Recognition | Tennessee 4-H Youth Development

Recognition is a big part of Tennessee 4-H. It highlights the achievements of our youth and inspires them to learn more, take on leadership roles, and serve their communities. Below, you’ll find the three levels of recognition in Tennessee 4-H, along with more information about what each one means and how members can get involved.

What is 4-H Honor Club?

The Tennessee 4-H Honor Club is organized statewide and provides recognition, primarily within counties, for members in grades 6–12 who have demonstrated leadership, dedication, and service in their clubs and communities. Honor Club is the next step beyond regular 4-H activities and is the first of three recognition levels a member may achieve during their 4-H career. Membership is granted to those who have demonstrated strong project work, consistent leadership, and a willingness to share their knowledge with others as junior or teen leaders.

YYou don’t have to have won a lot of awards to be an Honor Club member…just be an active participant in your local 4-H club. You don’t win membership in the Honor Club isn’t something you join automatically — you earn it! Members collect points for the things they do in 4-H, and participation is what counts most.

To qualify, you’ll need to:

Participate: complete projects, give presentations, prepare exhibits, and attend 4-H events
Lead: help younger 4-H’ers, serve in leadership roles, or promote 4-H in your community
Serve: take part in community service and citizenship activities
Reflect: write a short paragraph about your most rewarding experience as a junior or teen leader

When you’re ready, fill out an application (available from your 4-H agent or on this website). Submit your completed form to your local 4-H agent, who will review it before sending it to the State 4-H Office. If you’ve earned enough points, you’ll join more than 2,400 Tennessee youth who are already proud Honor Club members.

Accepted members receive an official 4-H Honor Club certificate and an Honor Club key to celebrate their achievement.

Are you in sixth grade or higher? Have you been active in 4-H? Do you enjoy leadership and service? If so, you may be ready to join the Tennessee 4-H Honor Club!

Honor Club is open to 4-H members in grades 6–12 who are active in their local clubs. Membership is based on a point system — and earning points is easy. You get credit for the things you already do in 4-H, like completing projects, attending events, giving presentations, helping others, and volunteering in your community. You even earn points just for being a member!

Anyone who participates can qualify for Honor Club. Why not start your application today? Contact your county 4-H agent for details or download the form online.

View the Application

Earning Honor Club membership is just the beginning — that’s when the fun really starts! You’ll join other active 4-H members who enjoy working together, building friendships, and taking part in new experiences.

In most counties, Honor Club meets monthly or quarterly as a countywide group. Members participate in educational, recreational, and community service activities, such as assisting with fairs and workshops, leading projects, creating displays, volunteering in the community, or enjoying camps, trips, and social gatherings. A favorite activity is exchange trips, where members get the chance to visit 4-H’ers in other states.

Honor Club is what you make it. Leadership, service, and project work are at the heart of the program, but there’s plenty of room to shape your own experience and explore what excites you most. Each year, new members are recognized at the county level for their dedication and involvement.

And Honor Club is just the first step. Senior members who continue their service can advance to All Stars, and the highest honor in Tennessee 4-H is Vol State. Every step begins with Honor Club.

The tables below denote the number of new 4-H Honor Club members each county has initiated in the given year.

What is 4-H All Stars?

Tennessee 4-H All Stars is the second level in the Tennessee 4-H recognition program for outstanding 4-H members. Through active participation in their 4-H clubs, 4-H’ers in seventh through twelfth grades can earn points to become members of the 4-H Honor Club. Once they complete the eighth grade, Honor Club members may apply for membership through their county office in 4-H All Stars. Membership in All Stars is based on SERVICE, which is the All Star motto.

Enter your volunteer hours using the 4-H All Star Volunteer Form

The 4-H All Stars program was started in West Virginia in 1920 by Mr. William “Teepi” Kendrick, the state 4-H Club leader. The organization then spread to other states. According to “The Torch,” a 1956 publication by the West Virginia 4-H All Stars, “During the summer of 1948, Tennessee 4-H Club members organized two All Star Chapters. The Western District consecrated 23 members and the Central District 42. This came about through the interest and work of Paul Rose, Virginia All Star and Club Specialist of Tennessee. [Two] Virginia All Stars went to Tennessee to help with organizing the first chapter. Tennessee now has three districts set up with officers in each district.”

Tennessee held its first State All Star Conference on August 20, 1949. Following this conference, the All Stars completed a formal constitution, which stated that the organization would be known as the District Chapter of the 4-H All Stars and would be associated with the 4-H development program of the Agricultural Extension Service. At this time, not every district had an All Stars chapter, so the group decided not to elect state officers. However, in the 1950s the district Big Chiefs formed a State All Star Council. In 1955, District Scribes were added to the State Council and the first state officers were elected. The state officers included Big Chief, Lesser Chief, Scribe, Newsletter Editor, Scout, and Medicine Person.

The organization has changed and adapted over the years to best represent the young people of Tennessee. However, the core values have remained the same. From the very beginning of the organization, 4-H All Stars have sought to be of service to their community. An early All Stars leader in Maryland said, “No greater attainment can be achieved by the 4-H Club member than to so conduct his life that he will enter into All Star activities. The desire to get ahead of the other fellow will get a candidate nowhere. Club members will not try to down others, but will try to raise themselves. Our great 4-H Club motto, ‘To Make the Best Better,’ is in its greatest degree exemplified by the 4-H development of one who has been selected for membership in the All Stars.”

