My State Fair Experience with the Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors

I have brought you the story of my DC Experience with the MREA Youth Tour. Now I bring you the story of my latest adventure The Minnesota State Fair. I went up to the fairgrounds two days before the fair officially started and stayed their for a total of fourteen days. In those fourteen days I had another "Once in a Lifetime Experience" as I enjoyed making new memories with a lot of my new friends on the Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador Team. Some of those include: Attending dances, having the State Arts In hosting a open mic night, going to a grandstand concert of a band you have never heard of before, shelves collapsing, watching a Jack Black movie, and having a night out on the fair. But I also saw a recurring cast of some of my friends from the MREA Youth Tour also. I also saw one my most favorite people of all Marshall Pederson from Freeborn County, I had not seen him in over a year and half. That's just a small part of the story!

 

Back in May I decided I would try and apply for a position on the Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador Team. I filled out a application online and was offered a interview in Morris. Yes, Morris, Minnesota. I decided that I would make the three hour drive up their and do my interview and I'm glad I did. It wouldn't be until the middle of June until I found out and I was getting anxious to know. When I found out that I had gotten one of the twenty eight positions on the team I was excited. The team wouldn't officially get together until the beginning of August for Orientation. Well as many of you know, I on a tour to check out some of the county fairs in Southern and West Central Minnesota. It was good that I did because I got a better understanding of how participation in Minnesota 4-H is doing. What I have to say is that it is doing great! I saw a lot of participation at every county fair that I went to. 

 

Then in August all the members of the Ambassador Team meat at Orientation on the University of Minnesota Campus in Saint Paul. We met a lot of people that work for the University of Minnesota Extension Service and got to do group activities including a service learning project at Bridging Minnesota, which helps families that are in tough times get furniture for their home that was provided for them. What we learned at Orientation was basically our role as a Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador and how we represent Minnesota 4-H. It would then be a few weeks until we would meet again at the Minnesota State Fair.

 

On August 25, I left for the State Fair with it in the back of my mind that I was going to be there for two weeks. I thought to myself about what was going to happen and how it was going to be a great time. The first two days of the experience were basically just training on what we would need to expect and how to handle our positions with in the 4-H Building. When Day 3 rolled around (the official start of the fair) it was livestock encampment weekend. I had brought a market goat up to show and I received a blue ribbon for it. Sadly though the goat show took about 8 hours so I was very tired by the end of it. When we approached the final night of livestock encampment they had the first of five dances. The livestock dance is the biggest and it was held on the second floor of the 4-H Building. Rumor has it that the floor was shaking and I believe it. As livestock encampment came to a close then we got ready for the first of four general encampments. As the first night of general encampments the State Arts In hosted a open mic night for residents of the 4-H Building. It was a lot of fun to see what talent we had and showed it to everyone. A few nights later I went to a Grandstand Concert with a couple of the other Ambassadors and the tickets we got were free! The band was R5 a last minute replacement for Meghan Trainor who had voice problems. The tickets were for row 14 from the stage, we had a great view! The thing was is that I had never heard of the band before that night, they were okay. In the last few nights we had at the fair we went out and sang for food. I didn't know if it would work but, like usual I was wrong. We got free pizza, onion rings, mini donuts, and cotton candy out of the whole deal. We also watched the movie School of Rock, staring Black Jack. If you haven't seen it then I would suggest that you check it out. One of the biggest frustrations of the whole fair was the shelves collapsing in the Clovermart. The Clovermart is a store that sells 4-H apparel and is run by the Ambassador Team. A man had walked into the store area and had pulled out a shirt and the shelves just imploded on themselves. What the man did after that was he just put the shirt on top of the pile and left. It turns out that the man was a chaperone. Yes, a chaperone, one of the Ambassadors had spotted him the next day in the cafeteria. It took us about two hours to set the shelves back up, but we got to work on team building so it was a win-win.

