Organizational Leader: Dana Probert

Club: Sunset Branch

Mrs. Probert has been the organizational leader for the Sunset Branch 4-H club for four years. She started her 4-H journey as a project leader with Peach Blossom 4-H club, then decided to start her own 4-H club in Sussex County. She likes to take on several new projects areas every year. She has helped out with the rabbit project, clothing/textile project, Exploring 4-H, photography project, dog project, foods and nutrition project and more. Her personal favorite is the horse project. She was intimidated about starting a horse project group because she still had so much to learn about horses herself. She learned not to worry about that. It’s OK to learn along with the kids and there are always books, videos, events, people and county resources to help with new topics.

Being a 4-H leader has helped her develop her own leadership and interpersonal skills. Through 4-H, she has learned how to manage and motivate volunteers, though it is not always easy!

She enjoys teaching her members about the value of working with their hands, stepping out of their comfort zone and learning how to stick with a project for the long term. One of her favorite phrases with her club members is “Handle Your Business.” They do a lot of activities that teach members self-reliance and life skills. She also loves exposing members to new things, such as careers, geographic places and foods/tastes/flavors. Her mission is to help her members seek experience, embrace adventure and realize they have the power to craft their own futures.

Her advice to anyone wanting to become a leader is to take a deep breath and jump in! You can pitch in at a meeting, lead a craft or set up a field trip. You don’t have to commit a lot of hours to 4-H in order to make a big impact. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert on the subject or experienced with 4-H.