Justin Crowe, Director and State 4-H Program Leader

As many of you have heard me say in recent months, the 4-H program is second to none.  In fact, we boast the largest 4-H program in the country meaning we have more 4-H members organized in actual 4-H clubs than any other state in the nation. We are also very proud that we are the largest youth development organization in the state with more than 136,000 members and growing. That being said, it’s also very important that we be seen and understood as the campus leader in positive youth development, and as organizations and departments across campus want to work with youth, they automatically think of 4-H. This is the reason for hosting bi-annual youth development roundtable events where we bring together campus faculty, staff, and administrators who are interested in positive youth development and discuss ways to collaborate and partner on projects. This helps 4-H be at the center of all of that and be more involved in youth development work across campus. These visits are so important, these collaborations are valuable and I look forward to sharing more details with you. Moving forward you will hear us use more and more the terminology: 4-H and Youth Development 4-H is at the core of what we do every day, but we also are all things youth development for young people. And so it is simply adding one word into the title but it means a great deal more than that.   Thanks for what you do to help provide positive opportunities for our youth across the state.