Earlier this month the Easy Riders 4-H Club hosted an open house as part of National 4-H Week.

The goal of the open house was to encourage children of all ages who are interested in horses and other equine interests and give them a chance to see what it would be like to join.

Local 4-H leader Leslee Stanley has been a part of 4-H since she was 5 years old and has been a leader for more than four decades.

She hopes to see as many children join the club as possible because of the enriching possibilities 4-H can bring to their lives.

“4-H-ers learn by doing along with your friends in a fun and safe setting, attend club meetings, exhibit at the county fair, meet new friends, help others in club citizenship activities, share with others through communications, and have fun with other 4-H’ers at camps, fun nights and workshops,” Stanley said. “There are lots of opportunities. 4-H teaches life skills while encouraging activities that are fun and healthy.”

Stanley has remained faithful and dutiful in her service to the group, but is still surprised by how many people don’t realize there is a local group that is available for the local kids.

“I’ve been a leader for 44 years — our club has been very active with newspaper articles, radio, posters and community service, and it is surprising how many people are not aware of the program,” Stanley said.

4-H is a global network of youth organizations. Its mission is engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development.

The name 4-H is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times in the organization's original motto: “Head, Heart, Hands and Health.”

For more information, contact Leslee Stanley by email at easyriders4h@gmail.com or message her on Facebook.