Logan County 4-H volunteer competes for national honor

[April 11, 2017]  Logan County 4-H volunteer, Leslie Starasta, of Lincoln has advanced to national competition in the National 4-H Council Salute to Excellence Volunteer of the Year contest after earning both the state and north central states top awards.

Starasta serves as volunteer leader for two 4-H clubs, the Cloverdale 4-H Club and the LoCo Robo 4-H Robotics Club, and has also served as coach for the Logan County 4-H Horse Bowl Team as well as assisted with the YES! Junior Leadership Club serving teens in Logan County.

“Enthusiasm, dedication, and compassion. If you were to look in the Logan County 4-H ‘dictionary,’ you would definitely find Leslie Starasta’s name next to each of these characteristics,” said University of Illinois Extension Program Coordinator Patty Huffer. “Leslie is a great networker and is dedicated to always having her eyes and ears open for additional ways to give youth valuable experiences.”

Starasta is an information services librarian at Lincoln Christian University.

The national winner will be announced during National Volunteer Week, April 23-29. As the Illinois winner, Starasta will be honored at the Illinois State Fair. National 4-H Council will also make a $200 donation to the Logan County 4-H program in Starasta’s name.

“We are proud to endorse Leslie for this national award,” said Pat McGlaughlin, U of I Extension 4-H youth development specialist. “Leslie exhibits all the characteristics we admire in our volunteers. She is a positive role model who helps create inviting, caring environments for youth to learn and grow as leaders.”

More than 20,000 volunteers assist with Illinois 4-H. To learn more about 4-H, visit 4-H.illinois.edu online.

About 4-H: Illinois 4-H empowers and prepares Illinois youth for success. University of Illinois Extension provides 4-H programs in every county in Illinois. Illinois 4-H impacts the lives of 200,000 youth each year through sustained learning clubs and groups and short-term programming.
 

[Patty Huffer
Extension Program Coordinator
University of Illinois Extension]