Goshen

“We see about 200,000 people come through the gates every year at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. It’s a big event, and there’s a lot to it – and it seems like every year, a few weeks before the start of it, there’s a point when we all look at each other like, ‘How on Earth are we going to pull this off?’

But those of us who’ve been involved over the years – volunteering and helping to coordinate this event – we’re really like one big family and we’re always able to work together to get things done. It’s a really good feeling when the fair starts and everything is underway – it feels nice to help make it happen.

My husband, Mark, and I have two grown children who were both involved in 4-H – they were in Lamb Club and Beef Club. So I’ve been involved for a long time. Once my kids were older and out of 4-H – and I no longer had responsibilities as a ‘4-H Mom’ – that was when I decided to join the 4-H board so I could stay involved.

This is probably my 15th year volunteering at the fair, and this year I’m the Youth Ag Center Committee Chair. The Youth Agricultural Area is made up of five different areas – each different area teaches the kids about important aspects of agriculture. The experiences are connected by the Farm-Market driving course – which was recently paved thanks to our sponsor, the Mishler Brown Foundation – and the kids can drive on mini, battery-powered John Deere tractors from one area to the next to get a hands-on, and really fun, look at a day in the life of agriculture.

They can drive to Young MacDonald’s Barn to spend time with farm animals, pet them and really see them close up. Then they can drive to the Miracle of Life Giving Center and watch veterinarians supervise dairy cattle being birthed into the world. There’s also the Farmstead Barn and the Blacksmith area. The kids can collect food and drive it over to feed a horse and they can take a coupon to go buy ‘grain’ – which might really just be a granola bar snack, but also an opportunity to teach them about what they’re eating and where it comes from.

There’s also a cornbox – basically a large ‘sandbox’ to play in but filled with corn instead of sand – that’s housed in one of our three, new grain bins. The grain bins were a generous donation from a sponsor – Chore Time Brock (CTB), Inc., out of Milford, Indiana – and their installation was donated by another sponsor, Hochstetler Grain Equipment, of Nappanee. We’ll also have the turtle pond in our area, courtesy of the Elkhart County Parks department, and the kids always love that. And there’s a car wash at the end of the course, so the kids can wash their tractors when they’re done and have that experience of finishing off a good, well-rounded day in the world of agriculture.

This region has so much potential in terms of leading the way to teach kids about the important significance of food. We want kids to have more awareness of where food comes from – that, no, food doesn’t come from Wal-Mart or Meijer. Kids who have a deeper knowledge – or spend time raising animals – tend to have a better understanding that everything’s not just all about ‘me.’ They are thinking outside of themselves. Did I feed my chickens? Did I brush the horses?

Our goal with the Youth Ag Center – and we get so many young visitors at the fair, a lot of whom are not in 4-H and don’t have the same knowledge – is to take the opportunity to educate kids and encourage a future filled with people who have responsible and healthy attitudes toward food. We want them to understand why it’s all important.

I remember those days as a 4-H Mom. It was a lot of work, yes. But they say – and I believe this – if it’s something you enjoy then it’s not work. And, as a mom, what could give more enjoyment than seeing my kids have a chance to learn and grow? Mark and I now have six grandkids, and two who are showing in Elkhart County 4-H. It’s fun to see them working with animals and learning and making wonderful, lasting friendships.

And, also, the fair is just so much fun – and the food is fabulous. It’s like a big reunion every year. At the fair you always seem to see everyone you haven’t seen in a while, it just feels like family. I’m always glad to be a part of it, and to work with so many great people to help make it happen.

The whole volunteer thing, for me – it just makes my heart happy when I’m able to help other people, and this year it mainly involves helping kids learn and grow. That’s important to me, because our youth need more good examples. When you’re at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, in the agricultural areas, and really the whole event, it just feels like there are so many good examples. Everywhere you look there’s an adult leading something or teaching something that’s of value, and everywhere you look there are kids learning and having fun.”