(Letter to the Editor - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

On Saturday July 19, the Wood County 4H and FFA held their annual Summer Showcase. This family-oriented event is the culmination of what for many participants is years of work, planning, dedication and sacrifice.

While the sale is the primary focus for many of us who support the youth with the purchase of healthy locally grown livestock, the observation I make every year is the attitude, skills and acumen of the young men and women who chose 4H as a path of personal growth and accountability. Elementary aged boys and girls look you in the eye and explain the processes and lessons learned in 4H and FFA, values like respect, accountability, responsibility and boundaries. Older participants sit down and reconnect like old friends at a reunion.

The lessons taught and learned in 4H and FFA lead to positive, long-term outcomes including academic or vocational success, civic engagement, employability and economic stability as well as happiness and wellbeing.

In a society that often focuses on all that is wrong and looks to blame others for those negatives, it is refreshing to see so many youth being supported by their families to learn and grow into healthy well-adjusted citizens, who don’t make excuses or seek something for nothing.

Tom Joyce

Mayor, Parkersburg