By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Steve Arnold logged over 800 hours of service to the 4-H program last year. That’s over a full month of time dedicated to working with local, state and national 4-H youth in one year.
Multiply that by 32 years as a 4-H volunteer, where he was a founding adviser for two Wood County clubs and a state leader for the shooting sports program, and that adds up to nearly 26,000 hours as a servant leader for 4-H.
Arnold’s dedication to working with and on behalf of the 4-H youth earned him a spot in the Ohio 4-H Hall of Fame this year. He was officially inducted on Saturday, March 11, during the 2023 Ohio 4-H Conference.
In November 2022, he was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed for work beyond his 10 years in the Navy and primarily to recognize his significant charitable work with youth.
Arnold, who lives in rural Bowling Green, believes 4-H is the best youth development program in the world and that Wood County’s 4-H program is one of the best, if not the best, in Ohio.
He got his start in 4-H thanks to his high school sweetheart and wife, Donna, who was a 4-H member in their native Geauga County, while he was “a local juvenile delinquent who was aware of 4-H but didn’t get involved,” he said with a smile. She was inducted in the state 4-H Hall of Fame in 2015.
After he got out of the service and was married, he wasn’t interested in getting involved in the community like his wife was. They moved to Bowling Green and when their daughter, Megan, turned nine, the couple started the Colorful Clovers, a miscellaneous project 4-H club,.
“As we started that first club, I discovered how much I liked working with kids, and like a typical convert, now I go at it 150%,” Arnold said.
He goes above and beyond with his service to 4-H, yet it is the second club, Wood County Top Shots, where he has found his true passion. The club is devoted to the 4-H shooting sports projects from pistol, shotgun and rifle shooting to archery, crossbow, hunting and wildlife, and western heritage.
When parents or people voice concerns about children learning to shoot, Arnold reassures them that the club stresses safety, ethical development, decision making and personal responsibility.
The focus is on education and taking the mystique out of firearms so they know what to do when they see a firearm. “They learn when to report it, make it safe or get the heck out of there,” Arnold said.
The 4-H shooting program provides a framework of knowledge and skills, using experiential learning and positive interactions with adult role models. Arnold is certified in seven categories and thoroughly enjoys teaching 4-H’ers about gun safety in conjunction with the other club advisers. He also is a coach for the national 4-H pistol club.
The shooting sports programs is also one of the safest of all 4-H programs. According to Arnold, when Ohio State University Extension assesses risk in 4-H projects, shooting sports is assessed at the same level as sewing.
“The whole emphasis is positive youth development, and we don’t lose sight of that. We are their guides,” he added. “We teach skills that the kids don’t get in school—life skills that will stand them in good stead. We teach things like commitment, responsibilities, patriotism and critical thinking,” he said.
Wood County Top Shots is fortunate to have the support of local law enforcement. The club has access to use the shooting range in the Fraternal Order of Police Building at the Wood County Fairgrounds at no charge.
Arnold logs his hours, in part, because it is crucial information when he applies for grants. He has brought in more than $100,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of the NRA to help cover the cost of ammunition, which keeps the additional costs at a minimum for 4-H members and their families.
He has also been involved in the Wood County Clover Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to support the county program. As the first president of the foundation, they raised funds for a 4-H milkshake barn “that would last for 50 years,” he said. With unprecedented support from the community, the foundation raised enough money in the first year to pay off the barn and all the equipment that was inside the building.
Additionally, the foundation pours a lot into the program each year, helping provide 4-H camp scholarships, funds to attend Citizenship Washington Focus and one project book for each member.
In his hall of fame nomination from the OSU Extension-Wood County office, Arnold was cited for his “ability to empower youth. He has a gift for identifying the potential inside of each person, often before they see it themselves. He has a truly unique ability to identify the right opportunity for each child, whether it be leading the 4-H pledge or planning an event and empowering them to succeed.”
“Every kid has potential and it’s our responsibility to find what that potential is and bring it out,” he said. “The shooting sports world is great because they are doing things that most kids don’t have the opportunity to do. We can teach them to shoot and how to have success. When you see the looks on their faces when the holes start to appear on the targets, you see that confidence start to grow.”
There is also an amazing phenomenon in 4-H where the older club members foster the younger members. That mentorship is part of the ripple effect that is common in 4-H. As club volunteers model positive leadership, the members learn and emulate those same qualities as they move into leadership roles within the club and beyond.
“We are building those leaders and because of that, our kids are going to be much better custodians of our world,” he said.
Arnold admits he maintains “some semblance of youth by working with these kids. I learn from them and it restores my faith in our youth. This gives me an opportunity to create a legacy. I’m amazed at how much I get out of this, and I’m humbled because I get to do this.”
