Lancaster County 4-H presents a Heart of 4-H Award to a Lancaster County 4-H volunteer each month in recognition of outstanding volunteer serice. The purpose of this award is to recognize volunteers who are, indeed, the heart of 4-H.
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Dwayne started in 4-H in 1934 as a member of the Henny Penny poultry club. He and his wife were both leaders of the Rokeby Dairy 4-H club from about 1956–1976. They were both superintendents of the 4-H/FFA Dairy Show at the Lancaster County Fair from about 1970–2000. And they established the Wilhelmina Wittstruck All-Around Horse Award in 1986 — Dwayne continues to present it every year at Horse Awards night (he has only missed one year).
“We like helping kids be the best they can be,” the Wittstrucks said. “Ours was a livestock club, but we put more emphasis on skills outside the show ring — speech, demonstrations, song contests, etc. Every kid in the club had to give a speech. That’s how you build purple ribbon kids. As far as we’re concerned, 4-H’ers are the cream of the crop. We have so many favorite experiences as 4-H volunteers: attending the National 4-H Conference in Chicago, planting trees on Arbor Day weekends at Halsey State Park, County Fair, State Fair, Ak-Sar-Ben, raising $1,000 for the camp at Gretna and seeing our daughter, Laurie, receive a silver platter from President Gerald Ford as the national top girl in 4-H Achievement. And at speech contest, seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces who thought they couldn’t do it, and did.”
Dwayne served six years on the UNL Ag Advisory Board (one year as president), and Joan was the first female president of the Nebraska Council on Public Relations for Agriculture. Dwayne is in his 24th year of coaching boys and girls basketball at Crete Middle School