Thursday Feel-Good: A 4-H auctioneer mentors children on the value of livestock and life

East Idaho News , Ashley Home Stores is looking for individuals to recognize for their contributions to the community. They honored Dan Williams from Rexburg County in Idaho, who is an auctioneer as well as a high school teacher. William’s focus is agricultural auctions, and for 15 years he has been involved in 4-H auctions and mentorship.

I’m not a parent and haven’t heard of 4-H since high school. It was a surprise to me that it is still in existence. I also found it surprising that the main purpose of 4-H is to develop leadership skills among youth.

These programs are a huge benefit. Unfortunately, in the last decade we’ve seen deficits where these programs are not available.

4-H is shorthand for the organization’s original motto: “head, heart, hands, and health.” In 1927, the motto was incorporated into a fuller pledge:

My Head to clearer thinking
My Heart to greater loyalty
My Hands to larger service
My Health to better living
My club, my nation, and the world.

I think back to the Feel-Good Friday article on Corion Evans (the Mississippi teenager who saved three young girls and a cop from drowning). This young man displayed a certain amount of clarity, strength, endurance and caring, which should be emulated by more youth. Programs like 4-H are still available and work to instill these values among our youth.

4H is a networked college system that has national networks. However, it focuses more on the local after-school programs and in-school activities. This allows children to complete projects in areas such as health, science and agriculture with adult mentors.

So, the fact that Williams has done this for 15 years, and continues to do so, is a testament to his love for the work, and his love for building the youth of his community.

According to Nate Eaton, East Idaho News’ Williams personal motto is

” We don’t have children to raise our animals. We have livestock to help raise our kids.”

As you can see, Williams is modest about the impact he has made to the community by teaching leadership and problem-solving to 4-H youth. The children in his specific branch of agriculture are responsible for the animal’s health and well-being. They must first purchase the animal. The child must purchase the animal and pay for its maintenance, growth, upkeep, and repair. This means that the child must get up each morning to feed and then make sure they sleep at night.

Two domesticated dogs is enough work for me. I can’t imagine caring for livestock. While I’ve learned a lot from caring for canines, it is hard to imagine how much I would have gained by taking care of other farm animals, such as equines, bovines, or swine.

The 4-H component aims to ensure that the animal reaches the correct weight at the end of its life, once it has reached full maturity. Williams can complete the circle by bidding on his animals with his youth mentors. The mentees also get to witness their dedication and hard work returned to their community.

Williams invests in his youth community beyond 4-H and is an investment they will continue to draw on for their entire lives.

We need more people like Dan Williams, and more programs to do the 4-H .

work.

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