Congrats to the following teens who were recognized for their State 4-H Achievement awards at our Fairfield County 4-H Awards Banquet on Thursday, April 10th, 2025!
The following individuals are STATE AWARD WINNERS in their respective project area and will be invited to attend National 4-H Congress in Atlanta Georgia this fall! Additionally, they will be recognized with other state winners from across Ohio at the State 4-H Achievement Banquet in June.
Blake Fox of Lancaster was awarded the Ohio 4-H Young Alumni Award at the Ohio 4-H Conference on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
The Young Alumni Award is presented to a 4-H alumnus who is early in their career and has attributed part of their distinctive achievement and success to their 4-H participation.
Ohio 4-H Youth Development is a program of Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. In 2024, 154,687 young Ohioans participated in 4-H clubs, groups, and special interest programs. Ohio has over 13,000 active 4-H volunteers.
The Young Alumni Award is sponsored by Ron and Carolyn Cull.
Congrats Blake! Thank you for all you do to support Fairfield County and Ohio 4-H.
The Fairfield County 4-H Treasurer’s Book Annual Contest is proudly sponsored and funded each year by the Friendly Bremen Banking Center. Thank you, Jodi Motta and Vinton County Bank, for their support and organization of this contest.
The role of the club treasurer is to handle all money matters of the club and maintain accurate financial records. When the Treasurer’s Book is complete, it should document the activities by its members for one year. It becomes a historical document to that accurately records the club’s income and expenses, and shows that the club is in good financial standing.
All treasurers are eligible and encouraged to submit a book each year. There is a monetary award that goes to the winners and they go directly to that individual. The 4-H Treasurer Book Rubric was used to evaluate each treasurer’s book that was submitted in the contest. Employees of the bank will review the books and choose a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner. Each member who places will receive a visa gift card.
The 2024 results are:
These individuals will be recognized at the 4-H Achievement Banquet on April 10th and receive their awards.
Thank you to all of the members who participated in the Treasurer’s Book contest this year. Additional participants included: Dominic Messerly (LU Happy Farmers), Valen Burkhart (Golden Spurs), Blakely Georges (4 Creation), and Jayden Blevins (4 Legged Friends). Keep up the good record keeping! If your club did not participate this year, we hope you will keep this contest in mind and participate next year.
The Fairfield County 4-H Secretary’s Book Annual Contest is proudly sponsored and funded each year by the family of Robert L. Hillman who was a 4-H advisor for many years in Pickaway County. Mr. Hillman believed strongly in teaching and practicing quality record keeping within the structure of the 4-H program. He continued to support his grandchildren, Adam, Milea, and Sarah Maxwell, in their 4-H endeavors in Fairfield County until his death in 2003. To continue his long-standing commitment to the tradition of record keeping and the 4-H program, his family is proud to sponsor this competition in his memory.
When the Secretary’s Book is complete, it should document the activities by its members for one year. It becomes a historical document to be enjoyed for years to come as individuals review it with fondness and memories.
All secretaries are eligible and encouraged to submit a book each year. There is a monetary award that goes to the winners and they go directly to that individual. The 4-H Secretary Book Rubric was used to evaluate each secretary’s book that was submitted in the contest. Each book was evaluated and received a one-, two-, or three-star rating based on the rubric. Based on the star ratings, the top individual will receive a monetary award.
The 2024 results are:
These individuals will be recognized at the 4-H Achievement Banquet on April 10th and receive their awards.
Thank you to all of the members who participated in the Secretary’s Book contest this year. Additional participants included Lyannae Taylor (Deeply Rooted), Ruth Bartholomew (4 Creation), Mason Lewis (4 Legged Friends). Keep up the good record keeping! If your club did not participate this year, we hope you will keep this contest in mind and participate next year.
Last summer twenty-nine youth were recognized at the 4-H Achievement Awards banquet for their success in specific project areas, as well as their leadership, community service experience, and overall contributions to their county and state 4-H programs.
Just a few short months ago, these same youth had the opportunity to celebrate their hard work as they traveled to Atlanta to participate in National 4-H Congress. 
Ohio youth trading pins with their fellow delegates during an opening session.
This five-day event gave teen 4-H members the opportunity to connect with their fellow youth around the country as they exchanged ideas, attended workshops, gave back through community service work, and grew as young leaders.
Teens kicked off the event by getting to know each other through educational workshops on team building, public speaking, self-care, and more. They also heard from motivational speaker Dr. Laymon Hicks as he shared his strategies for overcoming obstacles, finding motivation from within, and pursuing dreams.
As one of the larger state delegations at National 4-H Congress, the Ohio youth were excited to make new friends and meet fellow 4-H’ers from across the country. During one of the welcome sessions, they participated in a pin exchange with other delegates and met youth who had traveled from Hawaii and Puerto Rico to attend.
Throughout National 4-H Congress, 4-H members also had the opportunity to learn more about the history of Atlanta. In addition to exploring some of Atlanta’s most popular attractions like the Georgia Aquarium, youth participants engaged in an “evening of culture” at the Atlanta History Center.
