4-H Member Spotlight

Abby Begger is currently involved in the goat, sheep, and swine projects. Previously, she has taken sewing, quilting, cake decorating, babysitting, leadership, beef, swine, and goat. She is very hands-on with her projects. She has a great sense of responsibility and takes ownership of all that happens with her projects, and she is a great peer leader at 4-H events. 

She has been a senior member of her club and has demonstrated great leadership abilities with younger members at craft days, judging events, showmanship clinics, and any volunteer activities the club pursues. She can be counted on for her loyalty and trustworthiness when working on projects that have deadlines and need attention to detail. 

Begger is an FFA member and a 9-year 4-H member. She has great ideas and shares them with club members. Through both groups, she has participated in fundraising events and community services in Wibaux and on national trips she qualified to attend. 

Abby’s mental health is important to her and she shares her experiences on a podcast that was started with the Wibaux Public Schools counselor. It can be found on Spotify and YouTube at “High School Headache.” The podcast helps demystify the stigma surrounding mental health. 

Madelyn Myers is an active leader in her community and county 4-H program. She advocates for mental health and demonstrates integrity in her leadership endeavors. 

She never hesitates to lend a helping hand to other 4-H members when it comes to projects and service projects. Myers advocated for improvements within the 4-H community and led her 4-H club’s service project to install electrical boxes at The Great Northern Fairground in Havre.  

“Adding electrical boxes provided 4-H members improved conditions while housed at the fairgrounds. Not only was it a huge convenience and comfort, but it allowed 4-H’ers and their families more time to interact with others, check on their animals, and do their volunteer work instead of fueling generators or working on non-functioning generators. As an added benefit, the fairgrounds can now utilize the boxes during other events and have the potential to gain some income from the use of the equipment,” Myers said.  

Colton Oedekoven is involved in many 4-H projects including rabbit, poultry, pocket pets, dog, and swine. 

He is known for his ability to pick a project and dive deep into it, evidenced by months he spent breeding and hatching chickens. Oedekoven applies what he learns, educates others, and shares his findings.  

He steps up to teach topics for his 4-H club and project clinics and participates as much as his schedule allows. He helps at any event that he can. He is kind and willing to share his animals with other kids, as well as lend a helping hand in teaching basic herdsmanship practices. 

Oedekoven volunteers his time and teaches clinics, gives demonstrations and is always willing to share supplies. His positive and enduring attitude makes him a role model for others while he demonstrates true leadership.