Purdue News
Purdue News
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July 31, 1998
4-H fundamental part of Indiana State FairWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Elephant ears, midway rides and 4-H --the essential elements for any visit to the Indiana State Fair Aug. 12-23.4-H staff and volunteers are gearing up to set up, coordinate or display more than 20,000 exhibits and entries -- both animate and inanimate -- from youths across the state, said Carl Broady, state program coordinator for Purdue University's Department of 4-H Youth. It's a grueling three weeks for Broady and 42 4-H helpers who have hired on for exhibit maintenance, errand running, and behind-the-scenes support for the 4-H presence at the State Fair. On Wednesday (Aug. 5) 6,000 posters, electric utility lights, formal dresses and myriad other projects will descend on Broady and staff, who will work all day and part of the night to put everything in the proper place in the 4-H Exhibit Hall. "Each one of those projects represents the best of the best from that county," Broady said. "For a lot of 4-H'ers, State Fair is the place they worked hard to get to all summer." On Thursday, (Aug. 6) 100 judges will come through and critique every exhibit, awarding a blue, red or white ribbon to the deserving projects. The best of the blues then compete for gold stars of merit. For those who earn top honors, it's an exhilarating lifelong memory. For those who don't, it's one of those valuable life lesson 4-H was created to teach, Broady said. No fake self-esteem exercises here, he said. "Yes, they're disappointed, but then they start to look at the winning entries or the next level, and get ideas on how to do it better next year." While Broady is a veteran of 10 state fairs, this is the first for his boss, Linda Chezem, at least as head of the Indiana 4-H, a post she assumed Jan. 1. As judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals and a juvenile justice in Lawrence County, she saw enough kids in trouble to want to do something with them before they showed up in court. The answer was obvious to a second-generation, eight-year 4-H member and adult volunteer, she said. So the first woman to become a circuit court judge in Indiana became the first woman to head Purdue's Department of 4-H Youth. Chezem said she spent countless hours every summer working on projects ranging from food preservation to electricity, and making it to the State Fair. Now, her 4-H projects are more complex, but just as rewarding, she said. "For 4-H, our project is the child. All the work they do to learn new skills, research a topic, create something and communicate it is designed to help them succeed in life, whether they're showing clothing or cats," Chezem said. She said she hopes fair visitors recognize the amount of work and thought that goes into each exhibit. "This doesn't happen in a vacuum. Every one of these kids learned how to do their project from an adult volunteer who held a workshop, or ran a club or helped out at the county fair. I hope everyone who is impressed at the state fair can return and help make it happen at home," she said. The huge 4-H presence at the state fair still represents just a fraction of the youth organization, which is part of the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service. 4-H programs statewide reach more than 252,000 youths and 20,500 volunteer adults and Junior Leaders. The Purdue 4-H department has a national reputation in the areas of curriculum development, programming for youths with special needs and community development focusing on youth issues. Purdue's Agricultural Communication Service will post digital pictures of 4-H livestock and demonstration project winners on the World Wide Web at http://www.purdue.edu/AG/ during the fair.
Sources: Carl Broady, (765) 494-8435; 4-H Exhibit Hall, (317) 927-7650; e-mail, carl_broady@four-h.purdue.edu Linda Chezem, (765) 494-8422 Writer: Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; e-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: State 4-H head Linda Chezem will be on the fairgrounds for much of the Indiana State Fair. Call the 4-H Exhibit Hall at (317) 927-7650 for contact information.
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