Another highlight of the experience was the morning of service that all youth delegates participated in. 4-H members were assigned to a variety of community service projects in the Atlanta metro area, with options ranging from landscaping projects at the Piedmont Park Conservancy to reading to youth and assisting with holiday preparations at inner city elementary schools.
Kaleigh Williams, the Ohio 4-H Companion Animals Achievement Award winner, posing for a photo with Brutus during a community service project at Piedmont Park.
Ohio delegates posing for a photo at the Congress Gala.
The Congress Gala served as a culminating celebration for all the youth participants. They dressed to impress as they enjoyed a delicious meal before hitting the dance floor for a final party with their fellow delegates.
“I will always remember this experience and the awesome people I met at Congress,” said Cayden Jones, Ohio delegate and winner of the Shooting Sports Achievement Award. “I have enjoyed everything I have done here, even if it put me outside of my comfort zone. I can’t express how thankful I am to everyone who helped put on this once in a lifetime event.”
Encourage youth with an existing environmental stewardship project or an idea for a project to apply so that their achievements can be further recognized. The President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects developed by K-12 youth. The PEYA program promotes awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encourages positive community involvement.
Youth must have completed their project while they were in kindergarten through the 12th grade and the project must be sponsored by an adult who is 21 or older. Applicants from all 50 states as well as U.S. territories are eligible to compete for a national Presidential award.
Visit the President’s Environmental Youth Aware webpage for more information about eligibility requirements, judging criteria, and how to apply.
Fairfield County Jr. Achievement Form (pdf) or Jr. Achievement Form (Word)
A hard copy of this form is due January 10, 2025 to OSU Extension, Fairfield County.
For 4-H members ages 8-13 as of January 1, 2025 to complete. This form provides a start towards completing the Ohio 4-H Achievement Award form. There are three levels of awards: White Clover for members in the first and second year, Green Clover for members in their third and fourth years, and Gold Clover for members in the fifth and sixth year of Traditional 4-H.
For youth 14-18 as of January 1, 2025 interested in applying for state & county achievement/merit awards (Beef, Clothing, Leadership, etc.), county trips (Sea Camp, Leadership Camp, etc.), National Dairy Conference, Ohio Township Award, etc. Please use the current version of the form and please use Microsoft Word to edit. DO NOT open/edit in Google Docs!
Ohio 4-H Achievement Form (2025 Form- Word document- Please download to complete). Must turn in a hard copy of this form for EACH project area selected. Members also need to turn in a copy of this for for trip award selections, Outstanding 4-Her consideration, Fairfield County 4-H Scholarships (with application), and Basil Garden Scholarships (with application).
2025 Achievement Form Instructions – PLEASE READ!
2025 Fairfield County Achievement Form Cover Sheet – NEW FOR 2025! Only turn in one copy of these forms per member.
Ohio Achievement Form Suggestions – Achievement form section suggestions can be found by reviewing this form.
Attention Teens! Do you want to be a camp counselor? Junior Fair Board Member? Junior Leader? Outstanding 4-Her? Scholarship or Trip Award winner? Do you find yourself asking “How do I get to do that?” We suspect that as you have gotten older you have started to look for new and exciting things where you can be involved. Read on… 4-H has special opportunities for teens only where YOU can play a part!
There are many exciting opportunities that await you as a teenager in the Fairfield County 4-H Program. Soon, 4-H members who will be ages 13-18 as of 1/1/2025 will receive a survey link emailed to them. This survey is an invitation for you to let us know what you are interested in learning more about. Read all about these opportunities, mark which ones you are interested in and we will follow up with making sure you have the correct forms, applications, and information to proceed to the next steps!
The opportunities in awards, trips, scholarships and more available to teens in the 4-H program are incredible. Don’t miss out on learning more and getting involved! Most of these opportunities are open to 4-H members ages 14 and up as of January 1st. There are also a few opportunities for youth ages 13 as of January 1st. Some of these activities require completion of special forms while others just involve asking for more information. Regardless of what you are interested in, be sure to give us a call if you need more information or would like some help with the necessary forms.
If members and parents would like a little extra assistance in preparing their records, feel free to call or email Leslie (740-277-4625) at cooksey.25@osu.edu or Aubry (740-277-4626) at fowler.443@osu.edu.
We encourage you all to broaden your 4-H experience and try something new. We think you’ll find many new friends and much more fun ahead!
Additionally, we invite youth who will be ages 13-18 as of 1/1/2025 to attend the Achievement Form Workshop on Tuesday, December 3rd from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Extension Office / Ag Center.
Be recognized for all you do in 4-H! It all begins with keeping great records of your 4-H accomplishments! Save the date of December 3rd for upcoming workshops! Details are in the flyer posted below.
Younger 4-H youth (ages 9-13 as of 1/1/2025) are encouraged to start completing your Junior Achievement Form. Junior Achievement Awards will be awarded in April 2025!
Older 4-H youth (ages 14-18 as of 1/1/2025) are encouraged to explore the many teen opportunities available to them when they complete the Ohio 4-H Achievement Form including: County Merit Awards, College Scholarships, County Trip Awards, Outstanding 4-Her Award, State Achievement Awards – and perhaps earning a trip to National 4-H Congress! County Merit Awards, Scholarships, and Trip Awards will be awarded in April 2025!