to fund-raise and raise money for the project,” Kelsay said.
The appeal of being in the Honor Group and in being a long term 4-H’er is to help complete projects that overall help the community, said Felicity Faris, a 10-year 4-H’er and Honor Group member.
“I love doing the different projects and stuff and learning more about stuff I am passionate about,” she said.
The Franklin resident has spent most of her decade in 4-H sewing items for the Fashion Revue and doing food preparation projects, eventually becoming president of her 4-H club.
4-H has taught her organizational skills and helped sharpen her social skills and in other ways, made her feel like she was helping her community, she said.
“(4-H) has really helped me keep on top of my life,” Faris said.
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The Johnson County 4-H and Agriculture Fair kicks off this weekend.
Here are a look at some of the highlights for the next week:
Johnson County Fair Parade
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: The parade starts at Franklin Community Middle School and winds around downtown Franklin, ending at the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office at 1 Caisson Drive.
Little Miss and Mr. Johnson County
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Indoor arena at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, 100 Fairground St., Franklin.
Cost: Free
Fair Queen Pageant
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Indoor arena
Cost: Free
Family Night on the Midway
When: 6 to 11 p.m. Monday
Cost: Unlimited ride bracelet is $25.
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