State Council March Reports

By Alyssa Neff, State Council Reporter / Historian

Members of the newly selected 2020 Pennsylvania 4-H State Council enjoyed an engaging and eventful weekend of training during President's Day weekend. Team Building, setting goals, and further developing public speaking skills were some of the areas Council members diligently worked on. Developing teamwork and comradery amongst the council is an important skill to build early on in the year. On the regional level, Jillian Ranko, Amanda Hollabaugh, and Sydney Brown spent the night at the 10-County Teen Lock-In hosted by the Erie County Teen Council in Erie, PA.

While there, the Council members spoke to the participants about what the 4-H State Council is, what it does, and the individual roles of each member. The Council members then led games with all of the participants, including ice breakers, name games, and team building exercises. At the county level, Alyssa Neff, Audrey Ferrie, and Sydney Brown led a selection of the Officer Training Workshop to Wayne County. Officer training equips and teaches county officers about the role and obligations of their position, using engaging activities and thorough lessons.

Jillian Ranko - Butler County, President

During this month, Jillian along with Amanda and Sydney, attend the 10-County Teen Lock-In hosted in Erie County by their Teen Council. At the Lock-In, they spoke to the attendees about the State Council roles, duties, and responsibilities. Jillian was invited to attend the Western PA 4-H Leader Symposium, a one-day event held at the Butler County Community College.

The symposium was focused on teaching 4-H leaders from across western PA valuable knowledge for the new 4-H year through workshops. Jillian was honored to be one of two emcees at her school district's Pops Orchestra Concert. This concert is very special because it features all orchestras in the district from 6th to 12th grade playing popular music such as songs from movies, musicals, and decades. Becoming a member of the 4-H State Council has been an incredible experience for Jillian thus far, and she is looking forward too many experiences to come.

Audrey Ferrie - Warren County, Vice President of Operations

This month Audrey, on behalf of State Council, helped present the Officer Training workshop to Wayne County alongside fellow team members Sydney and Alyssa. Audrey also did extensive research about the Pennsylvania State Farm Bill in preparation for State Capital Days and learned an enormous amount about the funding of our state's agriculture needs. Audrey accomplished staying on track with school and Council requirements by planning and working diligently. She is proud to say that she is balancing college courses, work, personal life, county 4-H, and State Council very well.

Amanda Hollabaugh - Adams County, Vice President of Events

During this month, Amanda along with Jillian and Sydney, attend the 10-County Teen Lock-In hosted in Erie County by their Teen Council. At the Lock-In, they spoke to the attendees about the State Council roles, duties, and responsibilities. Amanda had the opportunity to attend Adams County Commissioner Meeting and Proclamation of Pennsylvania 4-H Week. At this event, Adams County was presented with documentation of the Proclamation. Amanda did extensive research this month about Pennsylvania Farm Bill in preparation for Capital Days. Her personal accomplishments this month preparing for her high school's production of Chicago (High School Edition). Also, Amanda had the opportunity to attend and record a radio spot for her local radio station with the Adams County 4-H Teen Senate Club. The radio spot included reasons to join our amazing 4-H program and all the opportunities within the program.

Sydney Brown - Erie County, Vice President of Internal Affairs

Sydney attended the Erie County 10-County Teen Lock-In at thine YMCA in Erie County and spoke about what State Council is and what we do. She also ran leadership activities at this event. Sydney also helped lead the Officer Training workshop to Wayne County alongside fellow team members Audrey and Alyssa. For her degree she went out and helped clean up a camp ground. A personal accomplishment that she made for college was successfully banding birds for tracking and learning about the proper holds for birds. She also got a call from the Game Commission to interview for an internship over the summer.

Laurie Enders - Armstrong County, Secretary

In the past month, Laurie has worked very hard within her academic and extracurricular activities. Laurie did extensive research this month on various types of soil and each of their values. She was very glad to have earned an "A" on her final AP English Research paper this month and on her High School Junior Varsity Quiz Bowl Team, she was excited to have accomplished 2nd place overall in her local league. She is also honored to have been accepted to the Penn State DuBois Honors Scholar Program.

Alyssa Neff - Dauphin County, Reporter/Historian

This month Alyssa did a presentation about State Council to the Lebanon 4-H Friends Club, and helped lead the Officer Training Workshop along Audrey and Sydney to Wayne County. Alyssa also did extensive research about the Pennsylvania Farm Bill. Alyssa's accomplishments this month include finishing designing and sewing the costumes for her school's play, and receiving high marks on her report card. Time management has been her greatest challenge thus far, but her fellow State Council members have been a huge encouragement in keeping her on track.