The 4-H program in Brazoria County is an active and growing organization. The first recorded 4-H enrollment in Brazoria County was in 1930 when J.H. Sandlin was County Agricultural Agent with twenty-eight boys were enrolled. Due to there not being a home economics program available at that time no girls were able to enroll. In 1931, forty-seven boys were enrolled in the Brazoria County 4-H Program. The program continued to grow with the first girl focused clubs being organized in 1933, when the first Home Demonstration Agent, Edith Giles, was hired. There were three clubs with an enrollment of seventy-nine 4-H members. Moving forward to the next year, there were five girl focused clubs in 1934 with an enrollment of one hundred and twenty-three members. The primary projects of boys in those early years were livestock and row crops, and the primary projects for girls were in gardening and bedroom improvement. It is interesting to note that there were no competitions at that time! The program has now grown and prospered over the years to include over five hundred members. These members belong to over twenty different clubs and are advised by one hundred plus club managers, project leaders, and adult volunteers. Club managers, with the assistance of the county extension staff, instruct and guide members as they learn by participating in approximately forty-two different leadership and domestic projects.
Brazoria County offers 4-H members unlimited natural resources to explore and learn from. A combination of urban and rural areas, woodland and coastal topography and industry mixing with agriculture give youth excellent opportunities in any area of interest, but perhaps the most favorable resource Brazoria County has to offer is its people. They are the ones that support, guide, and shape the 4-H program and the youth involved in 4-H. Their examples and expert guidance have enabled youth to grow within 4-H, and 4-H grow from them.
Texas 4-H was 100 years old on September 1, 2007! For more than a century, kids across Texas have been learning, leading, and having fun in 4-H. In 4-H, you learn the value of helping your community, the importance of being a great leader, and, at the same time, you have fun. 4-H provides youth from 3rd grade through 12th grade the experience to travel, work with other youth, participate in positive competitive experiences, and develop at the rate they want.
Is 4-H for you? Yes, 4-H is for everyone, from those in the biggest Texas city to the smallest community. For the young person that wants to learn about computers to the teenager that wants to travel around the country, 4-H allows you to “Make it Yours”.
