Posted on August 19, 2019 at 2:27 PM by Global Reach
The 2019 Wayne County 4-H Hall of Fame inductee was a longtime 4-H member and a dedicated and effective volunteer for a much longer period of time. She is known for her love of kids and love of horses.
Cindy Miller joined 4-H as a 9 year-old with her mother as club leader for several years. She continued her participation with 4-H first as an informal adult volunteer.
Cindy was instrumental in helping form the “Horse Interest Committee.” The goal of this committee was to support horse project members providing more quality learning opportunities for the youth and to encourage and recognize excellence in caring for and riding horses.
Cindy soon became an “official 4-H leader” as she accepted the position of county horse project leader and horse superintendent. Each summer she and another leader conducted workouts for horse project members and taught many youth horsemanship skills. For several years she organized field trips to the Iowa Horse Fair. She went above and beyond when she volunteered to spend several nights on the fairgrounds keeping an eye on all the horses.
Cindy’s love of horses is as well-known as her commitment to providing positive and safe opportunities for kids. When asked about Cindy as a leader, one former 4-H’er now a young professional responded, “she always gave us positive reinforcement no matter how we did.” And another commented, “She was always there for us and made sure we had fun.”
When a longtime dog project leader retired, and no one stepped forward to fill the role, Cindy agreed to add dog project leadership to her resume. Additionally, she served on the 4-H Adult Committee for two terms and served as president of the committee for several years.
Cindy was always very involved with kids and she loved seeing them grow and develop new learning and skills. She considered all the youth she worked with as “her kids” and had a great friendship with both the kids and the parents. If somebody needed anything from a tack repair, to a sandwich or to a pep talk, Cindy would be there for them!