 

When I brought you the DC Experience I told you how great it was and how it had impacted me. Well luckily I was able to see a few of my friends from that trip it was great to see them and catch up. Gayle Karol was the leader of the trip I went on to DC back in June I got to see her and I was able to see what she had been up to since the trip. I can't express how awesome she is! Lukas Swenson was a guy from the trip also he is in 4-H we meet up and caught up. He always knows how everyone from the trip is doing. Surprisingly he saw another one of the Youth Tour Alumni Matt Breuer and he saw him two days in a row by accident. Lukas said that he could tell by his hair. Luckily I was able to see him also. When I think of Matt I think of Dominos because we ordered Dominos two different nights in DC. Last but not least you can't forget about Thea Richards. I met Thea on the trip and learned that she had applied for a State Ambassador Position also. She got the position and is a current Ambassador. Luckily I have gotten to see some of these again that mean a lot to me. I also don't think I have seen the last of them.

 

When I think about friends I can never forget I think of Marshall Pederson. Marshall is one cool guy, and I am serious. He has written a series of books and loves to be part of Civil War reenactments. I met him about three years ago at a 4-H Youth Conference called BLU which is put on by Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors. I hadn't seen him in over a year and a half and when I saw him again it was great. If your looking for a buddy to rock with it's definitely this guy. He is awesome no doubt indeed!

 

As this experience came to a close I realized that it has changed me for the better and I am happy to be a Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador. I would like to thank the Ambassador Supervisors Jacquie and Joshua for being awesome and the rest of the Ambassador Team also. Many people may ask this question: "What is next for Walker Regier?" Well all I can say is this "The only thing for sure is nothing is for sure." Stay tuned the next adventure is coming soon!

 

My D.C. Experience with MREA Youth Tour

When I applied for the Youth Tour Trip through South Central Electric Association, I did not know how much fun it was going to be.   It turned out to be on of the greatest things I have ever done. When I was announced as the winner in March, I was excited to get out of Minnesota, meet new people, and see the nation’s capital.  I had never been to the East Coast and it was always something I wanted to do.  From what I had heard from others at the South Central Electric Annual Meeting, this trip was dubbed “The Once in a Lifetime Experience” and surely it was.

                On June 13 (the day I left Minnesota),  I didn’t know what I was walking into. All the kids that were chosen by their local Rural Electric Cooperatives to come on this trip seemed scared, and I definitely was as well. We flew out on a plane to Washington D.C. and it was an experience for me because I had never been on a plane before. Luckily I got through the two hour flight and made it to Washington D.C. That night we ate at the Hard Rock Café, and toured the Air Force Memorial and the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Out of all the Memorials in Washington D.C., the 9/11 Memorial was my favorite because it was something simple and basic.  They constructed a bench for every person that died. The name of the person on the bench was inscribed on the side, if you read it looking out into the sky they died on the plane and if you read it facing the Pentagon then they died in the Pentagon.

                Another favorite thing I saw was the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Out of all the Museums I toured this was probably the one I got the most out of because it was very quiet and creepy.  I saw a Nazi uniform and a prisoner uniform that were from that time period, and also a lot of other artifacts that contributed to the Holocaust. I also loved the Newseum, a museum dedicated to news reporters and media. I saw newspapers that dated from the 1400’s all the way up to 2011 when Osama Bin Laden was killed. They also had a wall dedicated to major city newspapers which featured the front page blown up, and it is updated every day.  

                Out of all the memorials I saw I really liked the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. The Korean War Memorial made you feel like you where there with the soldiers because one of them was always staring at you. The wall that was on the side of the memorial showed images of the Korean War and it felt like the statue soldiers would look back at you.  At the Vietnam Memorial, I loved the wall because it showed the names of who died and are still missing.  A lot of people leave artifacts at the Memorial that the park service collects and archives them. Someday they plan to have a museum for the artifacts.  In August, the traveling Vietnam Wall is coming to the Watonwan County Fairgrounds and I can wait to see that.

                The most Iconic Man in American History is George Washington. I saw his home, Mount Vernon, and it was really cool! The plantation was really big and there was a great view from his home out to the Potomac River. George Washington had livestock, crops, made whiskey and even had a fishing venture. He did a little bit of everything, but most importantly he was the first president of the United States of America.

