2011 Floyd County - Patty Staudt

Patty Staudt was a leader of the Union Busy Bees 4-H Club for 13 years (1994-2007).  Her passion for education and spirit of service helped to inspire a generation of 4-H’ers to be present, passionate, engaged members of their club, community, country, and world.  The members baked and delivered cookies to shut-ins, led story hours at the Public Library, visited residents at local nursing homes, rang bells for the Salvation Army, and donated Christmas gifts to the Crisis Intervention project.

As a Master Gardener, Patty shared her love for gardening and horticulture with the club to help beautify the local communities and raise awareness about caring for our earth. She wrote a grant to Pioneer Hi-Bred International that provided funds to purchase four trees that the club planted at the RRMR school and the Marble Rock baseball diamond. In 1996, the Marble Rock Study Club provided the Union Busy Bees with money to landscape around the Marble Rock welcome sign on the east side of town. Even though she has retired as a 4-H leader, Patty still continues to individually care for this landscaping project. At the county level, she served as the Horticulture Superintendent at the Floyd County Fair for several years.

As a former school teacher, Patty’s passion for education always shined through in her years as a 4-H leader. She led numerous workshops for the club members, incorporating as many as seven workshops on a variety of topics in one year. The workshops frequently involved opportunities for service or an educational lesson in addition to simply creating a project. For example, the members sewed quilts that they donated to Project Linus, and several workshops utilized household recyclable objects, which taught the members stewardship of the environment.  Additional workshops included such topics as Goal Writing and Record Keeping, offering members ample opportunities to practice and develop lifelong skills.

Patty held high expectations for the members of the Union Busy Bees 4-H Club, but was always diligent in recognizing the youth for their achievements and service within the club as well as county efforts.

Under Patty’s leadership, the Union Busy Bees 4-H Club won Floyd Co.’s Top 4-H Club Award several times. The club was a perennial award winner in the Fair Booth competition at the Floyd Co. Fair, and received the Community Service Award and National 4-H Week Window Display Award on multiple occasions.

In 2007, at the conclusion of Patty’s 13th and final year as a club leader, she was recognized with the Honorary 4-H Member Award. Even though she has retired as a 4-H leader, Patty remains active in 4-H as a parent, and continues to volunteer regularly in the community, at St. Mary’s Roseville, and Round Grove Golf and Country Club.