Madison County, Ark., 4-H
County Program Assistant: Jerry Jo Hamm
History: The Madison County 4-H program has been in operation since 1908. Growing up, program assistant Jerry Jo Hamm was a member of 4-H, as was her mother when she was a child. Jerry Joe became a 4-H leader when her boys were old enough to join the organization and eventually took the job as the program assistant.
“I have a picture of my uncle standing in a field of wheat that was his 4-H project in the 1930s,” Jerry Jo said. “Not long ago, we celebrated our 100 year anniversary. Not surprisingly, the program has changed through the years with one of the most recent changes being the addition of STEM: science, technology, engineering and math.”
Services: Madison County currently has 140 participants.
“I coach four judging teams: livestock, horses, poultry and grasslands, which recently placed fifth in the nation in grasslands competition,” Jerry Jo said. “What I learned through grassland coaching helped my husband, another Jerry, and I keep our farm afloat through the drought. I was the first female grassland coach though I am no longer the only one. Our 4-H program also has county, district and state level O-Rama competitions, which include talking and demos, outdoor activities, fashion, technology and performing arts. We have three age groups: Clover Buds, who are 5 to 8; juniors who are 9 to 13; and seniors, who are 14 to 19. I visit farms to help the kids with their show animals which include calves, goats and sheep following through with them up to the fair in the fall. My fair activities include helping with the sheep department, making sure kids get entered correctly and helping at the exhibit building because we have many craft projects which I organize and run. I also train 4-H leaders in the winter. I work with leaders individually and in groups. Because we are a low income county, I push record books with our participants and have frequent winners. Record book participants have a better chance of getting scholarships when they go to college, something our kids really need. I love to see our kids further their education and come back and contribute the community by working here in a related field, such as teaching agriculture.”
