From left, Columbiana County Commissioner Roy Paparodis, Ohio 4-H Teen of the Year and Beaver Local senior Sara Bailey, Commissioner Mike Halleck, Commissioner Tim Ginter and The Ohio State University Extension 4-H Program Assistant Amie Cope celebrate the kickoff of the Columbiana County 4-H Week, which began Sunday. The commissioners issued a proclamation in support of 4-H on Wednesday and heard presentations from both Cope and Bailey. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — Columbiana County 4-H Week for Beaver Local senior Sara Bailey will end in spectacular fashion on March 8 when she’s recognized as the Ohio 4-H Teen of the Year.

But that’s just the beginning — later in the month she’s traveling to Greece as Columbiana County’s representative to the 4-H Global Immersion Project from March 12 to 23, learning about agricultural practices there and sharing what she knows from here.

Her family owns and operates Diamond B Farm in Rogers and she’s raised and shown everything from rabbits to horses to hogs, sheep and poultry and now this year, beef cattle.

“I was always attracted to trying out more things,” she said.

The 18-year-old daughter of Sheryl and Jason Bailey, she’s the president of the Country Critters 4-H Club which also includes her 15-year brother Justin as a member.

Sara’s 4-H journey started at age 6 with the Cloverbuds, the program for 4-H’s youngest members. Fast forward a dozen years and her 4-H resume is overflowing with examples of her leadership and service, demonstrating the 4-H values of head, heart, hands and health.

On Wednesday, she shared her story with the Columbiana County commissioners, who passed a proclamation declaring March 2 through March 8 as Columbiana County 4-H Week.

“Our purpose is to increase awareness of the 4-H program in Columbiana County and to promote growth in 4-H,” the proclamation said, noting that 4-H involves “a community of young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.”

Sara is a member of Columbiana County Junior Leadership, serving as president for two years and now serving as director of outreach and was the county 4-H Queen from 2023-2024. As a freshman in high school, she was the lone Columbiana County participant in the Ohio 4-H Leadership Conference. Her sophomore year, she attended the Buckeye Leadership conference which included teens and adults and more than just 4-Hers.

Last year as a junior, she was one of 10 Ohio delegates to the National 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C. where 500 4-Hers met in smaller groups of 15 each to work on a challenge question from a federal organization. Her group had to develop a team leadership council for the Smithsonian museums.

Soon she’ll be one of 15 4-Hers from Ohio traveling to the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece. Besides all the lessons regarding agriculture, she said they’ll have the chance to go hiking in the Enipea Canyon near Mount Olympus.

For the Ohio 4-H Teen of the Year, she was nominated by Ohio State University Extension 4-H Educator Audrey Dimmerling and said she was shocked when she found out she got it. She thought she had a chance for 4-H Hall of Fame, but when she learned about the honor of Ohio 4-H Teen of the Year, she said, “I was just blown away.”

Sara said she was never a sports person and “found my place in 4-H with all the opportunities involved with it.”

At Beaver Local, she’s also a member of the marching band, concert band and jazz band where she plays trumpet and serves as a section leader and band vice president. She’s vice president of the Science Club and team captain for the Envirothon team. She’s also an author for the agricultural magazine GRIT, writing a department called Growing up Gritty about growing up in agriculture.

She’s planning to attend The Ohio State University for animal sciences and then study to become a veterinarian, focusing on livestock. She said the deficit of livestock and equine veterinarians will total 125,000 by 2035.

She offered this advice for the Cloverbuds just starting out or other 4-H members or even kids thinking about joining 4-H.

“Look into any opportunity that’s presented to you. Don’t turn any of them down. Don’t ever be afraid to jump in headfirst,” she said.

OSU Extension 4-H Program Assistant Amie Cope, who attended the commissioners’ meeting with Sara, said she’s a great representative in Columbiana County who shows that 4-Hers aren’t limited to the county.

“They can literally travel the world,” she said.

Cope told commissioners that the 4-H program is growing and people are realizing there are more opportunities available than just livestock. She said there are new 4-H clubs, with more than 700 youth involved in 4-H and more than 170 volunteers, with members from every school district in the county.

mgreier@mojonews.com