October 2003
Heart of 4-H Award winner

Marilyn Schepers

Lancaster County 4-H and 4-H Council are proud to announce Marilyn Schepers as winner of October’s “Heart of 4-H Award” in recognition of outstanding volunteer service.

Marilyn has been a 4-H volunteer for 23 years (21 years in Lancaster County and 2 years in Burt County). She has been the Teen Council Advisor for 18 years. She was the superintendent of the 4-H Bicycle Safety Contest (formerly the Bicycle Rodeo) at the County Fair for 14 years. She organized the Lancaster County Shooting Sports club. She has served on a variety of former VIP committees including Speech Contest, Bicycle Rodeo, Shooting Sports and Small Animals. She is the former leader of the Busy Buddies 4-H club (all of its members have graduated from the program).

In 1988, she helped establish the Nebraska 4-H State Volunteer Leader Forum and served as its co-chair. The following year, she was Nebraska’s representative in the Salute to Excellence Program and received a grant which she applied to the forum. She coordinated the forum for six years.

Emily Schroeder and Connie Lemke, members of 4-H Teen Council, nominated Marilyn saying, “She has continually given her time to the Lancaster County 4-H Teen Council even though her children have all graduated from school. She is a generous, hard worker who shares her kindness and warmth with everyone.”

“I believe in the value of 4-H for our youth,” Marilyn says. Her favorite experience as a 4-H volunteer has been working with Teen Council. “I enjoy observing the teens grow through the process of developing leadership skills. I need only to give a few guidelines and set a few boundaries so as not to stifle the creativity and enthusiasm of the individuals. I am very proud of the community service projects they perform.”

Marilyn and her husband James Schepers live in Lincoln. Their four sons are all 10-year 4-H alumni.

Something most people might not know about Marilyn is she likes to scuba dive and has a collection of ocean, sea and river waters from places she has traveled.

Congratulations to Marilyn. Volunteers like her are indeed the heart of 4-H!

 

If you have a 4-H Volunteer you would like to nominate or would like to learn more about the "Heart of 4-H Award", visit HERE.

 

 

 

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