East Central Missouri Region
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Contact: Roxanne T. Miller
Annual 4-H Day with Cardinals raises st. louis – Nearly 1,200 Missouri and Illinois 4-H youth members, adult leaders and families attended 4-H Day with the Cardinals May 13 in the new Busch Stadium. Now in its fifth year, the event has raised more than $20,000 in scholarships for Missouri and Illinois 4-H members, including $1,200 this year. Despite unseasonably cool temperatures for mid-May, the 4-H fans enthusiastically paraded around the field before the game, each wearing an inaugural season t-shirt emblazoned with a large 4-H clover on the back. Reciting the 4-H pledge during the pre-game ceremony were Taylor Morgan, 16, Cover Ridge Clover Leafs 4-H Club, Hillsboro, Mo., and Christopher Worthington, 15, of Arrows 4-H Club, Sparta, Ill. Grand prize winners of the scholarship raffle who threw out the first pitch were Emily Sayre, 10, Hallsville Go-Getters 4-H Club, Columbia, Mo.; and Connor Mobley, 9, Town and Country 4-H Club, Divernon, Ill. Missouri raffle winners who watched batting practice before the game were John Anderson, 12, Show-Me 4-H Club, California; Ryan Lee Borges, 12, Cherry Grove 4-H Club, New Franklin; and Andrew Luetkenhaus, 8, Josephville 4-H Club, Wentzville. They were joined by Illinois winners Dyan Lewis, 23, St. Francisville; Tyler Mobley, 12, Divernon; and Isaac Pampe, 5, Claremont. MU Extension 4-H youth specialists who organized the event were Rhonda Shafer, Dave Hileman, John Nickler and Elver Pardo. Steve Wagoner and Melinda States, University of Illinois Extension youth educators, coordinated 4-H participation for Illinois. The 4-H pre-game activities weren't the only highlights of the evening for the 4-H fans, who then cheered the St. Louis Cardinals on to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-1. The game also made baseball history when Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols reached 19 home runs that night, faster than any other player in the game's history. 4-H is a community of young people ages 5 to 19 across America who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. One in every seven young people in Missouri and Illinois is involved in 4-H through 4-H clubs, after-school programs and in-school activities. In Missouri and Illinois combined, more than 475,000 youths and adults participate in 4-H programs. ### University of Missouri Extension improves Missourians' lives by addressing their highest priorities through the application of research-based knowledge and resources.
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