The many hours dedicated to the completion of a 4-H project all come down to one day of judging. One day, 15 minutes and then the waiting game begins. As I finished up judging at Van Wert school last Thursday I had to laugh a little at the amount of text messages, phone calls and Facebook messages I received about posting the State Fair delegates as soon as possible. The level of excitement and anticipation that members have about “how they have done” is high and continues to build the longer I wait to post results.
Being selected to represent our county 4-H program for state fair isn’t just any honor. It means that your project shows 110% effort along with an attitude of wanting to share what you have learned with someone else. These projects are the cream of the crop and often the decision of who to send is so hard that judges debate for long periods of time on who to delegate. Once selected the judging process starts all over again. The time, effort, and love put into the projects that are travelling down to the Ohio State Fair is that of which many will tell you fills their hearts with joy. The feeling of a job well done, and a trip to the State Fair is the big hooray to the end of judging, at least until 4-H awards night at the fair.
I cannot express just how proud I am of the many youth representing Van Wert County 4-H in livestock and still projects at the Ohio State Fair in the coming weeks. I wish them the best of luck, and cannot wait to show off their accomplishments right here!
