On Tuesday, I was a judge at the Delaware State Fair for the Delaware 4-H Photography contest.  Needless to say, I was honored.  You see, back in the early 80’s, I declared to my Grandmother that I wanted to leave an unnamed well-known all-girl youth organization and join 4-H.  Let’s be honest, in my mind, it was because there was boys in it.  LOL   But little did I know that making this decision would impact the next 10 years of my childhood and teenage years.  It would impact my life, actually.  It created the person I am now.  No, I didn’t compete in sheep shearing or dairy.  Despite trying to keep this fact from my husband (I was successful until 3 years ago when my Mother and Aunts all decided to clue him in), I did get blue ribbons in cooking contests and even made some of my prom and Homecoming dresses, and won blue ribbons on them!   But I was also very involved in Leadership and Citizenship.  And I have friends from my 4-H days that I am still friends with today.  And, although Photography wasn’t one of my main project focuses back then, it did get me started and interested.    My first roll of b&w film and trip into a darkroom was at Camp Barnes.

So I was honored going back to judge the state fair entries.   And after spending the first 30 minutes holding my head and staring at mounds and mounds of entries piled all around me and the other photographers, trying to figure out how to bring myself out of the professional world of constructive criticism that we all learn by, and how to judge an 8 year old and not make him/her cry.  Rather, to make them smile and want to keep practicing and improve over and over again.  It was hard!   But it was oh so rewarding!

I am so happy that I had the opportunity to give back to such a wonderful organization.  And we have so many talented youth showcasing their hard work.  So if you are going to a State Fair this summer, no matter what state that may be, be sure to stop by the 4-H area and glance at the exhibits and contests and the amazing work that these youth have been working on all year!

Last month, a group of us DE 4-H’ers from back in the day decided to get together for lunch and bring our little ones.  It was such a great time and we are already planning a big reunion for next year!  Thank you for the photo, Mark!