Since its inception twenty years ago the Simpson County 4-H Exchange Club has given some 150 Kentucky teens the opportunity to experience the culture of other states and their 4-H programs through interstate exchange trips. Simpson County 4-H just completed its 9th two-year interstate exchange, this time with New York. During the summer of 2022 Simpson County 4-H families hosted 13 teens & 3 chaperones from New York. They stayed in the members homes for a week. While in Kentucky the group toured throughout Kentucky and Tennessee, visiting landmarks such as Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger, Country Music Hall of Fame, National Corvette Museum, the W.K.U. Creamery, and Chaney's Dairy Barn. In July 2023 12 teens & 3 chaperones from Simpson County then traveled to Oneida County New York, staying with the 4-H families they had hosted the previous summer. While in New York our teens went to Niagra Falls, hiked in the Adirondack Mountains, toured large dairy operations, visited a Maple Syrup farm, and toured Cornell University's Agriculture College.

To be able to both host and travel the Kentucky 4-H members spent countless hours fundraising throughout the two year exchange, raising over $15,000 to be able to both host and travel. In addition the Kentucky 4-H Foundation supported the 2022 trip by assisting with the transportation costs of traveling throughout the week by bus. 

When the teens were asked the impact the exchange had on them they reported:  four teens flew for the first time, none had ever been to Niagra Falls before, and all 15 got to put their hand into a "Holey Cow" at Cornell to learn how ruminant animals function. The most impactful part of the program for the teens that was repeatedly said was, "The lifelong friendships we have made, seeing the differences in New York agriculture compared to Kentucky farms, learning how 4-H operates in other states, and experiencing the culture differences of New York." In addition, one of the New York chaperones came back to Kentucky with his family after last year's exchange for a week. 

A Simpson County 4-H parent shared this , "Thank you so much for letting my son be a part of this program. My grandmother is 99 years old and her family moved from Utica New York to Kentucky many years ago. Today Jack got to visit his great-grandmother's family dairy farm in New York that just happened to be down the road from the 4-H family he is staying with."  She went on to share pictures of her son in front of the barns that belonged to her family over fifty years ago.

The first Simpson County Interstate Exchange was with Montana in 2002 and 2003.  Twenty years later we have 4-H alumni that stay in contact with the 4-H friends they made during that exchange, catching up when traveling with their current jobs. The Simpson County 4-H Exchange Club is the longest running teen program and definitely one of the most impactful on its members lives!