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Decatur County 4‑H council reports growth at fair, asks for continued county support
Summary
Steve Gao, president of the Decatur County 4‑H Council, reported rising participation at the county fair and presented a proposed budget; he said Decatur County has more than 500 youth enrolled and the program uses RFID check‑in and other innovations recognized by Purdue.
Steve Gao, president of the Decatur County 4‑H Council, told the Decatur County Council the county’s 4‑H program has more than 500 youth members and reported 2,450 project entries at this year’s fair.
Gao said Decatur County’s 4‑H program has 100-plus adult volunteers and offers about 70 different projects, including non‑agriculture activities such as fashion review and fairy gardens. He said participation has grown since the COVID years and that the county’s use of RFID tags for project check‑in has drawn attention from Purdue University as a model for other counties.
Gao presented a proposed budget for the upcoming year and explained the council’s prior year funding was supplemented with ARPA dollars to meet operational needs. He said the 4‑H council was asking the county to continue the same funding level it has received in recent years; Gao noted a small year‑to‑date shortfall in the accounting because of the county’s draw timing and said community donations helped cover last year’s gap.
Council members asked for clarification about the shortfall and whether the $15,000 budget request from the prior year should be adjusted. Gao said the council has maintained a flat county request for four to five years and will continue local fundraising to cover any shortfall.
No formal vote on the 4‑H budget request is recorded in the supplied transcript excerpts.
