4-H royalty are ambassadors, role models

The Hill County 4-H teen representative and queen were elected Thursday for 2013. Natalen Kinsella was elected queen, and Mike Compton was chosen as teen representative.

Kinsella, upcoming senior at Havre High School, said that she was not nervous about the verdict.

“I was pretty confident,” she said.

The two leaders were chosen as county wide 4-H leaders after an interview on July 16.

Family Consumer Science and 4-H Extension Agent Lea Ann Larson said the organization looks for individuals that will lead and represent 4-H well.

“Throughout the year, their job is to be a liaison to the public,” Larson said.

“Basically, what they do is serve as an ambassador for 4-H,” Hill County Agriculture Extension Agent Nicole Gray said.

This means that Compton and Kinsella will be attending meetings, assisting with public events, helping kids, and acting as public speakers, making advertisements.

In addition to these responsibilities, the queen and teen rep are also good examples for other members of the organization. The chosen leaders serve as “really good role models for our younger kids,” said Larson.

Larson said the process begins with an application. Hopeful young 4-H members submit a record of past 4-H experience, roles outside of the organization, leadership positions, overall knowledge of 4-H, and poise and public speaking ability.

Hill County 4-H has 12 clubs, and one representative from each club is sent to be a judge during the interviews. Essentially, the judges look for, “the young person who can overall represent 4-H well,” said Larson.

The judges form questions and test the applicants on primarily 4-H oriented questions and score them on answers.

Compton and Kinsella must have done very well in the interviews, because two days later, they were named the queen and teen representative for 2013.

Although Kinsella said she does not yet fully know what her duties will include, she did mentioned helping with the senior ball, which is a dance put on for senior citizens.

The two will be busy throughout the year acting as not only leaders for the group, but also as role models, representatives, helpers, and public speakers.