As Erin Wilkerson sat across from Mike Williams in his Nashville office, she felt as if she had a voice as a leader of tomorrow. Little did she know that the experiences she had in 4-H, such as this one, would make her a leader of the next generation
She (now Erin Webb) is the leader of a Bioresource Science and Engineering Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and resides in Luttrell, Tennessee, with her husband and two sons. Webb was a Union County Delegate at the Tennessee 4-H State Congress in 1992.
On the agenda for the day of visiting the state capital, Webb, along with Lisa Chesney (Tolliver), the other Union County delegate, and approximately 300 other 4-H members from across Tennessee were able to sit in the seats where state representative cast their votes.
Webb vividly remembers her time in Nashville and being able to visit the house and senate floor.
“And those sweaters…” Webb said. “Certainly not the most comfortable outfit I’ve ever worn, but I loved the feeling of being connected to such rich Tennessee 4-H history. I still have mine!”
There are a variety of ways that a 4-H member in 9th through12th grades can attend the Tennessee 4-H State Congress. Webb’s main projects in 4-H made her a great delegate at the 1992 congress as she participated in Leadership, Citizenship, Economics and Public Speaking.
After participating and competing in these project areas, Webb earned a spot in the National 4-H Congress Delegation as the 1994 State Level II Economics winner. The 1994 National 4-H Congress is held in Orlando, Florida, now, and to this day is a pinnacle trip for any 4-H member that is able to go.
Webb credits her time in 4-H to many things, one of the greatest being that she is where she is because of the connections that she made in 4-H that later led her to a variety of experiences and opportunities.
“These friendships made in 9th grade grew throughout the rest of my 4-H and college days at the UT College of Agriculture,” Webb said.
“One of the friends I made at Congress encouraged me several years later to apply for the prestigious McClanahan scholarship at UT. I never thought I had a chance, but she convinced me to apply, so I did, and I won! That scholarship paid my full tuition for four years. It made it possible for me to get where I am today.”
Webb’s story is only one of many that have been shared throughout the history of Tennessee 4-H.
Speaking of history, the 2022 Tennessee State 4-H Congress was held in celebration of its 75th year.
The anniversary was a special one indeed, as it was the first time in Tennessee 4-H State Congress history that there was a delegate from every county in the state of Tennessee.
This was made possible through the new 32 4-H agents that were placed throughout the state at the end of 2021.
While there were some new and exciting things happening in Middle Tennessee this year, there were also rich traditions that were continued as this year’s delegation made their annual trip done to Capitol Hill.
I believe if any delegate was asked about their Tennessee State 4-H Congress experience, many would have comments similar to that of Webb as the traditions and history of Tennessee 4-H have continued strong throughout the past 75 years.