By Darlene Bowers
Over 915,000 people passed through the gates of this year’s Ohio State Fair according to The Columbus Dispatch. One Ada family was among the first day’s visitors.
Libbie Milks, with parents Beth and Mike in tow, participated in the Ohio State Junior Fair 4-H Non-Livestock Health Day. Libbie attended the fair to present her 4-H project, The Truth About Tobacco. “I used this as a follow up project from last year when I completed Drug and Alcohol Abuse,” Libbie says.
This is Libbie’s seventh year in 4-H. She has been a member of Liberty Belles and Boys 4-H Club for all seven years.
“Chronologically, I’ve taken rockets, two gardening projects, sewing, cooking, genealogy, Ohio Birds, Alcohol and Drug Abuse and, this year, The Truth About Tobacco” details LIbbie who goes on to explain this is her fifth year to attend state judging.
When asked about mentoring or help with her project, Libbie further explains that she didn’t have a mentor for her project but her “medically inclined” parents answered any questions she had. Beth works for Lima Memorial Hospital and Mike is a pharmaceutical sciences professor at the University of Findlay.
Each Hardin County 4-H member is judged locally at the county level usually in mid-July. One 4-Her in each project is then selected to be judged at the state level. When asked to explain the difference between county and state judging Libbie remarks, “The venue is significantly larger than county judging and the concentration of people is higher as well. The judging process is the same with the exception of some display regulations.”
Each participant is paired with a judge who listens to the 4-Her’s presentation or explanation of the work they’ve done and the learning they’ve acquired on their project.
Often a display accompanies the presentation and entails detailed logs and accounts in a project book as well as corresponding posters, albums or other pertinent materials creatively prepared by the 4-Her.
Libbie’s efforts at state fair this year awarded her an Outstanding of the Day commendation. Outstanding of the Day is awarded to roughly the top 20-25% of participants in each project’s judging category. The top participant is awarded a clock trophy, a much coveted award in the 4-H junior fair non-livestock world.
Libbie was awarded a clock trophy in 2013 with her Drug and Alcohol Abuse project. “Outstanding of the Day is only an award that you are given as a condolence for not receiving the clock award. Nonetheless, I use this as motivation for next year,” states Libbie sharing her take on the Outstanding of the Day award.
The benefits of 4-H according to Libbie, in addition to the motivation factor, are that “4-H provides individuals with skills and lessons that one can use the rest of his/her life. Presentation skills are also a benefit of participation in a 4-H club.”
Libbie further elaborates on another aspect of her The Truth About Tobacco 4-H project, “One of the activities I was obligated to complete was a 100% Tobacco-Free Policy Check on my public school. As it stands, the policies regarding the tobacco use for Ada Exempted Village Schools do not coincide with one another. Therefore, it is not a 100% Tobacco-Free campus. However, I plan to bring this to the school administration once the school year commences and propose a policy update.”
Libbie learned “tobacco is a very harmful drug, not only for the user but for the wallet as well. If one were to buy and smoke one pack a day for a year, it would total to nearly $2,000.” This is a lot of money that Libbie undoubtedly feels would be better spent on her Ada school activities for her sophomore year of Competition Marching Band, Winterguard, Show Choir, Tennis, Track, Quiz Bowl, and Hardin Youth Leadership and upcoming church activities.
Even though the gates to the Ohio State Fair have closed for the year, you can plan to view Libbie’s project and other 4-H-ers works at the Hardin County Fair in early September. Libbie says she may enter a few art pieces she made in school last year as well. And as for next year in 4-H….”I seem to do well in medical related projects, therefore I plan to undertake another health project,” shares Libbie already planning her next run at a clock trophy.
Photo on right shows Libbie being judged at the state fair.
