Hinsdale's Holt Attends Montana 4-H Congress In Bozeman

This summer, Zora Holt had the opportunity to attend Montana's 4-H Congress at MSU in Bozeman. The Congress was held July 9-12, just before it was time to get really serious about being ready for Fair.

The theme for the Congress was "Ticket to Leadership: Where Will You Go With It?" There were numerous dances and lots of quality time spent with 4-Hers from all over the state. There were exciting speakers, fun games, and a community service project preparing birthday party bags with a cake mix and frosting for disadvantaged children.

The 4-Hers got to choose from a broad array of workshops, and Holt participated in sessions on early childhood development (observing and being observed by youngsters from the campus daycare... one youth undertook to solemnly explain to her when to pick raspberries, so there were lots of learning opportunities); on leading icebreaker games, and on knot-tying with a side dish of information about the kind of rescue work where good knots can make the difference between life and death.

Holt said it was in all ways a perfect example of that sort of high school convention experience... fun, relaxing, lively, educational, and social.

At the banquet, she was honored as one of the many (many! 45 in all) graduates that the Montana 4-H Foundation was assisting with the next phase of their lives with a college scholarship. Holt won the TrailWest Leadership Scholarship. The slide chosen to project onto the big screen behind her as she crossed the stage, intended to illustrate her years in 4-H, was bittersweet, because it showed her with her beloved 4-H cow, Bonnie. Her and Bonnie grew up in 4-H together and spent most of seven years as steadfast companions. The slide was chosen before Bonnie's sudden and tragic death this spring.

Montana 4-H Congress has one more experience to offer, and that is an array of competitions. Our Zora, of Valley County, walked away with the big gold medal for public speaking, first in the state. Her talk was Artificial Meat: More Than "Meats" the Eye. As a result, she will be one of 15 youths to represent the state of Montana at National 4-H Congress, Nov. 29-Dec. 3, in Atlanta, Ga.

The Valley County 4-H Council members thought it had probably been about 10 years since Valley County was last represented at National 4-H Congress. (Bethany Lacock is what I was told, so admirable footsteps to follow in.) Zora's travel is being generously sponsored by the Montana 4-H Foundation and the Valley County 4-H Council.