County fair season is well underway, and 4-Hers across Indiana are showing off their projects, and not just their livestock.
13-year-old Tippecanoe County 4-Her Audrey Spray stepped away from rinsing one of her family’s 11 pigs at the fair to come chat with HAT about another project she had hanging in the Exhibit Hall, this one combining a 4-H skill with another passion of hers—basketball!
“I did a sports poster on the historic high school gyms in Indiana,” Spray tells HAT.
On the poster were gyms like the New Castle Fieldhouse (the largest high school gym in the world), Case Arena in Frankfort where the movie “Blue Chips” was shot, and the famed Hoosier Gym in Knightstown where Gene Hackman roamed the sidelines in the film “Hoosiers”. Spray’s favorite?
“Probably the Hoosier Gym, because I got to play there with my basketball team.”
Spray explains why she chose to do a poster project.
“I get to do something I’m interested in, and it’s a great way to spend your summer. It’s hands-on, and you learn a lot from doing it. When you turn it in for judging, you get to talk with the judge, explain your project to them, and it’s a great communications skill.”
Spray says just because you don’t come from a farm or have livestock, that doesn’t mean you can’t get involved in 4-H.
“There are so, so many projects, and I’m sure there’s something that anyone will be interested in. You could do posters, farm scenes, home environment, sewing, baking, a whole bunch of stuff—electric, photography, there are so, so many.”
Spray tells Hoosier Ag Today her biggest lesson learned so far from 4-H.
“It always gives back to you. You’re always proud of your projects that you create, and same with animals. You should be proud of what you turn in and proud of what you show. Even if you don’t get the best award, you still learned a lot from it. In a poster, you learn about each thing that you write in it, you learn about something that you’re interested in. And it teaches you hard work.”
Best of luck to Spray as she shows her pigs Wednesday night at the fair. And be sure to visit your county fair if there’s still time to show support for 4-H in your community!
