The 87th Washington County 4-H Celebration and Recognition Night celebrating the 2025 accomplishments of 4-H youth members and adult volunteers took place on January 10th, 2026. This event, held annually in the fall, was rescheduled to January as the Washington County Fair Park was under construction for lighting, tech, and facility upgrades.
Highlights of the event included the presentation of the Key Award recipients. The Key award is the highest recognition a 4-H member can receive and honors a select group of 4-H participants annually, across the state. The youth receiving this award are those who have demonstrated consistent growth in their 4-H involvement, developed and applied their leadership skills, and actively participated in their club and community.
Congratulations to Cassie Jerich, Eli Jerich, and Caleb Demmon all high school seniors in West Bend and also Elyse Reedell who has started her first year at UW-Madison studying biochemistry. As high school seniors, Caleb has a college goal of seeking a teaching degree, Eli majoring in English and Cassie pursuing degrees in genetics.
The evening had speeches made by youth who attended 4-H educational experiences such as summer camp, American Spirit, Citizenship Washington Focus, and Fall Forum focusing on the educational value as well as the friendships they developed with other 4-H youth from other Wisconsin counties while on the trips.
The evening focused on youth accomplishments from Project Awards to Cloverbuds to scholarship recipients. The evening also recognizes the adult volunteers that give enormous amounts of time and passion as club leaders, project leaders, and event volunteers. There were nine adults recognized for their 10 years of service; three with 15 years of service, one with 20 years, two with 25 and one volunteer with 40 years of service to Washington County 4-H.
Interesting fact: The gentleman recognized with 40 years of service, Ray Heidtke, is the grandfather of Caleb Demmon, a youth Key Award recipient.
For more information about Washington County 4-H contact Ron Jakubisin, 4-H Educator at ron.jakubisin@wisc.edu