The emblem of the 4-H All Stars is a 4-H clover with a red, five-pointed star and a diamond chip. The red star stands for courage, which is needed to meet our daily problems. The five points of the star symbolize knowledge, strength, truth, beauty, and love. The diamond is made of our most precious stone and sheds its light in the dark.

Are you interested in becoming a 4-H All Star? The first step is to be a member of the 4-H Honor Club.

The All Star application is the last page of the Honor Club application (the pages should stay attached).

View the All Star Application

According to the Constitution and Bylaws, the following qualifications apply for selection of nominees for All Star initiation:

Active 4-H Club member*
Must have completed the eighth grade*
Must be a member of the Tennessee 4-H Honor Club*
Outstanding leadership ability
Commendable character
Above average project work
Willingness to serve

* The first three qualifications are required.

Contact your county Extension agent for more information on becoming a 4-H All Star.

The 4-H All Star motto is “SERVICE.” 4-H All Stars exhibit this motto through county, regional, and state service projects to benefit their neighbors at home and around the world. Although some things in Tennessee 4-H are changing, the All Stars’ commitment to service isn’t one of them.

County All Stars groups can submit their projects for the Don Bowman Award and the Peggy Davis Award, which are presented annually at Roundup. Service is included in local, regional, and state All Star conferences and meetings.

You can strengthen your service experience by turning it into a service learning project. How? It’s simple! Look at your community, decide what the needs are, and plan a project to meet the needs. Then, to make it true service learning, think about the skills and knowledge you can gain through the project and make those things your learning objectives. Conduct your project and reflect on what you’ve done. Then, evaluate and celebrate your accomplishments!

Each of the three regions elects officers to lead their regional All Stars. Along with the state officers, the regional Chiefs, Deputy Chiefs, Scribes, and Advisors make up the state 4-H All Star High Council. The Council members and other regional officers meet annually to discuss All Stars, set the state service theme, elect state officers, strengthen their leadership skills, and much more.

Tennessee 4-H has three awards that are available only to 4-H All Stars. Each award is presented at State Round Up and All Star Conference and recognizes individuals or groups for their outstanding efforts throughout the year. Check out the awards described below and see how you can best display and be recognized for your service efforts.

The Don Bowman Award
The Don Bowman Project Award recognizes county All-Star groups for their most outstanding service project. To enter, each county should report all service activities using Form 591 and submit the forms to their regional office. Only one project may be recorded on each form; however, a county may submit as many forms to the region as they would like.Each region will select the best quality service project from all entries to submit to the State competition. A panel of judges, selected by the State 4-H Office, will then select a State Winner from the three Regional Winners. Each regional winner will receive a certificate and a $10 cash award. The winner of the Don Bowman Project Award will be announced at State 4-H All-Star Conference. The county submitting the winning entry will receive a plaque and a $50 cash award.

The Peggy Davis Award
The Peggy Davis Service Award recognizes county All-Star groups for their completion of the most service contact hours. To enter, each county should report all service activities using Form 591 and submit the forms to their regional office. Only one project may be recorded on each form; however, a county may submit as many forms to the region as they would like. Each region will then select the county that submits the most service contact hours using Form 591. The county’s entire collection of forms should be sent to the state 4-H office for review. A panel of judges, selected by the state 4-H office, will conduct an official count to determine a state winner.

Each regional winner will receive a certificate and a $10 cash award. The winner of the Peggy Davis Service Award will be announced at State 4-H All Star Conference. The county submitting the most service contact hours will receive a plaque and a $50 cash award.

Each county submitting at least one Form 591 will receive a certificate of participation.

Vol State

Vol State is the final step in Tennessee’s three-level recognition program: Honor Club, All Stars, and Vol State. The Vol State Award is the highest honor a Tennessee 4-H’er may receive. Members are inducted in an impressive candlelight ceremony on the final night of Tennessee 4-H Roundup.

To give deserved recognition to 4-H members and others on a statewide basis who have particularly outstanding records in project achievement, leadership, and service in 4-H.

Members must be an active 4-H member.
Members must have been enrolled in the eleventh or twelfth school grade on January 1 of the current calendar year.
Members must be an active 4-H All Star for one year prior to receiving Vol State.
Members must be in attendance at the Vol State Initiation Ceremony at State 4-H Roundup.
Counties may only nominate five 4-H members each year.
A nomination form must be submitted for each 4-H member. These are due to the Regional Program Leader annually on June 20. The nomination form can be found here.

Each county may recommend five members.
County Extension agents will indicate during the 4-H Roundup pre-registration process all members who are recommended to receive the Vol State Award. Ten dollars per nominee will be submitted to the regional office on the date announced by the regional staff.
County Extension agents will then submit a Vol State Nomination Form to their Regional Program Leader by June 23 of each year.
Once approved by the regional staff, the names are forwarded to the state 4-H office for final approval.

Volunteer Recognition

Tennessee 4-H Youth Development recognizes that volunteers are essential to delivering the mission of our program. The Tennessee 4-H Volunteer Awards and Recognition program provides various opportunities to recognize the many outstanding volunteers that serve in our organization. Learn more about recognition opportunities in Tennessee 4-H on our Volunteers page.