Have you ever been called upon to stand before a crowd of strangers and speak? For many of us this would create more fear than almost any other single act.

Some of us become fairly comfortable speaking to groups of people that we know. We may be at ease teaching our Sunday School class or even making a presentation to our co-workers. Being called upon unexpectantly or when asked to speak to a group of strangers is an altogether different matter.

Being a former 4-H'er myself, there are many things I admire about the 4-H program that is coordinated by the dedicated professionals on the 4-H staff of the Robeson County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. The thing I admire most about this program is the opportunity it provides for our youth to develop leadership skills and personal skills that will last them the rest of their lives.

A very good example of these opportunities occurred a couple of weeks ago in the auditorium of the Extension Center. More than a dozen youth, along with their families and friends, gathered to participate in the final phase of a 4-H Citizenship Program. These young people were developing their speaking skills by delivering a three-minute speech. Their speech had to be delivered as a campaign speech as if they were running for an elected office.

First, let me tell you a little bit about the 4-H Citizenship Program. This program is designed to encourage our youth to learn more about their local, state, and national governments, so they will become more knowledgeable of civic activities as they grow up. This is a voluntary program; no one is required to participate. Those youth who do participate must complete several requirements. They must complete a workbook about how various levels of government operate. They must interview an elected official. They must attend a city council or county commissioners meeting. Finally, they must deliver a campaign speech before a sizable group.

Of course, there are some rewards for those who do the best job. Young people, just like adults, perform better when there are tangible rewards to motivate them. Those youth judged as having done the best with this project are provided a four-day, all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC. The top six participants in this year's project will be traveling to Washington while they are out of school during Christmas vacation.

Alex Hunter, 4-H Extension agent, deserves the credit for planning and providing oversight for this 4-H Citizenship Program, but 4-H Program Assistants Victoria Pate and Mable Haywood are the staff members who got the work done. They worked with the youth and their parents to make sure the children had the resources they needed to get the project completed, and they helped the youth make arrangements to attend some of the required meetings. They even handled the final phase of the project by hosting the public speaking competition, making arrangements for decorations and a catered meal, and even secured several members of the local Toastmasters organization to serve as judges.

Four-H provides many opportunities for youth to develop their public speaking skills. In addition to this 4-H Citizenship Program, each year public speaking competition is held for all interested and willing youth.

The community club process provides opportunities for youth to serve as officers in their local club, carrying out the responsibilities of their office that includes speaking in front of their club members as well as representing their club at many structured activities. Many of these youth move on to serve in higher levels of leadership, such as the local 4-H County Council, and to serve in district and state offices. Some of these youth are selected to serve in local leadership roles such as the 4-H Junior Fair Board and the Extension Advisory Council.

With opportunities like this, these youth will develop the skills they need as adults to speak in front of groups in almost all situations. There is no doubt they will probably be nervous (this is just natural), but public speaking will not be a fear for them.

There is no better opportunity for youth to develop lifelong skills than is provided by 4-H. Four-H is known worldwide and is available for all youth. The problem is that there are just not enough adults who are willing to volunteer a few hours of their time to serve as leaders for community clubs or to assist these youth as they participate in various 4-H activities.

If you have children or grandchildren, I encourage you to get them involved in 4-H. Just call our office at 671-3276 and speak to one of the 4-H staff members. More importantly, when you call, be willing to offer your assistance. Even though any youth can participate in most of the 4-H activities that are offered without being a member of a community club, just think what it could mean to the children in your neighborhood if they could participate in all aspects of 4-H. They can if you would be willing to help develop a 4-H community club.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 12/12/01