Posted on August 8, 2013 at 11:42 PM by Global Reach
The time and effort that Karen Schwartzkopf of Whittemore, IA has committed to improving and supporting 4-H in Palo Alto County is truly astonishing. Karen was a 4-Her herself while growing up in Mercher County in Illinois. She was a member of the Sunbeam Peps and enjoyed the project areas of knitting, sewing, and baking. In the summer of 2000 she and her family moved to the West Bend area where she became involved with Palo Alto’s 4-H program, volunteering as an assistant leader to the Fern Valley 4-Hers. She is now in her twelth year as a leader for that club.
She has been instrumental in teaching 4-H members the importance of giving back to their community by organizing many community service projects. Each year they average at least one project a month. Some of those projects include creating a window display during National 4-H Week, providing carnival games at our annual fall Penny Carnival, providing cookies four times a year for their local blood drive, helping the Chamber with their Santa Day, promoting 4-H in their local 4th of July parade, planning events for the annual Mindy’s Miles bike ride, planting flowers each year in the main street planters, and writing grants for landscaping projects in the community. Karen has also volunteered countless hours to chaperoning fair dances and 4-H lock-ins.
In January of 2003 she took over the West Bend Journal, a local newspaper in Palo Alto County. Karen is responsible for a lot of positive publicity for 4-H in the West Bend and surrounding areas. She rarely misses a 4-H photo opportunity and does a wonderful job of informing the public about 4-H events in the West Bend Journal. Her fair coverage is outstanding and provides many 4-H families lasting memories for 4-H record books and family scrapbooks.
Karen and her husband, Doug, have 3 grown children - Katarina, Matthias, and Liesel - all of whom were active members in 4-H.
In 2005 Karen was awarded the 4-H Alumni Award at the county awards banquet for her contributions to 4-H. Palo Alto County is proud and honored to have her as their 2013 inductee to the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame.
Categories: Palo Alto
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