CANFIELD, Ohio — Growing Traditions 4-H Club met for its monthly meeting on April 6 at St. Michael’s Church to discuss cleaning tips and tools recommended for its fair. Members also announced that the club gave over 20 meal kits to Big Reach Center of Hope for its Easter drive.
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CANFIELD, Ohio — The Mahoning County Junior Fair Board elected its 2025 officers, including Grace Maltonic, president; Landon Frank, vice president; Cadence Elford, secretary; Grace Ewing, treasurer; Abbie Mellott, assistant secretary-treasurer, and Ashlyn Mason, news reporter.
Members recently helped with the 2025 Quality Assurance Workshops at South Range Schools, the 4-H Sponsored Community Easter Egg Hunt, held at Western Reserve Schools, and The VFW Post 9571 Fish Fry in Ellsworth, Ohio.
Junior Fair board members also signed up to participate in Market Livestock Tagging May 17.
The clubs Junior Fair Board picnic and training event will be May 22 at The Michael Kusalaba Fund of the Youngstown Foundation Event Center and will feature special guests from the Canfield Fair Board and the Canfield Junior Fair Committee.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two 4-H volunteers were recognized with 4-H Salute to Excellence Awards by Pennsylvania 4-H and Penn State Extension. Paula Leonhardt was honored with the 2025 the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award, and Kelsey Ziegler received the Volunteer of the Year Award.
Leonhardt has been a 4-H volunteer in Venango County for nearly three decades. Despite no longer living in the county, she continues to volunteer. She has volunteered in various positions, including 24 years on the development committee, with more than a decade as president. She currently serves on several smaller committees and continues to help with the 4-H benefit auction and the leadership banquet. Her work on the auction consists of planning menus, coordinating food donations, leading teens and volunteers in the kitchen and securing auctioneers. For the leadership banquet, Leonhardt helps manage everything from food preparation to event promotion and decorating.
She also assists with the 4-H scholarship program, organizing application and interview logistics, recruiting community members to interview youth and helping youth afford to participate in 4-H activities.The Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award recognizes 4-H volunteers who have served 10 or more years.
Ziegler, also from Venango County, is involved in both club-level and countrywide 4-H initiatives. She previously served as vice president of the 4-H development committee and helped organize events like the leadership banquet. She also acted at the main leader of the Emlenton Echoes 4-H club, planning meetings, managing finances and assisting members with their projects for four years. Ziegler has worked with Teen Council for five years, assisting roughly 30 youth in organizing programs and outreach across the county. She helps the group strengthen community connections by planning events at local schools and promoting 4-H through hands-on activities.
Currently, she is working on a new afterschool program to reach students who may not otherwise be able to participate in 4-H. The initiative will consist of biweekly workshops on a variety of project topics.
According to her nominator, she is particularly skilled at building confidence in youth. The Volunteer of the Year Award is given to 4-H volunteers with fewer than 10 years of service.