                Overall, I had a great trip I made a lot of new friends from around the state and got to meet some people from all over the country. The trip that was dubbed “The Once in A Lifetime Experience” surely was once in a lifetime. I would recommend for anyone in high school that is able to apply, should apply for this trip. It was a lot of fun just being with people you didn’t know. Gayle Karol, the lady that was in charge of us, was really funny and was a fun person to be with. Our other chaperones were pretty cool, too.  They weren’t too strict on us!  I would like to thank South Central Electric Association for choosing me as their representative for the Youth Tour.  With them choosing me as the winner, it gave me the courage to apply for a 4-H State Ambassador Position through Minnesota 4-H.  I will be representing Watonwan County at state level  4H activities including the Minnesota State Fair.   I consider myself lucky for getting the chance to go on Youth Tour and look forward to giving my presentation on this experience at the Annual Meeting in March. This experience with Youth Tour is one I am going to remember for a lifetime. 

Memories of Nettie Kelly

Memories of Nettie Kelly

By Walker Regier

COMFREY – Recently Nettie Kelly retired from her job as school secretary. She had been doing this job at the school for many years. She will be missed a lot. I recently got in contact with some staff at the school and asked them what Nettie meant to them or for a story about Nettie. Here are some of the answers I got.

Amy Lee-Hesse:  Music Director

“Since my first year of teaching and moving into the community Nettie has been a valuable resource.  She is always ready with information about who you can and should contact when planning something.  She knows exactly who needs to have information when you are moving forward with a plan and she knows just who to contact when you can't find the answer.  She is always ready to help whomever by having answers or by directing them the right way. If you don't know exactly what she does for us all at the school it might be easy to think that answering the phone and applying the occasional bandage is what her day amounts to.  That is only a minute piece of what she does. The background work that she has performed in really all aspects of the school cannot be overrated.  She will be greatly missed but also I wish her the best as she gets a chance to live by her schedule instead of the school.”

Kris Evers:  Administrative Assistant

 “She means a lot! She is a great friend and co-worker.  We have had many memorable times together. She is one of a kind and will be hard to replace. I have been blessed to be able to work with her for so many years.  Enjoy your retirement!!”

Troy Stresemann:  Custodian

“Whenever I went into the office she would always greet me with a friendly hello and have a smile on her face. It always seemed like she enjoyed her job because, she was never in a bad mood. If I asked her for something, she would stop what she was doing and would help me with whatever I needed.”

Bruce Stresemann:  Custodian

“What I remember most about Nettie, in the late 70’s when I was coaching football she would always prepare meals for the team. She was often the lead mother to take charge. At Homecoming Coronation I remember performing skits and hearing her laugh, her laugh would drown out anyone who was talking. Nettie is a sweet lady she will drop whatever she is doing and help you out. She is kind hearted, she will be hard to replace, and she gave our school a good name.”

Brian Longerbone:  Dean of Students/Activities Director

“Nettie is a security blanket, we will miss her, but she will be around. She helped me out a lot with my new position this year when I became the Dean of Students and the Activities Director. She welcomed everyone, every morning which made you feel great. She will be remembered well.”

Kristen Hutchinson:  Superintendent

“Nettie is the person I go to for answers about the way things work around the school, so I will miss her very much. I have to ask Nettie about the materials we need to give to new students, about how we're supposed to run graduation, when we should tell teachers to turn in grades. The list of things I've asked her over the past years goes on and on, and I'm sure others would say the same. When I first came to Comfrey, I told a friend of mine who had actually started her teaching career in Comfrey. Her first question was, "Is Nettie still there?" I think a part of me hoped that Nettie would always be here, and it was hard for me to hear her say she would be leaving at the end of June. I would have refused to accept her resignation if I could have, but she had decided the time was right, and I have to respect that. I will miss her positive attitude and the smile I got from her every morning, but I wish her the best.”

All these people will always remember Nettie and I’m sure if you know her to then you would always remember her too. Nettie is just one of the many people that make Comfrey a great place to be.  Even though Nettie will no longer be at the school, we definitely will see her around the community. Thank You Nettie for all you do for us!