4-H began in the early 1900's as Corn Clubs for boys and Canning Clubs for girls. Although the program has changed a lot through the years, it has always been a program designed to help children become productive members of their communities.
4-H is a national organization delivered by Cooperative Extension–a community of more than 100 public universities across the nation that provides experiences where young people learn by doing. Youth complete hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture and citizenship, in a positive environment where they receive guidance from adult mentors and are encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles. Kids experience 4-H in every county and parish in the country.
Nebraska 4-H prepares young people for successful futures. Educational programs place a strong emphasis on life skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, social skills, communication, responsibility, citizenship, and leadership.
Nuckolls & Thayer County 4-H
Enroll in 4-H
Thank you for your interest in joining 4-H in Nuckolls or Thayer County. Our Enrollment process is entirely online and can be completed by visiting the Nebraska 4-H Online Website. For best results, please use Google Chrome as your web browser - Click for a free download.
Enrollment will look a little different depending on if you're a new 4-H member or if you're a returning 4-H member. Please use the Instructions below to get you started.
- Horse and shooting sports projects will be require project enrollment due to the parental consent required to participate in these projects.
For additional questions, please contact the Nuckolls County Extension Office (402-225-2381) or the Thayer County Extension Office (402-768-7212). 4-H Enrollments may begin on November 1st and must be completed by June 1st.
Instructions for Enrolling with 4-H Online for New 4-H Members
Instructions for Enrolling with 4-H Online for Returning 4-H Members
Instructions for Enrolling with 4-H Online for New 4-H Leaders
Instructions for Enrolling with 4-H Online for Returning 4-H Leaders
4-H Clubs
4-H Club Resources
Nuckolls County | Thayer County | ||
| Club Name: | Contact Person: | Club Name: | Contact Person: |
| Alban | Jean Stichka | Big Green | Makinna Peterson |
| Dry Creek | Joe Theer | Little Blue County Kids | Gina Hudson |
| Farm Friends | Selena Laughlin | Fantastic 4-H Friends | Traci Virus |
| Independents | Nuckolls Co. Extension | Independents | Thayer Co. Extension |
| Lucky Buckaroos | Amanda Kohmetscher & Kristen Ostdiek | Outlaws | Britany Renz |
| Oxbow & Shooting Sports | Jamie Watts & Alycia Watts | Oregon Trail Stockman | Amber Heinrichs |
| Rough Riders | Celia Fanning | Spring Creek Boots & Buckles | Ellen Schmidt & Laura Tuma |
| Wiling Hands | Jon & Delinda Mohrmann | ||
| This & That 4-H Club | Kelly Howe | ||
| Byron Country Critters | Tara Kuhlmann | ||
Volunteers
Opportunities to Volunteer:
County Fair Superintendents:
- Please contact the Nuckolls or Thayer County Extension Office for more information.
- Direct volunteer county Fair Superintendents must enroll as a volunteer on 4HOnline and complete the Volunteer Screening (background check).
4-H Council Members:
- Submit your name to your local 4-H Council member or Extension Office in the fall of each year.
- 4-H Council members must be voted onto the Council by an election conducted online with all enrolled county 4-H members (excluding Clover Kids), volunteers, and parents/guardians of 4-H members eligible to vote.
- 4-H Council must enroll as a volunteer on 4HOnline and complete the Volunteer Screening (background check).
Local Program Volunteer:
- Sometimes, we need volunteers for after school workshops, school enrichment, club activities, and other programs; which is where our local program (on-call) volunteers are needed.
- Submit your name, interests, and availability to your local Extension Office.
- Local Program Volunteers must enroll as a volunteer on 4HOnline and complete the Volunteer Screening (background check).
4-H Club Organizational Leader or Project Leader:
- Submit your name to your local 4-H Clubs or Extension Office.
- 4-H Club Leaders must enroll as a volunteer on 4HOnline and complete the Volunteer Screening (background check).
Volunteer Enrollment/Screening Video
0:00 Welcome
0:30 Types of Volunteers
3:00 Direct Volunteer Enrollment
8:40 4-H Volunteer Orientation
10:05 Screening on Sterling Volunteers
Scholarships
Thayer County 4-H Council Scholarship-Due Dec. 13th, 2024!
The Thayer County 4-H Council is awarding scholarships to high school graduating seniors that meet the requirements:
- Graduate from high school during the spring of the current year.
