My name is Christopher Sweets. I am 16 years old and a Junior at South Warren High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky. My favorite classes are centered around business as I currently work in the family construction and sign company. General contracting has been a part of our family for 4 generations, and I plan to continue my education after high school focusing on business and human resources to continue to grow with the family business.
For the past 6 years, I have been hatching chicks and raising laying hens. I like to hatch Silkies for poultry shows and sell eggs from my laying hens across Warren County. I enjoy country music and action movies as well as building and fixing small engines. My other hobbies revolve around 4-H specifically shooting sports. I am a certified teen coach in muzzleloading and archery helping to mentor younger youth throughout the season. I also serve as a Kentucky Shooting Sports Teen Ambassador and attend quarterly board meetings, fall/spring coaches’ certifications, regional and state tournaments. In addition, I am involved in the culinary project, communications project, country ham project, poultry club, leadership club, small engines club, and the Mammoth Cave Area Teen Council. I have competed nationally in the 4-H Culinary Challenge and 4-H Avian Bowl and plan to compete Nationally in Turkey BBQ this fall and Muzzleloading next June.
I joined 4-H when I was 5 years old as a cloverbud. A friend asked me to join cloverbuds with them and that was the beginning of my 4-H career. My fondest memories as a cloverbud are the outdoor cooking and canoeing at 4-H Cloverbud Camp. I continued year after year in 4-H because it was fun and I was introduced to new experiences each year. 4-H was appealing to me because of the variety of clubs and competitions that I could get involved in. 4-H sparked my interest in poultry competitions and shooting sports. I have continued to grow in these programs, increase my knowledge, and become a leader. A spark that motivates me everyday is the many different events within 4-H. These include county clubs, Area Teen Council, Teen Conference, and other statewide 4-H events that I look forward to which continues to motivate me to take a larger leadership row.
My hometown, Bowling Green, Kentucky, is one of the fastest growing communities in the commonwealth. One thing that can be a challenge living in my community is the wide variety of nationalities, ethnicities, abilities, languages, and cultures making my community a melting point. These challenges are not just unique to me. My involvement in many 4-H community service events and projects has helped me to face these challenges. These include projects supporting mental health, providing necessities to those in need, visiting nursing homes, working with afterschool programs and encouraging those with disabilities. I also organized a tour the past two years to Fort Campbell and took donations to the soldiers and families to understand the life on a military base and show our appreciation for their sacrifices. These experiences have encouraged community inclusion and acceptance of very different individuals. As I move forward in life, I plan to continue to give back to my community through the many opportunities that 4-H has provided for me. Without 4-H, it would have been very challenging for me to be the community member that I am today.
The most important skills that 4-H has given me to prepare for my future include leadership, communication, public speaking, and taking initiative. 4-H has a way of pushing you to the next level to continue to grow and excel. It’s a gradual process that sometimes you don’t even know is happening. 4-H has also helped me make many connections in a wide array of areas across the state. I will use these skills and connections to help me be successful and encourage others throughout my life.
4-H has played a large role in teaching me how to accept responsibilities as a leader by allowing me to serve in various club officer and committee member positions. Some of these positions include chair of the Kentucky 4-H State Shooting Sports Teen Ambassador board, Mammoth Cave Area Teen Council voting delegate and parliamentarian, facilitator of the regional Fort Campbell volunteer service project, presenter at 2024 Kentucky Volunteer Forum, president of many local clubs, Warren County certified teen Shooting Sports coach, teen representative on Warren County 4-H Council and Kentucky delegate at many national competitions and conferences.
The highlight of my service with 4-H is organizing donations and coordinating an educational tour of Fort Cambell Military Base the past two years. This experience allows participants to see what it is like to live on a military base. At the same time, it gives an opportunity to demonstrate our appreciation for the service and sacrifice of our soldiers and their families.