4‑H Salute to Excellence Awards

Gloria Miller embodies the true spirit of 4‑H: generous, hard-working, dedicated, relevant, and inspirational. For the pure, humble joy of giving and helping others, Gloria began her career as a 4‑H volunteer with an open heart and an open mind, accepting and serving in all capacities. She has served as a 4‑H Club Leader, 4‑H Foundation Board Officer, 4‑H Advisory Leadership Council Member, 4‑H overnight chaperone, 4‑H authorized driver, Louisiana 4‑H Volunteer Leaders Association Officer and conference presenter, 4‑H fundraiser coordinator, 4‑H enrichment volunteer, 4‑H judge, mentor, and 4‑H advocate.

Gloria donates her own time, effort, and funds to the 4‑H Youth Development Program, and serves as an advocate, continually recruiting, encouraging, and motiving youth, adults, businesses, and legislators to learn about and invest in the 4‑H Youth Development Program. In an everchanging society, Mrs. Miller continues to be a constant, learning new delivery models and changing with the times and advancements in technology. She embraces the notion that “there’s something for everyone in 4‑H” as she continues to encourage and work with diverse audiences, including special needs, diverse backgrounds, transgender, and multi-generational communities, to create a safe, inclusive environment for all youth to call “home.”

Throughout her time as a 4‑H volunteer, Gloria has impacted thousands of youths by providing experiential, hands-on learning experiences, being a positive role model, bridging generational gaps, and nurturing youth and adult partnerships. She first started as a 4‑H Fashion Club Leader where her program opportunities increased from two workshops a year to over 30 annual workshops for 17+ years – delivering over 500 workshops and seminars during her tenure with 4‑H. She enhanced her leadership within the 4‑H program by becoming highly involved in various aspects of the parish level and venturing to the regional, state, and national levels. From being an officer and presenter of the Louisiana 4‑H Volunteer Leaders Association to participating in in-person and virtual National 4‑H Volunteer Conferences, Gloria has enhanced her experience as a 4‑H Volunteer. However, if you ever met her, you would never know that Gloria has accomplished such feats as a 4‑H volunteer. She is exceptionally humble, generous, and indeed an inspiration to her 4‑H youth, other 4‑H volunteers, and her 4‑H agent.

Dan Landheer has been involved with 4‑H since he was a youth. Now as an adult 4‑H leader, he is passionate about supporting quality educational experiences for all youth in Minnesota. Dan has been a critical leader in growing exceptional science, technology, engineering, and math programming in Chisago County and the region, helping to expand STEM, robotics, coding, and aerospace opportunities for youth in the community. With the focus on creating inclusive and diverse programs, Dan excels at leading youth of all ages and ability levels.

Through his work at Boston Scientific, Dan has participated in outreach and youth development programs to bring STEM activities to underprivileged communities. At a time when many counties were seeing declines in overall enrollment, Dan helped to grow Chisago 4‑H’s STEM program by providing multiple avenues for youth to connect with STEM while maintaining a very high-quality experience for 4‑H’ers and their families. The impact on youth has sustained over multiple years as Dan developed a ladder of participation in events that allowed youth to challenge and grow their skills from Kindergarten through High School. Dan also encourages youth and adult mentors to volunteer and inspires them to develop their skillsets, opening new avenues for 4‑H to be involved in afterschool and summer programs. Through mentoring volunteers and leading by example, Dan has had a positive influence on Chisago 4‑H volunteers who increasingly provide higher quality programming in their clubs and circles of influence.

Through her 45 years of volunteer service, June Riordan Zoppa has been a positive and integral part of the 4‑H community in Hartford County, Connecticut. June serves or has served simultaneously on the Hartford County 4‑H Advisory Board, Hartford County 4‑H Fair Association, the Hartford County 4‑H Camp, Inc., Board of Trustees, and serves as a club leader.

June’s achievements as a leader can be seen through how her club members and former club members have thrived. Her club members are consistently recognized with awards and ribbons for their outstanding projects presented for evaluation at the 4‑H Fair. As a result of her careful guidance and commitment to positive youth development, her club members and mentees demonstrate the traits of independence, confidence, leadership and perseverance. Youth formerly under June’s leadership have gone on to become entrepreneurs, teachers, service men and women, coaches and workers in other service-oriented roles. Many have returned as 4‑H leaders and 4‑H parents.

At a county-level, June participates in many associations, committees, and boards. Under her guidance and leadership, over $1 million has been raised for Hartford County 4‑H programming. Outside of structured meetings, June is planning a Teen & Volunteer Recognition Dinner, County Awards Night and Tri-County Nutrition and Food Show by booking venues and meals and picking up awards. June leaves no problem unsolved and no situation unmanaged. Her lifelong dedication to the UConn 4‑H Program at a highly engaged level is commendable. The time she gives to many aspects of the 4‑H Program is selfless and affects thousands of youth on an annual basis. She is a go-to volunteer who is always willing to assist and is instrumental to the success of the 4‑H program. Her contributions to the Hartford County 4‑H Program will continue to positively impact generations of UConn 4‑H’ers for years to come.

