For the first time in several years, two Greene County 4-H’ers are a part of a distinguished group.

According to Greene County ISU Extension 4-H and Youth Coordinator Samantha Hardaway, Ella Tasler and Paisley Lautner are serving on the State 4-H Council. Tasler tells Raccoon Valley Radio what it was like at the official induction ceremony that was held earlier this year at the 4-H State Conference.

“It felt really good. I felt so proud because it was a pretty big process applying and the interview and I was so grateful that these were the kids that I was being inducted with. It was so, so awesome.”

As a State 4-H Council member, Tasler says they are ambassadors for 4-H, as Lautner will be representing Greene County and because Calhoun County didn’t have a representative, she will be working with the Calhoun County Youth Coordinator as an advocate for 4-H with them. She explains why she wanted to be a part of the State 4-H Council.

“My first year of state conference, I didn’t know anybody. And the kids in the green polos, the state council members were, truly the most welcoming people I had ever met. And I thought, ‘That’s cool! I want to be a part of that. I want to make a difference to somebody here. So I wasn’t old enough, obviously, the first couple of years, but when I finally was, I was like, ‘This is something I want to do, I want to be a part of something bigger, I want to plan, I want to be a part of the process.”  

Tasler is looking forward to meeting the other state council members and will get to help plan the next youth state conference.