Tharp honored as Wyoming 4-H Volunteer of the Year

WORLAND - Washakie County 4-H leader Jessica Tharp was recently honored as the Wyoming 4-H Volunteer of the Year.

Each year, county 4-H programs can nominate two outstanding individual volunteers to receive the 4-H Salute to Excellence Awards. The Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award is given to an individual who has spent 10 or more years as a 4-H volunteer while the Volunteer of the Year Award is given to an individual who has volunteered for 4-H less than 10 years.

Four regional winners are chosen in each award category per year and from the four regional winners one state winner is identified. Tharp was the Northwest Regional award winner, making her eligible to win the state honor.

Washakie County 4-H Educator Amber Armajo said, "Jessica is great to work with! She is kind and considerate and keeps the youth and their safety at the top of her priority list. She can make the hard decisions when needed with compassion, thinks outside the box for the greater good. Although she is busy with school she is still dedicated to the 4-H program and helping the youth anytime they need. You can count on Jessica to get the job done!"

Tharp said, "It's a really nice honor. Those of us that volunteer, we don't do it to get recognized, but it's nice when it does happen. We just try to make our community better and it's nice when that type of work gets recognized."

Tharp was not involved in 4-H as a youth, getting involved when her daughter Natalie became involved seven years ago. Her son Beckett has been involved for three years.

Tharp has been a 4-H leader for four years for the horse project. She has worked hard to grow the program and encourage all levels of riders. In the last two years the program has doubled in number of participants.

Tharp also organizes and runs the horse show at county fair. She works to encourage safety and fun while learning, and tries to be very encouraging.

"They needed leaders for the horse program. I have a background in riding. I grew up riding English and I studied equine studies in college. I just felt I could be useful," Tharp said.

She had a co-leader for the horse program for her first two years.

"I have other adults who volunteer their time. There's no way I could do it without them, Tharp said, adding that with the horse program there are so many different ability levels and they work with 15-20 kids every week.

"I really depend on other volunteers," Tharp said.

In her second year as horse superintendent in 2017, Tharp told the Northern Wyoming News she was excited to see growth in the program and improvement from the members.

"I grew up riding horses and I wanted to see the horse program continue. I like to see the kids learning and improving. The horse show is a lot of fun and we've seen growth in the program from last year," Tharp said.

She added, "I want to see more kids involved [in the horse program]. It's never too late to start something new and to get involved. We have kids who have never shown anything, some who have only done rodeos. [The horse program] brings all of it together and provides an opportunity for kids to learn something new."

In addition to serving as a horse project leader she has volunteered for two years on the awards committee to restructure/order/organize county fair awards.

Tharp also helps her club leader with whatever she needs for the Roadrunners 4-H Club.

Tharp said of 4-H, "I think it's a really great program for instilling in kids time commitment and work ethic. You can really see a project through and get a finished project or see results in whatever you are doing. I think it's a great program and I'm really glad my kids have been able to be involved with it. I'll continue to do what I can to support it."

OTHER STATE

WINNERS

The Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer was awarded to Elizabeth Downare of the Northeast Region. Downare has been a leader in Johnson County for 15 years but has been a lifelong 4-H member with strong family ties in 4-H throughout the state. She is the county Fabric /Fashion leader and has recently become a member of the State 4-H Fabric and Fashion Development Committee. 

Regional Lifetime Volunteer of the Year Award for the Northwest went to Sharon Cordingly, who has been a leader in the Hot Springs County 4-H program for 19 years. She has been instrumental in teaching leadership and citizenship to 4-H members since her tenure as a 4-H leader. She has always taught youth the importance of serving in their community and playing a positive role as a representative of 4-H.

The Southeast regional winner was Paul Dey, certified volunteer for 11 years and president of the shooting sports committee in Laramie County for the past seven years.

The Northeast Regional Volunteer of the Year was Joan Ash, a leader for the past seven years.