Many years ago, Len Humphries started a small afterschool shooting club with only a few members. Today it has grown to over 50 members and seven certified instructors. Len spends countless hours helping youth become better marksmen in a safe, inclusive environment where they can grow and develop skills that will last a lifetime.

Len has several roles that he fulfills in the community each year as a 4‑H Organizational Volunteer, a District and State Shooting Sports Coach, and a National Rifle Association Mentor. He also works with local elementary schools to promote their “Eddie the Eagle” Program, which is designed to promote gun safety and accident prevention among pre-K through 4th grade students. Len has recently made the commitment to become a Level 2 Instructor in which he will actively train other 4‑H Shooting Sports Instructors in their area.

As the Mescalero 4‑H club leader, Ruth Wold revived a struggling program while bringing together a diverse, underserved group of local youth and adult leaders. Capitalizing on her involvement in the community, Ruth consistently engages new youth and leaders from all walks of life, fostering inclusivity and providing a safe environment for others to learn and grow through 4‑H and positive adult mentorship. She is known for her innovative measures to engage youth in civic service while also fostering a spirit of community within her club. Ruth has recruited youth and raised funds through developing local partnerships and staying at the forefront of her community through parades and regional events.

Ruth helped organize a partnership with the Mescalero Appache Tribe who raises a high-quality herd of commercial cattle through the Mescalero Apache Cattle Growers. Together, they worked to reinstate a steer program that allows 4‑H youth to raise and exhibit steers from the tribe’s ranch. A testament to the program’s success is that it has not only grown in size, but doubled in its second year. This program provides the opportunity for Mescalero youth, who may not otherwise exhibit livestock, to gain confidence, build positive adult relationships, and experience hands-on animal care.

For the past eight years, Clark Gafke has served as a Missouri 4‑H volunteer. In that short amount of time, he has made a huge impact on the lives of countless youth through starting and sustaining 4‑H project groups, clubs, a statewide 4‑H K-9 Camp, and out-of-state apprentice experiences. Clark is known for being ambitious and having “grand ideas” which he will run with until they become reality, inspiring youth and adult volunteers along the way.

One of Clark’s first 4‑H passion projects was a statewide 4‑H K-9 camp. At the time, dogs were not allowed at the Missouri State Park, but through Clark’s dedication, he made it happen. In its 5-year run, the camp has taught countless youth to build leadership skills, learn about dog agility, and fueled their love for dog training. Clark is also known for arranging Zoo Apprentice and Junior Zoo Apprentice experiences out of state in Tampa and Orlando, FL. This opportunity allowed young people to have unique behind-the-scenes access and animal encounters to explore firsthand what it is like to work at a zoo.

Clark’s determination has also stood out during the pandemic. While most 4‑H projects slowed or halted during the COVID-19 outbreak, Clark’s passion allowed him to pivot. In mere weeks, Clark launched an entire website dedicated to keeping dog training alive during the pandemic. On a weekly basis, 4‑H members upload dog training videos, watch demonstration videos, and meet over Zoom to discuss progress with their dogs, ask questions, listen to guest speakers, and more.

In 2015, Rachael Manzer saw an opportunity to engage youth in 4‑H projects that were unique to the community, creating one of only two 4‑H VEX Robotics Programs on the East Coast. Knowing that there was no large industry nearby to support a STEM program, Rachael was innovative in selecting the VEX platform because the robotic pieces are reusable, and competition and team registration fees are reasonable, giving more youth the opportunity to experience 4‑H.

Rachael’s goal was to redefine STEM robotics by creating an inclusive environment, which she has done through allowing members from multiple states, customizing the programming for youth with special needs, and attracting more female members through outreach programs after noticing few female participants at early robotic competitions. While the program allows 4‑H’ers to experience STEM, it also focuses on encouraging them to engage with individuals of different backgrounds and to recognize each individuals’ talents and strengths while learning to work together to ensure the team’s success as a whole.

Rachael has served as a huge advocate for 4‑H through hosting a 4‑H booth at the VEX World Championships, where thousands of people learned about 4‑H and were given stickers, bracelets, and could take photos with a 4‑H frame. She also works at informing her surrounding community about what 4‑H has to offer by hosting free robotics workshops in local libraries and doing demonstrations at community events like Open Farm Days, the New England State Fair, and more.

Jessica Parker works tirelessly to ensure her clubs are a safe space for all. Through creating an inclusive environment, her programs inspire youth to adopt a welcoming attitude, and as a result, her youth learn to appreciate the diversity of all people. Members of Jessica’s 4‑H club call her a compassionate and caring leader and appreciate her always making herself available to youth through an “open office” policy, saying “anytime we needed her for anything, or just needed an adult to talk to, we knew we could go visit her in her office.”

Mrs. Parker is a champion of 4‑H and works to make it a central focus of her school and community. She spreads awareness by showcasing events and programs on the school’s web page and electronic school board. She effectively promotes events at both the parish and state level through various communication channels. As an active recruiter, every year Jessica meets with incoming freshman at her school to teach them about the opportunities that 4‑H provides. Through these efforts, she has increased enrollment in her club and reaches up to 75 members annually.