Jenni Golbuff and 27 other outstanding Minnesota 4-H youth have been selected as Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors for 2015-16.  Elected through a meticulous selection process by 4-H adults and youth, this year’s group of state ambassadors will serve as spokespeople for the youth development organization, representing more than 65,000 of their 4-H peers throughout Minnesota.

The Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador Program began in 1968 and over 1000 youth have participated since its founding.  Throughout the year, state ambassador responsibilities include:

Educating youth and adults about the importance of youth development, leadership, citizenship, service, teamwork, and other invaluable life skills.

Teaching and facilitating hands-on workshops and trainings at the local, county, regional, and state levels.

Appearing at various events, including the Minnesota State Fair, where they serve as goodwill volunteers, greeting thousands of visitors to the 4-H Building and helping 4-H youth throughout their stay as fair exhibitors.

Planning and implementing various local, regional, and statewide 4-H leadership events such as the annual 4-H Building Leadership and Understanding and 4-H Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Out loud! youth leadership conferences.

The state ambassadors recently participated in a three-day orientation at the University of Minnesota to learn about media/public communications, leadership core skills, program priority areas, and identified some of their personal strengths as a leader. They also participated in a service project with Bridging Minnesota, a nonprofit that provides resources for people in need. The project was sponsored by the Minnesota 4-H Foundation.

Golbuff is the daughter of Scott & Cindy Golbuff and lives in Albert Lea.  She has just completed the 12th and will be attending Riverland in the fall.  Golbuff has been a member of 4-H in Minnesota and Colorado for 12 years where her leadership abilities first came to the community’s attention.

To learn more, contact Jacquie Lonning at jlonning@umn.edu or Freeborn County 4-H Program Coordinators at 507-377-5660 or www.extension.umn.edu/youth/mn4-H/projects/leadership/ambassadors/.

Minnesota 4-H is a youth development program available throughout Minnesota for youth grades k-1 year after high school. 4-H’s hands-on learning model helps youth obtain essential life skills such as problem solving, decision making, coping and communicating that prepare them to succeed in their school, college, community and careers. Research shows that youth who participate in 4-H have better grades and are more emotionally engaged with school, are more than twice as likely to be civically active and contribute to their communities, and are 47 percent less likely to have risky or problem behaviors.