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EmailA great way to develop leadership skills and other life skills is to volunteer to be an officer in your 4-H club or association.
Michigan 4-H youth programs offers youth the opportunity to develop life skills in the different project areas offered. One of the most important opportunities for older youth is to be elected a club officer within their club. According to Michigan State University Extension, many clubs depend on the older youth to run the business meetings and plan activities for the club.
Each club may have their own officers such as president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. For the larger clubs, the youth may also nominate a club reporter, a historian or other types of officers if needed.
Each of these roles is listed in the Helping You Help Officers and Committees book, along with which duties are needed to perform the role and what life skills the youth learn.
For the role of president, there is a checklist to review along with developing the agenda. Responsibility, planning and organizing, and leadership skills are developed in this role.
In the vice president role, youth will also learn responsibility, planning and organizing, and leadership because if the president is absent, this person is the one who will carry on the meeting. The vice president is also responsible for coordinating the educational portion of the club meeting.
The secretary will keep the minutes and take attendance at club meetings. This person will keep track of all motions and decisions made and will keep these on file. Life skills learned in this role are teamwork, planning and organizing, keeping records, and self-responsibility.
The treasurer is responsible for the club’s money and bank account, if they have one. Records need to be kept of any fundraising or collection of dues. Skills learned in this role include honesty, communication, wise use of resources and keeping records.
Officers of 4-H clubs are representatives not only of their local club, but represent 4-H on a statewide level. People who are not familiar with the 4-H program look at those who are officers of local 4-H clubs. 4-H youth need to be responsible for their actions and communication not only in a club, but as officers of their club in what ever they do in the community.
