Ohio 4-H Volunteers Shape Future Leaders at County Fair

When nervous kids walk up to the horse station at Holmes County's 4-H Skillathon, Taryn Grassbaugh knows exactly how they feel. She was one of them not long ago.

Now 24, Grassbaugh graduated from the program in 2022 and immediately returned as a volunteer adviser and judge. She joins dozens of adults in Holmes County who spend countless hours helping young people learn about animals, agriculture, and themselves.

The Skillathon is like a pop quiz for 4-H members. Kids rotate through stations identifying horse parts, naming different types of feed for sheep, and answering questions about goat breeds. But the volunteers say it's about much more than memorization.

"They're all here to learn, and we've got great kids in 4-H," Grassbaugh said. When someone struggles to identify parts of a horse, she talks them through it. The goal is growth, not perfection.

Alexa Stitzlein judges at the sheep station, where kids must correctly identify about 20 different types of feed. She calls being an adviser "a year-long process" that develops the next generation of agricultural leaders in a county where farming shapes daily life.

Ray Davenport has judged the goat section for years. His favorite part isn't watching experienced youth breeze through the questions. It's seeing older kids stop to help younger ones, building the kind of community that makes Holmes County's program special.

The Ripple Effect

The volunteers reviewed hundreds of project booklets on Skillathon Night alone. Add in weekly club meetings, fair preparations, and mentoring throughout the year, and these adults invest thousands of hours into the program.

Their impact shows up in confident teenagers giving presentations, nervous beginners finding their voice, and a thriving county fair that brings the whole community together. Many volunteers are former 4-H members themselves, creating a cycle of giving back that's lasted generations.

Holmes County Extension educator Ella Lorentz said the county is blessed with adults who understand that building skills and character in young people strengthens the entire community. Each conversation at a Skillathon station, each pep talk before a fair presentation, adds up to something bigger.

These volunteers prove that investing in young people doesn't require a fancy program or big budget, just willing adults who show up and care.