STILLWATER, Okla. – More than 100 Oklahoma 4-H’ers in third through seventh grades gathered in Stillwater April 5 for the inaugural Rising Leaders Conference, hosted by Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development.
“The conference was developed to provide younger 4-H members an opportunity to learn more about leadership and project areas earlier in their 4-H careers, as well as start developing connections with other 4-H’ers from across the state,” said Sara Randolph, 4-H southeast district program specialist.
Oklahoma 4-H state officers led the event’s opening session before Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur highlighted 2025 as the Year of Youth in Agriculture, emphasizing the role of Oklahoma 4-H in drawing youth to agriculture and developing life skills.
Young attendees completed four rotations of fun and educational workshops, with 12 unique workshops taught by volunteers, county educators and older Oklahoma 4-H members. An afternoon session was also available for parents and adult family members in attendance.
“They showed up ready to learn and ready to have fun,” Randolph said. “These young people are the future of Oklahoma 4-H, and it is really exciting to see their enthusiasm for the program at such a young age.”
Workshops at the conference provided young 4-H members with hands-on experiences in a variety of project areas, such as Activating Civic Engagement, Dog Training 101, Our Living Oklahoma, Exploring 4-H Visual Arts in Miniature and STEM in 4-H Shooting Sports.
For Steve Beck, state 4-H program leader, a highlight of the event was seeing so many excited and smiling youth engaged and interacting with workshop presenters.
“I had several leaders and parents come up to me to thank us for putting this together,” he said. “Their kids were already telling them about everything they learned.”
For more information about 4-H, contact an OSU Extension county office.
OSU Extension uses research- based information to help all Oklahomans solve local issues and concerns, promote leadership and manage resources wisely throughout the state's 77 counties. Most information is available at little to no cost.
