Posted on August 22, 2022 at 11:43 AM by Cade Cameron
Julie became involved in 4-H while growing up in Dallas County in the era of the 4-H uniform dresses that you sewed yourself. She was an active member of the local girls 4-H club in her area and was always interested in her family and consumer science classes in high school. She pursued that interest at the University of Northern Iowa where she earned a family and consumer science degree. From there she became a teacher. Over the years, she taught at Titonka, Wooden-Crystal Lake and North Iowa. She retired after 38 years.
During those years she was always a strong 4-H supporter. In the 1990s and early 2000s, she was a 4-H parent to two children and spent a lot of time helping them prepare and bring many projects to the Kossuth County Fair, and also a number to the Iowa State Fair over the years. She was a great source of project ideas, especially in food and spent a lot of time helping with projects in the summers.
For decades she has spent time as a 4-H judge every summer, working at achievement shows, county fairs and even the Iowa State Fair. She has always been flexible and willing to take on judging various project areas as needed, including food and nutrition, clothing, home improvement, child development, personal development, communications, clothing events, and more. As a 4-H judge, she always believed in finding the best in every 4-H’er and getting them to explain how each project showed their own personal growth and learning. She has been a fixture judging static exhibits at many of the neighboring county fairs, especially Hancock, Palo Alto, and Cerro Gordo, and is willing to travel much further to many other north Iowa counties when needed.
Julie always prefers to volunteer as a judge's helper at the Kossuth County Fair, because she doesn’t think it was fair for her to judge the many local 4-H’ers she knew well from her years teaching at the Titonka, Woden-Crystal Lake, and North Iowa Schools even after her own children had graduated. More than a few projects in sewing, foods, and other areas probably started out in her family and consumer science classes as well over the years!
Julie has continued to be a valuable volunteer for the Kossuth County 4-H program as well as the overall Kossuth County Extension and Outreach as she has served as an Extension Council member and a member of the Youth Committee.
