With head, heart, hands, health
RENFREW — Children who grow up on family farms in Pennsylvania often learn about 4-H at an early age.
Teaching city and suburban children about 4-H and its many agricultural and nonagricultural programs is one of the jobs of the Pennsylvania 4-H State Council, which is led this year by Jillian Ranko, a senior at Butler Area Senior High School, who doesn't live on a farm.
Ranko, 18, the daughter of James and Jacqui Ranko of Center Township, raises alpacas, but boards them at Carole and Joe Rosts' Asgard Acres Alpaca Farm in Renfrew.
Her reign as the 2019 Pennsylvania Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association's Alpaca Princess ends this month, but her term as president of the council is just getting started.
The six-member council was inducted at the Pennsylvania 4-H State Leadership Conference held Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 in State College. Nearly 700 4-H youths attended. It is the organization's largest event of the year. Council members serve for one year.
“This is kind of a new adventure for me,” Ranko said. “We are in charge of planning state events. We are the faces of 4-H. We are the main ambassadors.”
The council president has specific duties and so do the other council members, but all duties focus on promoting 4-H.
“We have 80,000 members in the state, and a lot of people don't know about it, so one of our main goals is to get the word out about 4-H, definitely,” Ranko said.
She and the other council members are in the process of putting together a presentation they will make to groups across the state that aren't familiar with 4-H.
“We'll make presentations throughout the year,” Ranko said.
The presentation will feature council members talking about their experiences in 4-H, projects members can get involved in, and programs available in different parts of the state. It will also include a PowerPoint presentation.
“It's not limited to agriculture. One of the biggest misconceptions is that 4-H is all about agriculture, and you have to live on a farm. That is so far from the truth. There are many nonagricultural programs, and new ones are added all the time,” she said.
The organization offers a variety of STEM opportunities, including rocketry, robotics, computer science, environmental protection and agriculture and animal sciences. Programs in cooking, sewing and forestry also are offered.
As council president, Ranko will serve as a commodity representative, joining Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding on stage in Harrisburg for the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Pennsylvania Farm Show in January 2021.
“So, that will be exciting,” Ranko said.She said she has been raising alpacas since she joined 4-H eight years ago. She was one of the original members of the alpaca club.The first time she saw an alpaca was at the Big Butler Fair, where she met Carole Rost.Pet rabbits, sewing and alpacas are her 4-H projects.Her senior year in high school marks the end of her time in 4-H. She said she has been accepted at Penn State's main campus, where she will major in agriculture extension and education.“She's a very bright young lady with a great future ahead of her,” said Brian White, Butler Area School District superintendent.He said Ranko shadowed him one day during this school year as a part of the district's job-shadowing program.High school guidance counselors help to arrange job shadowing by connecting students with opportunities aligned with their career goals.Educational leadership was the career goal in Ranko's case, he said.“She's very articulate, very bright. We're inspired by the kids we serve,” White said.
