Posted: March 16, 2021
Lorrianne DeLeo is the 2020 Pennsylvania 4-H Volunteer of the Year award recipient.
Pictured: Lorrianne DeLeo, 2020 PA 4-H Volunteer of the Year
Lorrianne DeLeo has been a Bucks County 4-H volunteer for eight years. Over those years she has had a tremendous effect on our 4-H program. Not only does Lorrianne runs two of our clubs: Scales N Tails and Horsin Around, she also chairs the Southeast Regional Horse Bowl competition, sits on many regional equine committees, and is the nurse at 4-H Camp Abenaqua.
Youth members have stated that they look up to her as someone to emulate. I have had the pleasure of working with Lorrianne for the last four years which has allowed me to observe her abilities in regard to work ethic, intellect, leadership, time management, and sensitivity.
As seen in the letters of recommendation from both youth members and fellow volunteers she has made a positive impact on their 4-H experience by empowering youth, providing hands-on learning experiences, and being a role model. She teaches not only about equine and reptiles, but the more important life skills of dealing with competition, making oneself better, building self-esteem, character, and teen leadership development.
She pushes her members to get the most out of their 4-H experience. Not just through her clubs but by also getting involved in other county clubs, and county, regional, state, and national events. She encourages members to try something new each year and even offers to be the coach if they need one. She has coached junior and senior hippology, horse bowl, and equine communications over the past couple of years and has had teams compete on the county, regional, and state level.
For the last two years, she has been our nurse at 4-H Camp Abenaqua. 4-H Camp offers a unique experience to observe Lorrianne's abilities in regard to work ethic, communication, time management, and sensitivity as part of our staff. She has gone above and beyond as our nurse and has become a favorite at camp. She always has a few cabins that try to visit her as much as possible since she is a fantastic listener.
Lorrianne is well-organized, provides great programming and most importantly, the kids have fun and enjoy being around her. She is never too busy to do more, or volunteer to do educational programming. She is a determined individual, who puts her all into her programming. She makes the activities fun for the youth while maintaining the integrity of the lesson.
In her clubs' Lorrianne makes sure meetings are youth lead. She has her members choose the topics and experiences that they want to focus on. Members lead the discussion about what areas they want for the club meetings for the year. Once they come up with a game plan, she does her best to make that happen. If the club decided to partner with or visit a local business/organization she helps the youth make contact with them to set up a program.
She promotes mentor-learner relationships between teen leaders and first-year members. She has older members help guide the younger members, along with, giving the teen members ownership over running meetings.
Scales N Tails and Horsin Around club meetings are held on a consistent day of the month however the meeting locations rotate around the country so that members from certain parts of the country do not always have to travel far. Lorrianne was one of the first organizational leaders to reach out about providing virtual programming during the COVID-19 crisis. Her clubs meet virtually every month and continued to provide youth with programming over the summer months.
She makes her members feel comfortable approaching her about difficult topics. Her members have expressed concerns about mental health, and she has helped normalizing asking for help when you are depressed and encouraged members to support each other. She also does this when she is working as the camp nurse. She runs the nurse's office as a safe space for youth to come and talk about concerns.
She encourages members to step out of their comfort zone and try out new things like taking on a club position, leading a meeting, come up with ideas for club outings, and participating in competitive events.
One of Lorrianne's greatest attributes is her personality and her ability to work with others. She has been on many committees over the last year and has worked well with fellow members to put out successful programs. In the Southeast region, Hippology, Horse Bowl, and Equine Communications have grown over the past few years due to good management and organization.
Lorrianne keeps up good communication with parents, youth, and extension staff so that members do not miss out on any opportunities. Her club members are some of the most active participants and they claim that is due to always knowing what is going on around the county/state.
As a 4-H volunteer, many of our youth members look up to her as someone to emulate. Lorrianne has demonstrated her willingness to teach younger members skills and is never too busy to help out. Lorrianne has never hesitated to lead or to take it upon herself to do what is necessary. She has been an active and dynamic force in our 4-H program and a true pleasure to work with.
Lorrianne is a self-starter, self-motivated, and consistently prepared. She brings enthusiasm and energy to the 4-H program. She has intelligently worked through challenges and is never satisfied knowing she can always do better. She wants the best for her 4-H members and provides them with as many experiences as possible.
