Posted on July 19, 2012 at 9:18 AM by Global Reach
Lou Roach has been a volunteer, advocate and cheerleader for the 4-H program for over 40 years…..Lou was introduced to the 4-H program by her veterinary husband, a former state 4-H officer, Dr. Ken Roach when the oldest of their three children was old enough to join a club. Little did she know at the time that 4-H would become a central activity in the life of their family. Leah, Julie and John were involved in many of the programs offered and Lou became convinced of the value of the “learn by doing” philosophy.
Lou became a leader of her daughter’s club and later helped her son, John’s club. She became involved with the 4-H program on the county level soon after and was a charter member of the Woodbury County 4-H Sub- Committee, serving as secretary for twelve years. Lou served as Fair superintendent for many of the exhibit areas over the years.
Under her guidance the 4-H Sub Committee developed a 4-H record keeping program.
A handbook was developed, forms revised and meetings held to help 4-H members, parents and leaders understand the importance of record keeping. Her initiative helped 4-H’ers achieve their goals through record keeping. This effort resulted in Woodbury County 4-Her’s earning trips to National 4-H Congress and thousands of dollars in educational scholarships. Through her efforts she obtained funds from the Rotary Club for 4-H’ers to participate in the Citizenship – Washington Focus. The Roach family was host for the 4-H Foreign Exchange program. Lou also served on the state level as a trustee of the Iowa 4-H Foundation. In 1993 Lou was recognized by the state as an Honorary 4-H Member. In 2002 Lou and her good friend and co-leader, Sheryl McGowan, were honored by their husbands who acted as underwriters for the book A 4-H Story Helping Hands Caring Hearts, a book written to commemorate the hundredth birthday of 4-H.
Lou is active in the community. She served as chairman of “PEACH” a Sioux City community betterment program. She has continued to serve in various ways, on the Board for the Carmelite Monastery, Capital Campaign for Blessed Sacrament Church, planning committee for the Bishop’s Dinner, and the Mercy Hospital Gala.
Lou is the epitome of the “forever student”… in addition to her degree in Home Economics from Iowa State University, she earned a Bachelor of Arts from Briar Cliff University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of South Dakota, all the while volunteering for 4-H. She was employed at Western Iowa Tech Community College as an art instructor for many years. Most recently she and husband Ken earned a Master’s degree in Theology from Ave Maria University and have helped launch the Catholic Radio station, KFHC, in Sioux City. She now continues as a teacher instructing home schooled children in religion and art and conducts a Bible study.
Categories: Woodbury
There are no comments yet.
