Warren family’s awards continue to roll in

Rhea Warren of Manchester earned a statewide 4-H award in Poultry & Bird Science earlier this summer. Photo courtesy of Warren family.

Rhea Warren may be just 15 and only in her fourth year of 4-H involvement, but she made a big impression as a State Awards Delegate when she won the Junior Birds and Poultry Science Award, in June. It has been a busy summer for the Warren family as Rhea’s brother, Ethan, also earned his Eagle Scout badge and their mom, Cristie, was recently awarded a 4-H Excellence in Ag Award from the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau.

Kathleen Noggle, the 4-H program coordinator for MSU Extension in Washtenaw County, says that the state award process is pretty lengthy, and it’s impressive that Rhea won such a prestigious award, especially on her first try. “Three other kids across the state applied, and she ended up winning,” Noggle explained. “We don’t typically get a lot of kids from Washtenaw County to apply for these awards, and to win her first time out was awesome.”

Noggle said that the application process is rather daunting, to start with, and includes a lot of self-assessment questions and often requires extensive involvement. But Rhea was obviously up to the task.

“She does a lot with 4-H,” Noggle added. “She’s been a member for a little more than three years and is already an officer for her club and is on a bunch of other different committees. She’s also a 4-H Ambassador and she just got nominated on the Youth Board of Commissioners for the County.”

Noggle, who has served as Rhea’s mentor, and helped with her state award application, describes her as a “go-to person for any event.”

“Rhea’s always the first one I ask,” she says, “and she’s always enthusiastic. She always says yes.” (A great attribute in the eyes of any mentor!)

“For the past two years, Rhea and her mom have gone to schools around the county, to teach embryology (the development of the chicken inside of the egg) to elementary school students. They bring chicks to illustrate the process; they talk about the birds, and put in a plug for 4-H, which is great–especially in the schools in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, where the kids have less exposure to 4-H and animal science.”

Noggle says it has been “really cool” to see Rhea herself grow and develop as a person over the past few years. “She was very shy and soft-spoken at first,” Noggle says, “but now she is the first to speak up and volunteer, offer new ideas, or attend an advisory council meeting. She always follows through. It’s great to have her be recognized for all that she does.”

Rhea is pictured with her many awards from 4-H, during a party her family held to celebrate her achievements along with her brother Ethan’s.

Rhea with her parents, Cristie and Shannon Warren.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.