This could be the busiest year of Ryan Hodgson’s life.
The 18-year-old high school student from Okotoks, Alta., was selected earlier this spring from 132 of Alberta’s top 4-H members to receive the Premier’s Award, 4-H’s highest honour. He was also made a 4-H ambassador.
Along with the added duties of promoting 4-H and travelling the province, Hodgson must squeeze in ranch chores, attend steer shows, graduate and prepare for life in university this fall.
“I’ll have just enough time to go haying,” he said.
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Hodgson has been tentatively accepted at the universities of Lethbridge and Alberta, but his first choice is Lethbridge, where he plans to study agriculture politics with an eye at running for office one day.
He lives on a Red Angus ranch near Okotoks with his 15-year-old brother Matt and parents, Steve and Debbie. The Hodgsons are a fourth generation agriculture family, but he is the first in his family to join 4-H.
He attended his first provincial camp at age nine and immediately knew that he wanted to go further than his local Millarville Stockland Club.
He enjoys the travel and meeting new people, but his first love is grooming and showing cattle at the Calgary region’s achievement day in June and larger events such as the international youth program during the Calgary Stampede and Edmonton’s Farmfair.
He owns his own cattle and his projects include a cow-calf pair, heifer and steer.
Leaders Suzon Watkins and Susan Jeffery have known him since he joined as a keen nine year old.
“He is a smart, ambitious kid,” Watkins said. “You ask him to do things and you only have to tell him once.”
As one of 14 provincial ambassadors, Hodgson’s duties include promoting the myriad 4-H activities that are available. The ambassadors spend their two year terms exemplifying and building their leadership, communication and personal development skills.
Showing his contemporaries that 4-H has plenty to offer will be part of his challenge.
“Out of the 7,200 kids in 4-H, there’s 1,400 guys. The rest are girls,” he said.
“The stereotype is that it is either beef, horses or sheep. They don’t realize there are hundreds of different projects out there.”
This summer he will travel to San Diego for a national 4-H conference and Ontario for shows. He will also participate in the Calgary Stampede international youth show. He must also find time for duties as the youngest volunteer on the Stampede beef agriculture education committee.
This is his last year showing cattle, but he intends to be involved in the program until the cutoff age of 21. It has been a good way to meet other young people with common interests.
“Through 4-H, I’ve made a network of friends. I could drive my car from here to Edmonton and break down and call somebody and they would come and get me.”
