The Michigan 4-H Salute to Excellence Awards highlight the important work of 4-H volunteers across the state. Volunteers are, undeniably, the “heart and soul” of 4-H, and in an age when time is at a premium, the Michigan 4-H Salute to Excellence Award serves as an opportunity to acknowledge our volunteers’ unwavering dedication to Michigan 4-H Youth Development. These awards honor outstanding volunteers for their dedication to youth. There are two categories for nominations:
- The Lifetime Volunteer Award is presented to a 4-H volunteer with more than ten years of service.
- The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to a 4-H volunteer with ten years of service or less.
These awards are patterned after the national 4-H Salute to Excellence Awards. Currently, Michigan 4-H does not have an organized system for providing state, regional or national recognition to its volunteers. Instituting this award in Michigan provides us with this opportunity and assists in the identification and selection of individuals to be nominated for the national Lifetime Volunteer Award and Volunteer of the Year Award.
Each year, counties are invited to nominate two outstanding individual volunteers, one in each of two categories. A state winner and runner up will be selected in each category. Recipients of the Michigan 4-H Salute to Excellence Volunteer Recognition Awards will be chosen from nominees submitted by county 4-H offices. Each year the recipients of the Michigan 4-H Lifetime Volunteer Award and the 4-H Volunteer of the Year Award will be submitted for regional and national recognition honors. Recipients of each award will be presented with a plaque and asked to designate a 4-H program, club or activity to be the recipient of a $400 monetary award in their name. Awardees will also have their name engraved on the Salute to Excellence brick path located at Kettunen Center in Tustin, Mich.