Public speaking and community service are among the experiences that shaped an Okotoks farm girl into the leader she is today.
When Cassidy Barnert joined the Millarville Mutts 4-H Club in 2004, she was a shy nine-year-old. Today she is the club’s canine project leader and Alberta Youth Advisory Committee representative for 4-H.
Barnert is also studying kinesiology at the University of Calgary with financial support from 4-H scholarships and is training in equine sports therapy.
“If I hadn’t participated in 4-H, all of these opportunities wouldn’t have presented themselves,” she said. “It’s a pretty life changing experience.”
Barnert is a third generation 4-H project leader – following in the footsteps of her mom and grandma.
When Barnert joined the Millarville Mutts 4-H Club 13 years ago, she was in a horse club in High River and her brothers were in 4-H beef clubs.
The dog club offered Barnert the opportunity to train her young pug Diesel.
Food motivated, Diesel quickly took to his training in dog agility and Barnert felt at home with the club.
“I did all the club activities, went to 4-H camp, participated in all the shows,” she said.
In 2010, Barnert helped add a horse component to the club, making it a multi-club.
“When it first started out it was very challenging,” she said. “We needed a trainer, clinicians and people to teach us.”
In the first year of the Millarville Mutts and Mustangs Multi 4-H Club, Barnert was one of two youths enrolled in the horse component.
Now it has grown to 20 with youth learning Western horsemanship, English riding, polo, rodeo and cowboy components.
At the age of 16, Barnert became an instructor for the canine project and is now the project leader.
“I see a lot of myself in some of these kids,” said Barnert, a two-time high school provincial wrestling champion. “They come in and are so shy they barely say their name to you. After the first year they are little chatterboxes. You see them start to take charge of certain things. Their involvement increases and you definitely see them becoming more confident.”
Being a leader presented a new set of opportunities, including traveling around the world to attend events like the global 4-H Network Summit.
“4-H opened up a bunch of doors for lifelong friendship, life skills like public speaking, networking, leadership, animal husbandry, scholarships and travel opportunities,” she said.
Barnert has noticed an evolution in 4-H since its inception in Alberta a century ago.
“It has roots in agriculture, but as the years went by with an increase in urbanization, 4-H has met the demand with the ability to participate in any project,” she said, adding clubs now include cake decorating, welding and photography. “You don’t have to live on a farm to participate in 4-H. I think that’s why the project is still so strong.”
Carolyn Morrison, general leader of the Millarville Mutts and Mustangs Multi 4-H Club, said the club joined the evolution, recently adding archery and photography projects. This fall it’s adding a small engine project.
Morrison didn’t realize how big 4-H was until she moved to the Foothills.
“I grew up in Calgary,” she said. “When we moved down here, because of my kids’ friends, we got involved in 4-H.”
She loves the work ethic of 4-H youth.
“A lot of them live on farms so they’re are up before school feeding and taking care of animals,” she said. “They really know how to work and they’re really committed.”
Even when it comes to projects like public speaking, they pull it off, Morrison said.
“You always have kids that say, ‘I can’t do this,’” she said. “They do it and come back the next year and work harder.”
Youth in 4-H are required to take on a project, like caring for an animal. They must keep a record book to include information like how often they feed and groom the animal, costs and goals. They can also take part in training sessions, camps and go on trips organized through 4-H, she said.
There are many opportunities to take on leadership roles. A president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer are elected each year. All members get involved in discussing issues like spending and activities, said Morrison.
Another important component of 4-H is community service, said Morrison. Clubs must participate in at least one community service project a year, teaching the youth to give back, said Morrison.
“It’s a great organization for kids to be involved in,” she said. “It builds skills for life.”