- Have been enrolled in 4-H for four consecutive years, including this past year.
- Submitted 4-H Achievement Application Record Books by the county record book deadline for their junior and senior year.
Submit application information page, resume, & essay to the Thayer County Extension office by December 13th, 2024 4:30pm.
Cover Sheet: Word; Fillable PDF
Essay Instructions (same as Achievement Applications): Word; PDF
4-H Foundation Scholarship-Due Jan. 5th, 2025
The Nebraska 4-H Foundation offers 4-H members the opportunity to apply for scholarships. The Nebraska 4-H Foundation awards up to $22,000 worth of scholarships each year to 4-H’ers from across the state.
To apply for scholarships, 4-H’ers must submit the Nebraska 4-H Achievement Application for state-level review by January 5th. Youth must follow the application instructions available on the Nebraska 4-H Achievement Application webpage. If applying for multiple scholarships, only one Achievement Application should be submitted. An applicant must select the scholarship to which he/she feels qualified.
4-H youth may want to visit with the Extension Office in their county and the financial aid office at the college of their choice. There may be other grants, scholarships, or low-interest loans for which they may be eligible.
Scholarship availability may change at any time without prior notice.
For more information of specific scholarships: https://www.ne4hfoundation.org/scholarships/
Use of Information
The information submitted in the Achievement Application is confidential. Personal information about scholarship winners may be used in local publicity and press releases.
Note: Only the application review committee will have access to transcripts and test scores.
Don & Martha Romeo Scholarship-Due November 30th, 2024
On behalf of the Nebraska Association of Fair Managers, we would like to present the Don and Martha Romeo Scholarship to one qualifying 4-H male and to one qualifying 4-H female who are graduating seniors in the State of Nebraska and who plans to continue with post high school education for the amount of $500 each. The scholarship will be awarded at the annual NAFM convention in January. Two individuals (one male/one female) will be selected from Thayer & Nuckolls County to move on.
- Each applicant much have exhibited his/her 4-H projects in a County Fair or at the State Fair within the last four years.
- Each applicant much hold a 2. 5 high school grade point average. Each applicant must also maintain a 2.5 grade point average for the first semester in college and carry at least 12 credit hours.
- Each applicant must agree to apply the scholarship funds for tuition or fees at a two or four year college or its equivalent, to be judged by the committee.
- Each applicant must exhibit during the application process a desire to achieve the goals of which he/she is capable.
- Financial need will not be considered in the selection process.
- One male and/or female finalist will be selected by the 4-H award committee in each local Extension Office.
- Recipients are requested to personally accept the award at the Nebraska Fair Managers Convention.
Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce-Due March 1st, 2025
The Agri-Business Committee of the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce is announcing a scholarship valued at $500 for students in the following school districts: Adams, Clay, Nuckolls, Webster, Doniphan-Trumbull, and Giltner. Find more information here.
4-H Council Members
Nuckolls County | Thayer County | ||
| President | Amanda Kohmetscher | President | Chance Gerdes |
| Vice President | Leslie Behrends | Vice President | Walker Dick |
| Secretary | Lexie Frahm | Secretary | Jennifer McMullen-Pearson |
| Treasurer | Matt Porter | Treasurer | Amber Heinrichs |
| Member | Alishia Ostdiek | Member | Andy Schmidt |
| Member | Cheri Peters | Member | Amanda Tuller |
| Member | Crystall Wyatt | Member | Neal Voss |
| Member | Kevin Bogus | Member | Ashleigh McBride |
| Member | Sam Rempe | Member | Jennifer Brueggemann |
| 4-H Ambassador | Lauren Kohmetscher | 4-H Ambassadors | Logan Schmidt, Riley Farnstrom |
Thayer County-Achievement Applications, Record Books, & Awards
Step one: Read all descriptions below of awards and applications.
Step two: Fill out one Thayer County Awards Cover Sheet. Fillable PDF, Word, Doc
Step three: Fill out application(s): This could include any combinations of the following (Achievement Applications, Livestock Record Books, Thayer County Active Participation, and/or Diamond Clover).
Step four: Put all your applications together in this order: Thayer County Awards Cover Sheet, Achievement Application, Diamond Clover, Thayer County Active participation, and/or Livestock Record Book.
Step five: Hand in all applications together to the Extension Office by Nov. 1st to be considered for judging.
