Iowa 4-H Alumni & Friends

Katie Ruff, Clayton County 4-H alum, was a student at Kirkwood Community College, and later the University of Northern Iowa, who hoped to become a teacher. Now, she's an Iowa State University alum, a young entrepreneur and the owner/operator of her store, By The Spoonful, in McGregor, Iowa. You may wonder how Katie went from future educator to successful entrepreneur, and how this ties back to Iowa 4-H. We sat down with Katie to find out more about how her 4-H experience helped shape her as an adult and helped her get to where she is today. Katie came from a family that was passionate about 4-H. As soon as she was old enough, she became a member of the Girard Eager Hands in Clayton County and exhibited projects in areas ranging from swine to home improvement and anything in between. Her favorite, however, was food and nutrition. Katie's passion for all things 'kitchen,' came from her grandmothers. She had the opportunity to experiment on all kinds of recipes with i...