4-H has been a passion of mine

If you asked, Abby Van Aernam would tell you, “4-H has been a passion of mine,” adding “It was a big part of my life when I was growing up. I believe in the program, and the skills it teaches our youth who are the future citizens of this world.”

She said she completely believes in it, and wants “to support the program, in any way I can, whether that is behind the scenes, or in front.”

Abby is the Office Manager at ISU Extension and Outreach, and is “the first contact for all the clients,” whether they call in or come in the door.

She is responsible for everything from the office supplies to the budget — to working with the Extension Council to making decisions on how to spend taxpayer money.

But during Audubon County Fair “it’s a whole different ball game,” she said, when she’ll be running show orders and sale orders, and answering questions. Right now, with almost five months to fair time, they are working on the fair book and finishing up the fair schedule.

“A lot goes on behind the scenes,” she said. “We actually work on the fair year around, hiring judges, keeping records for livestock exhibits being entered, our 4-Hers are ordering their market broiler projects, those are due at the end of this month, and as (fair) gets closer, we are processing entries, putting together the show orders, ordering ribbons and trophies, all of that in the background.

Looking back, Abby said she enjoyed being involved in 4-H. She was in the Audubon Peppy Pals — a group that no longer exists after membership went down, and also with the Bunkhouse Gang 4-H Club. She participated in static exhibits, showed beef projects, and thought her favorite was showing her horse. “I liked to ride my horse around the fairgrounds and hang out with my friends at the horse barns,” she said.

The Audubon County Fair will be July 12-16 at the Audubon County Fairgrounds. This year’s theme is “Find Your Potential.” Abby said today about 130 kids from kindergarten through 12th grade are served by the Audubon County Extension, along with a handful of FFA kids.

For now Abby is probably busier than normal in the Extension office — they are currently advertising for a new Program Coordinator, to replace Ann Carter, who is no longer with the office, and for a summer program assistant.