Bethany Finnegan was recognized as the Winona County 4-H Youth Representative for the month of October. She is the daughter of Sean and Deb Finnegan, a senior at Winona Senior High and a member of the Winona River City 4-H Club. Following graduation Bethany plans to attend Winona State University to major in BioChem with an end goal of being accepted into vet school.
Bethany has served in multiple leadership roles throughout her time in 4-H including Club President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Recreation leader. She has also served as the Secretary for the Winona County 4-H Federation and a youth member of the Winona County 4-H Horse PDC. Bethany has exhibited in many 4-H project areas including flower gardening, photography, fine arts, vet science and rabbits, llama, sheep, swine, horse and goat. She has taken flower gardening, photography, sheep and swine projects to the MN State fair in previous years.
Bethany says of all the projects, sheep and horse are her favorites. “I love showing lambs and the process of watching them grow. Horse is another favorite because the weekly clinics are awesome and there is always something new to learn”. Her favorite 4-H memory was attending the YELLO (Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Opportunities) Conference last summer. “I was able to make friends from other counties while growing in my personal leadership skills, overall just a fun, exciting experience”. Additionally, Bethany has participated in many community service projects including Feed My Starving Children, trash pick-up, preparing meals for the homeless and more. She shared “Throughout my time in 4-H I have learned how to be a confident, dependable leader. 4-H has helped me learn these skills through offering camps, giving responsibility from a young age, like holding a club leadership role or something as simple as feeding my sheep.”
Bethany has also served as a mentor to many younger 4-H’ers that she has helped get involved in the 4-H program. Her dedication and willingness to help and teach others has benefited many youth as well as the Winona County 4-H Program.
Winona Sunrisers Kiwanis Club honors one outstanding Winona County 4-H member during its breakfast meeting the fourth Wednesday of each month. The club meets on a weekly basis every Wednesday at 7 a.m. at the Winona Family Restaurant in Winona.