Green Team helps 4-H during fair

Fair-goers who thought they were seeing more green than normal most likely veered off into the 4-H Building where members of the 4-H Green Team greeted them.
Donning green 4-H T-shirts, Mitch Dinse of the Meriden Meadowlarks was one of eight team members who took turns during the fair to help out the extension office staff with the 4-H program. The teenagers are 4-H members who are given paid positions to help with general office work, set up and take down exhibits, complete paperwork and act as general ambassadors of the 4-H program.
The members work staggered shifts from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the fair, with at least two members on duty at all times. 
For Dinse, the Green Team has been a perfect opportunity to get more involved with the operation of the 4-H program. “I wanted to see what it takes to pull off a fair with 4-H,” he said. “It’s a lot more work than you think.”
Dinse, who has been a member of the team for three years, said the work of the Green Team members make things easier for the regular 4-H staff. “They have a really stressful week and we’re able to help them with little tasks,” he said. 
There is an added bonus for Dinse gaining experience as part of the Green Team. He is currently attending college at River Falls, Wisconsin, where he’s majoring in agriculture education and plans to become a 4-H program coordinator or something similar in the future. 
In fact, Dinse said he decided on 4-H as a career because of the experience he has received on the Green Team. “It’s given me a good idea of what a job like this will consist of,” he said. 
Katie Moon, of the Owatonna Victory Boosters club, is another member of the Green Team. She values the experience she is getting in dealing with parents and kids. “It’s always good experience to work with people,” she said. 
Moon, who also attends college at River Falls and plans to go into elementary education, especially likes decorating the 4-H Building for the fair. She said they try to do something a little different with the building every year.  
Steele County is one of only a handful of counties in the state that offers the Green Team program for older 4-H members, according to Tracy Ignaszewski, 4-H program coordinator. “We had youth that wanted to volunteer during the fair and we decided they should be paid for it,” she said, noting the program has been going for about 10 years.
Added Moon: “It’s impressive that we’re one of the only teams in the state. It takes a load off the 4-H coordinators.”
Ignaszewski said it’s nice to have the extra help during the fair. “It’s huge to us to have a team available,” she said. 
Besides the office assistance provided by the members, they also learn important life skills. “We try to take time and teach them what a good employee is,” Ignaszewski said, adding for many of the members it’s their first job. 
Without the members, Isnaszewski said the 4-H staff would be forced to work longer hours or rely on more adult volunteers, which has become increasingly difficult to find in recent years. 
In addition to the leadership skills, members also gain friendships with other 4-H members.
“You make friends that will last forever,” Moon said.