Keeping youth involved in leadership opportunities is important to ensure that they have the necessary skills to be successful in life. Being able to set goals for yourself and provide a good example for others is something that the youth of our nation and the world need help with.  The children of our community struggle to see the importance of being active in extracurricular activities, civic engagement and leadership roles.Helping youth stay involved in these worthy endeavors is why the Greenup County Teen Council was developed.

As part of the Teen Council youth have the opportunity to apply with the 4-H Achievement Program that is conducted by the state 4-H office.  According to the Kentucky 4-H State Office “The 4-H Achievement Program is intended to recognize 4-H participants who have outstanding accomplishments and to provide incentive for youth to increase their knowledge, skills and abilities.” After years of Greenup County having no participation in this program, we now have two youth that applied for and were awarded the Bronze level this year.  The high school freshmen gathered information about their participation in 4-H events from the Extension Office, and completed the application process.  Upon receipt of the Bronze award the students will now receive one third off the cost to attend 4-H Teen Conference in June as well as be recognized during this event.  

After completing this application the teens said that they didn’t realize that they had accomplished so much, and plan to continue adding leadership and civic engagement accomplishments to their form.  This is a step in the right direction in achieving Greenup County’s goal to increase participation in the Achievement Program and 4-H Teen Conference.  We also want to have these students achieve their full potential in this program by receiving Silver, and Gold awards in the future.