This premier national event
gathers the best 4-Hers from across the county to celebrate their achievements
and allow them to have a five day convention filled with fun learning
experiences. In order to make National Congress a coveted and special trip, 4-H
members may only attend National Congress once as a delegate. While at National
Congress 2011, I heard of a leadership position that I could apply for to be
able to be granted a second trip back to congress. This National Congress
“Design Team” consists of eight passionate 4-Hers from across the country who
serve as liaisons for all 800+ delegates and they assist other nationally
recognized adults in the planning and execution of National Congress. As you may
have concluded at this point, I applied for the design team, was humbly granted
a spot on the team, and I got to travel back to Atlanta this Thanksgiving.
The benefits of being on the design
team were greater than I could have ever imagined. We had the distinct
opportunity to meet with prestigious individuals in corporations such as
Coca-Cola and AGCO. The personal networking that came out of being a National
4-H Congress design team member was unbelievable as well. Meeting several
National 4-H Council members was significantly noteworthy to avid 4-Hers such as
us.
Though meeting all of these “bigwigs”
was impressive, what really made my 2012 congress experience spectacular was
meeting as many of the 4-H delegates as I could. Sure, having a one on one
conversation with Miss America, Laura Kaeppeler, and finding out we were
in the same Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia was neat, but in no way did I have
an affect on her life. Having the chance to talk with such enthusiastic 4-Hers
from all over and hear how much fun they were having really brought back
memories from when I was a delegate having a blast with some of my best friends
in 4-H. I also remembered that I looked up to the design team as such high 4-H
role models. They put in their hard work to achieve their positions and they put
in a lot of time to creating the congress experience that I had. I had to keep
my mentality from when I was a delegate in the back of my head. It was
incredible humbling to hear people look up to me as a 4-Her and to be asked how
could they become a design team member next year.
Even though National Congress 2012 is
officially adjourned, the impacts and memories will live on forever. I had a
marvelous time listening to so many different 4-H stories and trying to get to
know lots of excellent 4-H members. I sure can’t wait for my future in 4-H and
possibly attending other national 4-H events such as National 4-H Conference
and/or Citizen Washington Focus!
