Last Saturday the Strathmore Rusty Spurs 4-H club held a district public speaking event and were joined by surprise guest judge 2022 Strathmore Stampede Princess Martina Holtkamp. 

District Representative of the Strathmore Rusty Spurs 4-H club Jacey Rhinehart expressed how delighted the 4-H club members were that Holtkamp was there, especially because they know that she is a busy lady. 

“She was really great to have there. She gave some tips and tricks for the kids because of course Martina has to speak in public often in front of large groups.” 

The kids were not only excited to meet her but some of them got really good feedback from her, Rhinehart states, and she also expressed her favorite moments from the weekend. 

“I am a leader, so I am happy to see all my kids go on and succeed of course but I was excited to see the kid's reaction when Martina came in because nobody was expecting her, and they all wanted to meet her and talk to her. That was a beautiful thing for them.”  

Martina with 4-H girls

As for the speaking event, a club member can either do a speech or a presentation; a presentation you must use power point and explain something and with the speech you just write something down and present it. 

There were also impromptu speeches, where you pick a topic and then have one minute to write some quick notes and present. 

Rhinehart says this is a fundamental thing that everyone must complete because it will set them up for the future.  

“We always have to speak at some point in our life in front of a big room. It might be a job interview, a group of coworkers, school. So that is why this has always been a big thing for 4-H's.”  

From here the winners then go on to regionals, which is going to be held this coming Saturday at the Civic Centre and that will be open to the public. 

Rhinehart shares that Kyler Rhinehart from the Strathmore Club has advanced to regionals with an intermediate level presentation, and Abby and Sarah Waldner advanced with their senior level speeches. 

“If anyone is interested in watching these kids get up there, this will be your top of the top kids and they will be getting judged again and it will go towards diary points. What that means is that in their graduating year, these kids are eligible for grants and such through the 4-H foundation.”  

The 4H club is a program that teaches everything from active living, arts, science, crafts, cooking, and agriculture, and all the members of 4-H must participate in this public speaking event, then the top two from each category will go onto districts.  

To learn more about 4-H visit their website here.  

4-H two

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