Carol Name, of Dowagiac, is the dog leader with the North Red Hill 4-H club. Name was recently honored as one of Cass County’s 4-H Outstanding Leaders of the Year during a ceremony March 20.

How long have you been a 4-H leader?
More than 25 years. I think year it would have been 26 or 27 years. My daughter [Jennifer Davis] is a 4-H leader as well, and so is my husband [Jim]. We’re a 4-H family.

How have you been with North Red Hill?
The past three years. We were involved with them because we were their dog leaders, also, my daughter and I.

How did you get involved with leading 4-H?
I was in 4-H when I was a kid, with Volinia 4-H, which I don’t think is even in existence anymore. My mother was the cooking leader. When we had Jennifer, she wanted to show horses. She got a horse, and the lady she was taking riding lessons with asked “do you want to be in 4-H?” Jenny said sure, so we joined Sleepy Hollow 4-H. Jim and I became resource leaders for that club.
[I later] became a leader of a brand new 4-H club [Country Clovers]. We were in existence for about 15 years. The children who were in the club were all home-schooled children. It was nice, because you didn’t have any swearing or foul language like you have at schools. It was a nice group.

How did you get involved with North Red Hill?
Jennifer had talked about switching to a 4-H club with horses. We only had three families left in [our club]. I talked to Stephanie [Consford], who is the extension agent for 4-H, and she told us we needed five families involved. So our club dissolved. We talked with Bonnie [North Red Hill key leader] and she “come on over,” so I ended up joining them.

What is the thing you get
most out of helping with 4-H?
I love to see what the kids accomplish. I think it’s great when they feel proud of what they’ve done. I feel happy for them.

What are your thoughts about being
recognized as a 4-H Leader of the Year?
I was shocked. I never expected myself to receive an award like that, because I always think there are more people worthy of it. I was speechless, and that is unusual for me because I like to talk.

Is there anything you want to say to
encourage people to get involved with 4-H?
I would encourage anyone to get involved. People who live in town or the city can get involved. There are projects such as cooking, painting, just about anything you can think of. Knitting, welding, crocheting — there is a place for all of it at the fair, as a project.

Anything else you want to mention?
I think we have a great 4-H program. The people who are involved are there because we care. We care about what the children do and how they can become better citizens.