Iowa 4-H Alumni & Friends

Maureen Hanson Patience, responsibility, compassion, and cooperation. These are just a few words that come to mind when Maureen Hanson thinks of the values she learned through 4-H. Maureen was an active member in Clinton County, Iowa for nine years as a member of the Junior DD and DDD, better known as DeWitt Darling Daughters, in DeWitt, Iowa. She also was a member of the DeWitt Hustlers, which at the time was considered a “boys club”, in order to show her livestock. Maureen has multiple favorite 4-H memories, but the best was attending Intermediate Camp at the Iowa 4-H Camping Center at Madrid. “I still vividly remember so many details of that week, and it was a life-changing experience, all for the better,” she says. Maureen is still very active in 4-H activities, serving as a Clover bud leader in Benton County for seven years, a leader of the Bruce Boosters 4-H Club for almost nine years, and assisting with the Benton County Livestock Judging team, and it doesn’t

A Boone County 4-H’er takes her hobbies to the next level. Seventeen-year-old Lauren Hansen, a member of the Luther Livewires from Boone County 4-H, recently found herself at the 2018 Omaha Fashion week as one of eight featured designers chosen to showcase their original fashion lines at the INNOVATE Feature Designer Showcase. This accomplishment is proof of what happens when passion, talent and hard work combine. Hansen joined 4-H and began sewing in 2008 at the age of seven with her grandma. Through 4-H she was able to find an outlet to sew and make new projects such as napkins, doll quilts, and eventually clothing. Lauren sewed quilts until she was 12 and decided to take a little break until 2014, and then she was right back at it. “I was interested in making clothing because I thought it would be a fun hobby,” said Hansen. “We got out the sewing machine again and got some cotton to take some Jo-Ann Fabrics classes.”   Although she has participated in many 4-H project