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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Six years ago, the Coopers started helping with the Pick-A-Pig 4-H club. When their daughters wanted to do more projects, Karen and John helped start the Buckles and Bling horse club of which Karen and Pam Davis are co-leaders. The Coopers are both members of the Horse Volunteers in Program Service (VIPS) Committee and John is a member of the Super Fair 4-H Horse Show Grievance Committee.
They were nominated by Kate Cooper who said, “My mom seems to find time to be a co-leader of our horse 4-H club, run our practices and help teach all the members riding skills. My dad helps out during the hog show without being asked every year. Fair is a really stressful time of year for everyone including them, but they always make an effort to make it a little easier for someone else, even if it makes it harder for themselves.”
Karen and John said, “We enjoy volunteering with 4-H because it is something that we can do as a family and it allows us to share our farming and livestock heritage with our girls and friends. The thing that we enjoy most is watching all of the kids learn how to train their own horses. Same goes for pigs, llamas and chickens — the kids are required to do all the care, practice and preparation for shows, then they can take great pride in their own accomplishments.”