June 15, 2017
Thank you for growing the next generation of true leaders
Greetings Kansas 4-H friends,
It has been such an honor to meet and talk with many of you over the past two months. I look forward to meeting many more of you as I visit local unit offices and visit 4-H programs across the state over the coming year. Kansas 4-H is truly a vibrant and dynamic influence in the lives of so many Kansas families! I am so thankful for the quality programming and personal dedication that undergirds the Kansas 4-H Youth Development Program. Whether through the work of youth, volunteers or professionals, the quality of life in Kansas communities is daily being shaped by 4-H positive youth development efforts. Thank you.
I am so glad to be a part of this fabulous team and so honored to be grafted into the tremendous legacy of Kansas 4-H. Being entrusted with the responsibility to champion and advocate for Kansas 4-H to our partners at Kansas State University and across the State of Kansas, is a distinct charge. Strategically identifying, collaborating and mobilizing efforts and resources to prepare youth for what is next is what motivates me each and every day!
4-H lives at the local level. 4-H needs to thrive at the local level. I find thriving in 4-H is best characterized by the dynamic exchange between individual youth, their peers, and caring adults together learning in a shared context and learning journey: helping young people grow up and preparing them for what is next.
4-H, from its founding in 1902, championed creating shared learning environments where youth grew their capacities for critical thinking, decision making, and collaborating with others. Historically in project areas of grain production, animal production, food preservation, or community engagement, youth led the way innovating and adapting by working with caring adults and their peers to enhance the quality of life in local communities. 115 year later, they have handed us quite a legacy. I am inspired and encouraged by the example of 4-H’s founding to continue to innovate and adapt today by working together with local and university resources to add to the quality of life in local communities and grow tomorrow’s leaders today. Together we can.
Over the summer, I will be sharing my reflections on 4-H distinctions and invite you all to contribute to a dialogue about the characteristics that have contributed to the impact 4-H continues to make in youth across Kansas communities over the past 100 years.
Please share with me impact stories of 4-H making a difference in Kansas communities and how youth are developing their capacities for leadership and service!
Thank you for growing the next generation of true leaders here in Kansas today through 4-H!
Wade M. Weber
State Program Leader – Kansas 4-H Youth Development