4-H Volunteer Leader, Florida
I attended in 1981 as an assistant coach for the Florida team. I don’t have many vivid memories, only those extended by a few photos. Don’t have any mementoes from the trip other than the plaque made out of the cross cut log we brought home. That still hangs in the 4-H office. This event isn’t a game changer and didn’t really have any direct influence on my life. But, it was one of the many building blocks that I received without really knowing it at the time.
For the past seven years I have seen how this little contest fills a need for competition and provides a valuable education along the way. Things we don’t ordinarily see as important, such as identifying a particular oak or pine may not make us a doctor or a lawyer. But, it does make us better at whatever we decide to do with our lives.
I know my two children have many fond memories of their time at the Invitational. I also know that others that have competed there from Florida, both recently and in years past, share these same kinds of memories and have a fondness of that time. Hard to put a price tag or a direct benefit on those memories, but they are certainly worth the effort in my opinion. They are part of growing up; meeting new people, going new places and learning new things. You never know when one of those people, places or things may become an important part of your everyday life.
Florida
