Now more than ever, the Amiret Busy Bees are living up to their name
THERE MAY NOT BE AS MANY 4-H CLUBS IN THE AREA as there once was — there were 10 as recently as the early 1980s — but one of the few remaining is more than picking up the slack when it comes to giving back. Never one to back down from supporting their community — this group of do-gooders has a hard time saying no — the 99-year-old Amiret Busy Bees 4-H club has developed a reputation as one of the most philanthropic in southwest Minnesota. The Bees’ benevolence this past year earned them Grand Champion Award for Community Pride and also received Community Impact honors at this year’s Lyon County Fair.
The volunteer net that the Bees cast is indeed an impressive one. The Community Pride projects the club took part in this past year include creating and delivering 100 “Thank You Farmer Bags,” cleaning 10 miles worth of ditches, tidying up at the Wheels Across the Prairie Heritage Center, donating money and 10 handmade tie blankets to the Help Tuck Them In bed project, taking part in Tracy’s Holiday Parade of Lights, giving pizza to Sanford Tracy staff and the Tracy Police Department, placing flags at the Tracy Cemetery for Veterans’ Day and spending a lot of quality time with O’Brien Court residents.
Not too shabby for a couple dozen youngsters.
“It’s to make the best better — that’s one of the 4-H mottos,” said Jeanne Knott, whose three daughters are heavily involved in 4-H. “We’re proud of our community; we represent our community and we always want it to be better. We stress community service and what we can do for other people.”
Knott’s oldest daughter, Marin, said the more senior members of the club have a responsibility to show the “younger kids that it’s important to give back to your community.”
Another Bees mother, Katie Lanoue, said the club is constantly doing something to show their community spirit. Lanoue said the Community Pride Award was based on the club’s display board that depicted all the different ways they help support the community.
“We had an awesome presentation,” she said. “And we even went a step beyond and were recognized for that with the Community Impact Award — they see the impact that we’re making.”
All of the moms, of course, are proud of the commitment their children have consistently put in over the years and are excited they were recognized in a big way for those efforts.
“To me, that’s the biggest part of 4-H — giving back,” said Lanoue. “It’s more than animals, more than crafts and projects that we do on our own. It’s coming together as a united group and doing something to support others.”
Among all the things the Bees do, it’s the fellowship and the relationships that are built with O’Brien Court residents that gets them most excited. The kids not only interact with the residents, they play any number of games with them, share a slice of pizza with them and even call bingo games.
“It’s a lot about the impact we make with people,” Lanoue said. “It’s so fun to see the generational relationships that are made.”
Busy Bees President Hallee Roggatz, who will be a junior at Tracy Area High School this year, said being mentors to the younger Bees is important, so they are aware of the tradition that the club has created.
“We make sure they get the experience, as well as us older kids,” Roggatz said. “We ‘adopted’ O’Biren Court and love hanging out there, play games, eat food. It’s so fun.”
“The residents love talking to the kids, because they did 4-H, too,” Jeanne Knott said.
The adult leaders of the club suggest some projects to the kids, and the club members themselves vote on what projects they want to take on. So essentially they are their own bosses.
“That’s kind of how we get everyone’s input,” said Roggatz, who is in her ninth year of 4-H.
“I would say it’s kid-led,” said Jenna Buyck, who has all four of her kids involved in 4-H. “We bring it to the kids, and they choose what they want to work on. It’s just limited to the amount of time the kids have. “It’s about community pride and the sense of helping. We’re pretty active as a group.”
Sam Jens, Extension educator and 4-H Youth Development director, said community outreach is a major pillar of 4-H in Lyon County and that the Amiret Busy Bees — the second largest 4-H Club in Lyon County — set an example of what a club should be.
“The Busy Bees are one of the most active clubs in the county,” Jens said. “We highlight (community service) throughout the year.”
• Few 4-Hers represent what the local club is about more than Lauren Torkelson, who received a Community Impact ribbon for her work, which includes being on multiple FFA teams and volunteering to support FFA’s fall carnival, tractor pedal pull, Corn Drive, pancake feed and Urban Ag Day. Torkelson is the vice president and treasurer for the junior high FFA team and serves as vice president of the 4-H club. She is also involved with her church’s youth group and participates in trap shooting. She also was named Reserve Champion this year for her clothing and at the Fashion
