2023 Brown County 4-H Senior Members
Each year, the 4-H organization in Brown County honors graduating seniors. This year, that includes Jamie Bube, Ava Clarke, Kenzie Coffman, Franklin Lane, Caleb McGhehey, Paul Myers, Alayna Przybyla, Ethan Scott and Kieley Shugars. Six of the nine are also 4-H 10-year members.
For all nine, however, this honor recognizes the culmination of a rich and rewarding experience. The four H’s in the name stand for head, heart, hands and health — traits that these graduating seniors have shown plenty of!
- Jamie Bube
- o 10-year member
- o Caregivers: Mike and Sharon Bube
- o 4-H Projects: Dog, Fine Arts, Foods, Poultry, Veterinary Science, and Woodworking
- Ava Clarke
- o 10-year member
- o Caregivers: Lorena Spitler and Jesse Clarke
- o 4-H projects: Fine Arts, Junior Leaders, Rabbits, and Sheep
- o Future plans: pursue an English major at IUPUC
No picture for Ava Clarke
- Kenzie Coffman
- o Senior member
- o Caregivers: Kaye and Ray Coffman
- o 4-H projects: Horse and Pony
- o Future plans: I plan on going to farrier college in March.
- o What is your favorite 4-H memory?
- My favorite memories are all the laughs we have. I can’t say I have a super favorite memory because it was always a blast.
- o Why should others be a part of 4-H?
- I think others should be in 4-H because it helps you learn responsibilities and teaches you to become a more outgoing person.
- o How will 4-H help you in the future?
- 4-H would help me in the future because it taught me to be more outgoing and fun. I think I could teach younger kids so many things that I’ve learned.
- o Who was your mentor in 4-H?
- I think my mentors would be Kris and Kim!
- Franklin Lane
- o 10-year member
- o Caregivers: Jason and Christy Lane
- o 4-H projects: 10 years in Swine, 1 year in Goat, 1 year in Sheep, 3 years in Poultry, and 1 year on Fair Board
- o Future plans: When completing High School, I will have my Technical Certificate in Welding. My plans are to get a job within the welding industry with trying to go to college for welding.
- o What is your favorite 4-H memory?
- My favorite memory of 4-H is all of the people I have met over the 10 years. My first year as a third grader I met a very special person that took me under his wing and helped me learn more about my animals. He taught me what needed to be done while at fair and at home. Donny Knapp hanging with you at the fair my first year kept me coming back. I now am completing my 10th year.
- o Why should others be a part of 4-H?
- § Being a part of 4-H has changed my life. Getting to be a part of an animal’s life and getting to know that I raised them and worked with them to make something better. You are more than just a kid in 4-H you are part of something bigger. You learn new things every day with your animals, you meet new people and make new friends and be a part of a bigger family.
- o How will 4-H help you in the future?
- I would like to become a volunteer within the 4-H community. I love working with animals and helping younger kids with their projects. I want to be seen as a life time volunteer for 4-H no matter what county I end up in.
- o Who was your mentor in 4-H?
- I have several first and foremost would be Jon and Katrina Harsch. If it wasn’t for you two talking to us about 4-H, I don’t feel like my sisters, and I would have never joined 4-H. That first year we had one pig each. I learned so much from helping on their farm and helping with their animals. They taught me that our animals were projects not pets. My first pig was a pet. It was hard to see them loading him for the locker that year. Next would have to be Ron and Karen Fleener. I helped them with their farm and learned from them about the sheep I showed. Ron helped us build our pig pen for our pigs for 4-H. Any questions that I might have about any of the animals, I knew I could go to either of them, they would have the answer. Next would have to be Donny Knapp. He took me under his wing when I first started and taught me the way of the barns and how to show my pigs. Finally, is my parents Jason and Christy Lane. They have helped through the 10 years with everything. They have learned just as much as I have when it comes to raising farm animals. They are my biggest supporters in everything I do. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the way I was raised. I enjoyed all the time my dad spent with me working on the pig pen and helping to walk when I had too many pigs to walk at the same time. I also enjoyed the time I got to spend with my mom and learning about the chickens and us loving on the pigs. Both my dad and mom for pushing me to do things outside of my comfort zone.