Applications
County-Level Achievement Applications-Due November 1st, 2024
- Junior Achievement Application for ages 8-14 (county-only) PDF Form, Word Doc, or Google Doc
- Senior Achievement Application for ages 15-18 (state-eligible) PDF Form, Word Doc, or Google Doc
- Clover Kid Application for ages 5-7 (county-only) PDF
State-Level Application Achievement Applications-
Only Senior Achievement Applications (ages 15-18) are accepted for state-level awards and recognition.
4-H members ages 15-18 as of December 31 of the current year are eligible to participate in the state-level awards application process regardless of the delivery mode in which they participated.
State-level applications must be emailed to 4HAchieves@unl.edu. The state-level application submission deadline is January 5. Files should be labeled with the applicant's last name, first name, and county. For example: "Walker Robin Douglas-Sarpy.pdf".
Thayer County Active Participation-Due November 1st, 2024
Thayer County Active Participation Fillable PDF or Word Document: Top (usually) 10 students with complete and thoughtful active participation applications and exemplary point totals will earn this award.
Livestock Record Books-Due November 1st, 2024
Due Nov. 1. Please attach additional pages if you run out of room on this template. Make sure you check the box on your cover sheet.
Thayer County Livestock Record Book: Fillable PDF, Word, or Rubric - Entries will be graded according to this rubric. Please use it to help you develop your record book.
Diamond Clover Award-Due November 1st, 2024
The Nebraska 4-H Diamond Clover program encourages 4-H youth to engage in a variety of programs, projects, and activities that will enable youth to acquire skills and abilities that will prepare them for success in the future. The program consists of six levels that require a young person to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate accomplishments. Judged from Diamond Clover application submission. Thayer Co - Make sure you check the box on your cover sheet. If you are unsure what level you are in, please call the office we have a record of that information.
Awards
Alicia Rippe Award
Awarded to 1 outstanding 1st year 4-H member in Thayer County. Winners demonstrate a dedication to new learning experiences, exemplary workshop, contest, and fair participation, and strong community service. Judged from Achievement Application record book submission. Make sure you check the box on your cover sheet. Alicia Rippe Award Rubric
Hugo Broeder Outstanding 4-Her
Top 2 Thayer Co. 4-Hers who have shown excellence in learning experiences, participation in 4-H Activities, and Community service. Usually junior or seniors in high school. Judged from Achievement Application record book submission. Make sure you check the box on your cover sheet. Hugo Broeder Rubric Available Here
2024 Outstanding Tribland 4-Her
Awarded to 2 outstanding senior level 4-H members, regardless of gender. Winners demonstrate a dedication to new learning experiences, exemplary workshop, contest, and fair participation, and strong community service. Judged from Achievement Application record book submission and winners go on to compete at the area level. The Tribland 4-H Awards Program is open to youths from the 10 principal counties in the Tribune’s coverage area: Adams, Webster, Clay, Nuckolls, Kearney, Franklin, Fillmore and Thayer in Nebraska and Smith and Jewell in Kansas. An Additonal Application will need to be filled out at a later time.
Clayton Hergott Legends Award
The recipient of the Clayton Hergott Legends Award must display exemplary service, determination, and dedication to 4-H. They will go above and beyond the duties asked of them by volunteering and helping wherever needed, even in the face of adversity. They show grit, determination, and outstanding leadership skills. These qualities are shown and noticed by peers and others. The 4-H Council votes on the candidates, who may be nominated by any Thayer Co. 4-H family member by November 1 of each year. If you would like to nominate a deserving individual, please complete the form.
Brownfield Buckle Awards
The top three Achievement Applications regardless of age division will win a buckles from Brownfield Ag News affilate-KRFS 103.9FM Superior.
Nuckolls County-Achievement Applications & Ambassador Applications
State-Level Achievment Application
Only Senior Achievement Applications (ages 15-18) are accepted for state-level awards and recognition.
4-H members ages 15-18 as of December 31 of the current year are eligible to participate in the state-level awards application process regardless of the delivery mode in which they participated.
- Junior Achievement Application for ages 8-14 (county-only) PDF Form, Word Doc, or Google Doc
- Senior Achievement Application for ages 15-18 (state-eligible) PDF Form, Word Doc, or Google Doc
Nuckolls County Ambassador Applications
Nuckolls County 4-H Ambassador Application - Due July 1st