Girl makes most of chances
She is president of county 4-H Youth Council
“4-H is about bettering yourself,” said newly elected Butler County 4-H Youth Council President Lanae Mortimer.
The 17-year-old daughter of Bob and Leslie Mortimer of Portersville has taken advantage of the many opportunities offered through the youth development program to do just that.
A seven-year horse club member, Lanae is in the Renfrew Riders and has represented her club for three years on Butler County Youth Council. The council consists of children ages 13 and older from all of the county’s different 4-H clubs and takes the lead on many countywide 4-H activities.
“Until I joined Youth Council, I always thought a group of adults put on a lot of the county events and didn’t realize the kids did the work themselves,” said Lanae, pointing out the youths take the reigns on many of the activities.
“The council members really care about 4-H, and we’re like a big family.”
Youth Council is led by volunteer leaders Anna and Beth Flick of Fenelton and Karla McEachin of West Sunbury. They guide the youth members in executing activities and events, most of which are geared toward promoting 4-H, agriculture and doing good deeds in the community.
“4-H really teaches us about responsibility and the importance of doing community service projects,” Lanae said.
She also believes joining Youth Council opened her eyes to other larger out-of-county 4-H events.
For instance, last month, she and nine other Butler County 4-H’ers joined more than 425 Pennsylvania youth at the State 4-H Leadership Conference at Penn State.
“The conference was a really great experience, and the workshops were unbelievable,” she said. “They related not only to 4-H, but how we can prepare for our futures. I’m considering attending other larger events that I didn’t even know about before.”
Lanae owns five horses that her family raises on their small 15-acre farm. She participates in all Butler County 4-H shows, as well as in many other local and regional shows every weekend during the summer.
She focuses on “gaming,” a timed style of riding that includes barrel racing and pole bending.
In barrel racing, the rider competes for the fastest time around a series of three barrels set in a cloverleaf pattern, and in pole bending, the horse and rider weave through a series of six poles arranged in a line.
“All the 4-H horse events are made for families and have something for every single age group,” said Lanae.
Last summer, Lanae was chosen as the North Washington Rodeo Queen. The competition included giving a prepared speech, answering an impromptu question and memorizing and completing a pattern on her horse. The title is something she always dreamed about, “ever since I was a little girl and my pap took me to the rodeo.”
She hopes to be selected for the elite statewide 4-H horse program called Team Horse Power. A leadership program, it is designed to train and empower teens to develop individual skills and in turn mentor younger 4-H’ers while teaching horsemanship skills based on the Pennsylvania 4-H Horsemanship Skills program.
A senior at Slippery Rock High School, Lanae also studies Health Occupations at the Butler Vo-Tech. Through her clinical experiences at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and with the Butler VNA, she realized she wanted to work with and help people.
She plans to attend Butler County Community College in the fall to begin nursing studies, then transfer to the Jameson School of Nursing in New Castle.
Lanae credits her 4-H involvement and her role as the rodeo queen for giving her confidence. “I used to be very shy, but these activities helped me with public speaking and are helping me better myself.”
Butler County 4-H is part of the nation’s largest non-formal youth development organization that provides its members, ages 8-19, the opportunity to “learn by doing,” through a variety of hands-on projects. Our county has nearly 30 different 4-H clubs with more than 330 members taking small and large animal projects as well as sewing and baking, shooting sports and robotics, among others.
For more information about Butler County 4-H, contact Jean Kummer at the Extension Office at 724-287-4761, Ext. 224.
