Benton
Leota Hallyburton started her 4-H journey when she was eight years old, as a member in a Home Economics club participating in cooking, sewing, knitting, canning and other home management projects. Her mother and grandmother were the club leaders, impressing upon her at an early age the importance of adults in the 4-H program. She exhibited at county fair, then added a market steer project, so that she could spend even more time at the fair every year! After high school, Leota attended Oregon State University, majoring in Animal Science, and even took the extension methods courses with the intention of becoming a County Extension Agent. Upon her graduation from OSU, while still living in Corvallis, her friend who was the local 4-H agent asked her to take over a livestock club. She did so, learning about 4-H Sheep and Swine projects ‘on the job.’
After several years away from 4-H, Leota returned when her oldest daughter was old enough to join. She joined the Reata Riders, in Kennewick, Washington, which was her first exposure to the 4-H Horse Project. The next year, she took extension office Project Leader Training, later joining the Fur-Ever Friends 4-H Club. After a few years, she became club leader in addition to being a project leader for Horses, Foods, Aerospace, Food Preservation, Photography, and Vet Science. She has been the Horse Department Superintendent for the Benton Franklin Fair since 2010. She has continued to be a guiding light to the project, determined to be a fair, even handed guide to the youth of the Horse Department. Leota has encouraged horse leaders by providing them opportunities to contribute to the success of the Horse Department at the Benton-Franklin Fair. She always listens to what an adult or youth has to say, encouraging them to grow and become more confident, responsible individuals. . She never tells a child what they think they should do, but asks, allowing them to have ownership over their decision-making. She believes in following a scientific approach in engaging youth and animal projects. After thirty years’ involvement with 4-H, Leota continues to be open-minded and adaptive to 4-H as it changes with the times, while many leaders may have been ‘set in their ways.’
In 2003, Leota was the Vice President of the 4-H County Council; during a time where there was not a lot of support for the council by the 4-H leaders, she remained passionately engaged. She advocated for youth service on the board, and initiated Youth Adult Partnerships in Benton-Franklin
4-H. She has volunteered to work on the bylaws committee multiple times, helped develop a photography contest, and helped revamp the scholarship application process. She also developed guidelines to encourage club attendance at county council meetings by making certain awards contingent on the club having good attendance at the meetings . At county council, she is always available to help develop the organization as needed, often first to offer resources as they are needed. She encourages youth to vote at county council meetings and ensures that they are well aware of why parliamentary procedure is important. Leota has also been recognized as the Benton County Leader of the Year multiple times Leota may be the most diverse and invested 4-H Leader that Benton-Franklin 4-H has ever had. There is not a community service day, community learning day, or workday that the 4-H program puts on where she is not available and ready to serve. She has a great sense of community and works well to make sure all youth feel included and welcomed,
Snohomish
As youths in the Snohomish County Cat Program, Sue Sanderlin Berry was one of our leaders, but she was so much more than that. When our group went to State Fair, Snohomish County tradition was to walk around the fair as a group and have a group picture taken. All the pictures are displayed annually at our county fair and it is fun to go back and view the pictures taken over the years. Each year on the night of this tradition, Sue would walk out to the center of the cat barn and quack like a duck. This was her fun way of telling all of us it was time to go. Our group of close friends decided that we would be ducklings to our Mama Duck, and we would quack back and follow her. I am sure the other counties thought we were crazy. This is just one example of how Sue has made the cat program more than a program, but a family. Sue’s efforts to foster this family essence has resulted in strong bonds that we enjoy today as adults with families of our own.
Sue Sanderlin Berry has been a 4-H leader for over thirty years. She has always welcomed all youth to her club; she started her first club for members with special needs, as many of these youth were left out of 4-H. She saw that other clubs did not intentionally exclude special needs youth but did not openly include them either. Her club filled a need for special needs members to have their own club where they could participate at their own level,. Her club has always had at least four special needs members; over the years she has mentored youths with autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia, as well as blind and deaf youth.
Sue has been an active leader on the county level including judging record books, public presentations, and cat shows. As a certified professional cat judge, she has judged shows all over the world and volunteers her time and knowledge to 4-H kids around the state. She has served as Cat Department. Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent at Evergreen State Fair for over fifteen years. She is active on the state level by helping to organize Cat Bowl and judging contests at the state fair in Puyallup, judging the cat judging contest and writing many of the Cat Bowl questions. She is also on the curriculum committee for resource material for Cat 4-H that not only put together the original materials but is currently reviewing and updating Cat Program Curriculum, Materials and Questions. She has been a respected source of cat knowledge, breeding, and judging on the state level for many years. Sue has donated many purebred cats to 4-H members or their families, believing that the opportunity to own and raise a purebred cat is the most authentic way to learn standards. She never wants a child to miss an opportunity to learn or be exposed to different experiences because of a lack of financial resources. Sue helps 4-H cat members transition to showing their cats at open shows in order to show them that, even though they are leaving 4-H, they can continue to share their love of cats and show their cat as an adult.
Sue has been an important and valuable part of the Snohomish County 4-H Programs and a true blessing to the Snohomish County and Washington State 4-H Cat Program. She has served as teacher, leader, guide and – of course – our loving Mama Duck to generations of 4-H members.
Candi Burke has given thirty years of service to the Snohomish County 4-H program. She began volunteering for 4-H for her children, in order to help instill in them the qualities that she herself valued from her own childhood experiences in 4-H. Candi showed Horses in 4-H as a youth and teen for nearly ten years in King County. Though extremely competitive, Candi always found time to help other members when they needed it, truly showing a 4-H heart. When Candi became a parent, she wanted to share the experiences she loved with her own children. In her time with Snohomish County 4-H, she has devoted countless hours to the horse, cat, creative arts, and llama programs, serving in many different capacities within each program. Candi has helped to develop program curriculum, as well as helping to start new programs in the county.
During her time with the horse program, Candi served several terms as President of the Horse Program Leaders Council, helping to plan horse shows and other equine events and taking her passion for horses to a new generation of 4-H members. She was also was Section Supervisor for the Senior section of the horse show at the Evergreen State Fair. She has assisted with the annual tack sale, a major fundraiser for the Snohomish County Horse Program, putting in countless hours to take consignments and help run the sale.
Candi was instrumental in the development of the Creative Arts Program in Snohomish County, helping to adopt and implement curriculum for the project based on the Art Docent curriculum used by local school districts. She helped shape the program into one that would teach members not only fun crafts but an appreciation of the elements of design in art such as lines, shape, form, texture, and color. She served as Secretary and Treasurer on the Programs Council for several years, and eventually became the Snohomish County Creative Arts Program Leader. In this role, she brought many unique and creative opportunities to Snohomish County 4-H members, showing them aspects of art they may never have known existed, such as the importance and meaning of art and art forms to other cultures.
When one of her daughters became interested in cats, Candi dove into the cat program, learning all she could about cats. Candi eventually became the Cat Program Leader for Snohomish County, a position that she has now held for nearly twenty years. When members in Snohomish County wanted to show Llamas and there was no Llama project, Candi again stepped in to help. Serving as Secretary for the Llama Program, she was instrumental in the writing of the program by-laws and the requirements and application process for members to receive the Llama Achievement pin.
Candi has always put her best foot forward to ensure positive youth development. She has taken the 4-H pledge to heart, fulfilling it through many projects, events, and positions. She continues to serve Snohomish County 4-H long after her own children have grown and left the program. The difference she has made in the lives of not only her own children but the lives of all members who have participated in 4-H in the last thirty years will continue to make the best better far into the future.