The Successful Farming/Loren Kruse Outstanding Iowa 4-H Leader award is presented each year to an adult volunteer who has encouraged, challenged, and inspired Iowa 4-H members to achieve at their fullest potential. This year’s recipient is Shirley Helmrichs of Manchester. Helmrichs is the current 4-H Leader of the Milo Livestock 4-H Club and has been for over 37 years.
August 28, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Delaware County’s Shirley Helmrichs Named 2017 Outstanding 4-H Leader
Iowa 4-H Foundation awards the fourth annual Successful Farming/Loren Kruse Outstanding
Iowa 4-H Leader Award at the 2017 Iowa State Fair
AMES, Iowa – The Successful Farming/Loren Kruse Outstanding Iowa 4-H Leader award is presented each year to an adult volunteer who has encouraged, challenged, and inspired Iowa 4-H members to achieve at their fullest potential. This year’s recipient is Shirley Helmrichs of Manchester. Helmrichs is the current 4-H Leader of the Milo Livestock 4-H Club and has been for over 37 years.
Current or past 4-H members make award nominations. Helmrichs was nominated by current 4-H club member, Gabriela Guetzko.
Guetzko says, “Since the first day I met Shirley, I could see how caring and hardworking she was. Throughout my nine years of knowing her, I’ve noticed that Shirley takes time out of her busy schedule to help others in need. Not only does she help create a positive atmosphere, she encourages us to really get involved and not to be afraid to step out of our comfort zone. Shirley Helmrichs inspires us to make the best better.”
In addition to her tenure as a 4-H Club leader, Helmrichs has also been the Poultry Project leader for over 37 years, on the 4-H Food Stand Committee for over 30 years, and a member of the Delaware County Youth Committee for 13 years. She also sponsors a 4-H scholarship each year in memory of her husband, as well as a county 4-H scholarship with her siblings in memory of her parents.
Helmrichs’ dedication extends beyond the 4-H community. She serves as a Delaware County Supervisor and serves on a number of county and regional boards including the BDF Empowerment Board, Delaware County Solid Waste Commission, North East Iowa Agency on Aging, Operation New View, Delaware County Conference Board and the Delaware County Pork Board. She is also active in the Golden Congregational Church.
Helmrichs is the fifth recipient of the Successful Farming/Loren Kruse Outstanding Iowa 4-H Leader Award, joining Janet Ritchie, Marion County (2016); Wil Groves, Hamilton County (2015); Barb Determan, Sac County (2014); and Claudia Putnam, Muscatine County (2013.) This award comes with a $1,000 grant, which the honoree can designate back to Iowa 4-H through their club, county or state foundations. The award was established by Meredith Corporation and the Edwin T. Meredith Foundation through the Iowa 4-H Foundation in honor of Loren Kruse’s retirement as editor-in-chief of Successful Farming magazine. Kruse credits the outstanding guidance provided by his 4-H club leader for the successes he achieved as an adult.
The Iowa 4-H Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and provides the private financial resources to develop and deliver quality 4-H youth programs throughout the state of Iowa. These opportunities help young people enhance their ability to use critical thinking, leadership, communication, and social skills – tools that will give them a competitive edge in their future endeavors.
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Cutline: Helmrichs LK Winner.jpg: Shirley Helmrichs (center) accepts the Successful Farming/Loren Kruse Outstanding Iowa 4-H Leader Award from Emily Saveraid (left), Executive Director of the Iowa 4-H Foundation, at the Iowa State Fair on August 20, 2017. Helmrichs was nominated by Gabriela Guetzko, pictured at right.
