Successful leaders must acquire communication, leadership, and civic engagement to be effective. The 4-H program is a great organization for young people to learn and practice these skills to develop into future leaders. With hard work and effort, youth and teens can hone their skills to achieve their goals.

Christopher Sweets is in his 12^th year as a 4-H member. He began his 4-H career as a 5-year-old cloverbud member attending 4-H Cloverbud Camp with his mom. After many projects and leadership experiences, one of his proudest moments was being elected as the 2024-25 chairman of the State 4-H Shooting Sports Teen Ambassador Board. Christopher has stated that he has continued in 4-H year after year because it was fun, and he was introduced to new experiences each year. 4-H was appealing to him because of the variety of clubs and competitions that he could get involved in. 4-H sparked his interest in poultry, shooting sports, and culinary arts where he competes in competitions on the state and national level. Through this interest he competed in the National 4-H Avian Bowl contest in 2023 and became a National 4-H Turkey BBQ Contest Champion in 2024. He has also achieved State Black Powder Champion and competed at the National 4-H Muzzleloading Contest in Nebraska this past June.  In 2023 he and his team won the State Culinary Arts Contest and earned a trip to Texas for the National 4-H Culinary Contest.

Christopher states, “The most important skills that 4-H has given me to prepare for my future include leadership, communication, public speaking, and taking initiative.  4-H has a way of pushing you to the next level to continue to grow and excel.  It’s a gradual process that sometimes you don’t even know what is happening. 4-H has also helped me make many connections in a wide array of areas across the state.  I will use these skills and connections to help me to be successful and encourage others throughout my life”.

As Christopher moves forward, he plans to continue to give back to his community through the many opportunities that 4-H has provided him.  For the past three years Christopher has coordinated a donation drive for Fort Campbell soldier families as well as facilitated a tour to educate teens and adults about life on a military base. Christopher enjoys organizing this event to demonstrate appreciation for the service and sacrifice of our soldiers and their families.

During the 2025 Kentucky 4-H Teen Conference, Christopher interviewed for the Emerald Award, the top achievement award in Kentucky 4-H where all his 4-H experiences including leadership and project work were highlighted. He did not achieve Emerald but placed in the top 8 which was a huge accomplishment.

Janet and Julie have worked with Christopher extensively, helping him cultivate his spark and motivate him to excel in his leadership, communication, and civic engagement skills.