- Caleb McGhehey
- o 10-year member
- o Caregivers: Brandon and Jenny McGhehey
- o 4-H projects: Goats, Rabbits, Poultry, Sheep, Cattle, Swine
- o Future plans: Attend Trine University in Angola, Indiana with a double major in Psychology and Criminal Justice and double minors in Forensics Psychology and History. As well as my studies, I will be playing hockey for Trine University.
- o What is your favorite 4-H memory?
- My favorite memory is easily winning Master Showmanship my junior year. It finally felt like all my hard work had paid off.
- o Why should others be a part of 4-H?
- 4H gives a fantastic sense of giving back to your community as well as teaching the responsibility of being responsible for a life.
- o How will 4-H help you in the future?
- It will help me because of the responsibilities it has taught me. It molded me to be able to handle stressful situations better.
- o Who was your mentor in 4-H?
- My dad was my mentor and biggest supporter throughout 4H.
- Paul Myers
- o 10-year member
- o Caregivers: Diane Pedersen, Jens Pedersen, Ernie Myers, and Michelle Ferguson
- o 4-H projects: Cattle, Goats, and Models
- o Future plans: working at Henry Street Steel
- o What is your favorite 4-H memory?
- Me and Jake digging up the barn dirt with our toys and dodgeball
- o Why should others be a part of 4-H?
- Because it’s a great time and you a lot from your elders
- o How will 4-H help you in the future?
- With patience and help me cope with my mom’s animal obsession
- o Who was your mentor in 4-H?
- My mom
- Alayna Przybyla
- o 10-year member
- o Caregivers: Thomas and Amy Przybyla
- o 4-H projects: I completed photography, child development and arts and crafts.
- o Future plans: I plan on attending Ivy tech this upcoming semester, in order to complete my prerequisites. From there, I plan on transferring to a standard 4-year university and majoring in psychology. My ultimate goal is to become a physical therapist.
- o What is your favorite 4-H memory?
- My favorite 4H memory is riding the large Ferris wheel and looking out across the fairgrounds at all of the hustle and bustle of the people below, as well as laughing and chatting with my friends. Seeing the joy on everyone’s faces as the fair week progressed brought me joy.
- o Why should others be a part of 4-H?
- I urge everyone who is able, to join 4H, because this program teaches you life-long lessons such as, communication skills, industriousness and dependability, through being responsible for working on, completing and effectively explaining the projects you chose. Another benefit is the friendships you will make; I’ve made plenty of friends along the way and every person I’ve met helped form the person I am today. Most importantly, by joining 4-H you are making a beneficial investment for YOUR future. So why miss out on this opportunity?
- o How will 4-H help you in the future?
- I will use the principles I’ve acquired from being a part of 4H in the workplace, and I will use those skills to help me navigate my relationships with family and friends; like, communication and collaboration.
- o Who was your mentor in 4-H?
- My mentor throughout my 4-H career has been my mom. Without my mom, I wouldn’t have challenged myself in this way, or had enough confidence.
- Ethan Scott
- o Senior member
- o Caregivers: Brent and Sarah Dodson
- o 4-H projects: Electric project, Dog Club, Shooting Sports, Pigs, Goats, and Cattle
- o Future plans: go into the workforce and a technical institution
- o What is your favorite 4-H memory?
- Every fair week
- o Why should others be a part of 4-H?
- The experience is unforgettable along with the skills.
- o How will 4-H help you in the future?
- How to properly take care of and train your animals
- o Who was your mentor in 4-H?
- My aunt Diane Pedersen
- Kieley Shugars
- o Senior member
- o Caregivers: Darrel (DJ) Shugars, Candace Shugars, and Jennifer Heller
- o 4-H projects: I completed Rabbits but participated in lots of others.
- o Future plans: My future plans aren’t fully clear yet other than having a big family to raise up.
- o What is your favorite 4-H memory?
- My favorite 4-H memory would have to be sleeping in the barns and late-night dodgeball games.
- o Why should others be a part of 4-H?
- I think others should be a part of 4-H because it helps you build character and love for your animals.
- o How will 4-H help you in the future?
- One thing 4-H taught me was to be responsible – something I’ll keep in mind every day.
- o Who was your mentor in 4-H?
- I’ve had many leaders show me everything I need to grow and learn so all credit is due to my leaders.
