“I Pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.” These words, part of the 4-H Pledge, were recited at the start of the second gathering of the newly resurrected Northern Lights 4-H Club, which met at the Minot Air Force Base Youth Center on the fourth of November. The entire meeting was student-led, from the roll call to the review of old business to the discussing of new project ideas. Providing oversight and mentorship to these emerging, young leaders was Captain Guil Factor of the 69th Bomb Squadron.
For many people, 4-H conjures up images of state fair winning blue ribbons. But what is this program actually all about? According to the North Dakota State University Extension web site “4-H provides hands-on, real life experiences through projects, activities, and events… 4-H is the largest and the only research based youth organization in the state.” It is a program designed to nurture the leadership skills and civic mindedness of youth, families, and their communities – in short, it makes the local, personal.
In a military community, these volunteer-run organizations can be affected dramatically by a single PCS cycle. Groups on base have experienced sudden losses in leadership and continuity that prevented them from thriving the way their in-town counterparts do. Fortunately, after being inactive for several years, the Northern Lights 4-H club has been revived through the efforts of the Minot AFB Youth Center and Captain Factor. He shared that “growing up in Western Wyoming, I had a great opportunity of raising and selling lambs with my local 4-H Club. Every spring-summer, my brother and I would purchase, raise, show, and sell our lambs to a local buyer. Due to long transit times, my brother and [I] raised our own local sheep [to sell] to local 4-H kids. This whole experience taught me the values of hard work, livestock care, and responsibility.”
Captain Factor shared that having his first child revived his interested in 4-H a couple of years ago. “When I reached out to volunteer with one of the local clubs, I saw that there used to be a 4-H club on base. That’s when I knew that the best thing to do was try to rebuild the Northern Lights 4-H club.” The inaugural meeting of the Northern Lights club was held this past September. Nine families signed up, and more have expressed interest. “Our goal is to have this club teach kids responsibility, community involvement, and the beauties of Minot and North Dakota. I want this club to be a reason why people want to come to Minot,” said Captain Factor, adding that, “I would love to see this club [have] the same positive effect on these kids as it [had] for me.”
An average 4-H meeting on Minot AFB will find the youth of the Northern Lights chapter running their own meetings, voting for and working on group projects, and generally developing their leadership and teamwork skills. 4-H projects are specific areas of interest for 4-H members and cover a wide variety of topics. Project ideas that were discussed at last week’s meeting included care of animals, picking up trash around the base, a community garden, and a lemonade stand. Captain Factor’s role was to keep the meeting on track and to help the students find feasible ways to accomplish their goals. For example, a livestock project, would be difficult to carry out on a military installation, but could be facilitated with the help of nearby farmers.
The Northern Lights 4-H is open to all Minot AFB dependents grades K-12. To join, parents can contact the Youth Center or sign up through the Parent Portal. Meetings are held toward the beginning of each month on Mondays or Wednesdays. The rest of the month, students pursue personal areas of interest through their individual projects. The head, hands, heart and health focus of 4-H is an opportunity for military affiliated families to keep their kids engaged and grounded – a refreshingly tangible pursuit in our increasingly digitized world.
