Alice Kempf has been a Newaygo County 4-H’er since the day she was born. Kempf family members, including Alice Kempf’s grandmother, mother, and today, Alice herself, have served as volunteer leaders for the Happy Hustlers 4-H Club for decades. This Newaygo County group is the oldest continuously operating 4-H club in the state, with more than a century of history. The club’s name dates back to the time when the four H’s in 4-H were head, heart, hands, and hustle.

Today, the club is still hustling, with Kempf holding weekly meetings and encouraging youth to take advantage of state, national, and international 4-H travel experiences. Kempf herself traveled to Venezuela with 4-H in 1969 and later to Jamaica with the International 4-H Youth Exchange, or IFYE, program. As a young adult, Kempf served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic and Belize, helping to establish an educational library and adopting two children from Belize when she left the country.

In addition to her club leadership roles, Kempf is president of the Newaygo County 4-H Council. She has been recognized many times for her 4-H service, receiving the Newaygo County 4-H Leader of the Year Award and the Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions’ Volunteer of the Year Award. In 2021, Kempf was recognized by MSU Extension for her 50 years of volunteer service to the Michigan 4-H program.

In addition to being a committed member of the 4-H community, Kempf owns a successful organic hay farm. She has served on the Newaygo County Agricultural Fair Board for more than 20 years, serving as a fair superintendent and on many fair committees. Kempf also helped start a program that requires youth exhibitors to donate at least three hours of community service a year to the fair. Through the program, the fair benefits from hundreds of hours of youth service each year.