Dione M. Oliver

County: Alpena
Class Years: 2023-24

“Being a leader is a rewarding experience. I have found that working with young people and helping them with their projects, educating them, and encouraging them is a rewarding experience. Often, I see potential in the child and project that they don’t see. Believing in them and seeing them believe in themselves is the ultimate reward!”

Dione Oliver is well known around the Alpena County 4-H program. A former 4-H’er herself, Oliver has served for more than 18 years as the volunteer leader for the 4-H Helping Hands Club and for 14 years as a member of the Alpena County 4-H Council. In her role as the club’s volunteer leader, Oliver shares her agricultural knowledge and teaches youth with hands-on experiences, working purposefully to provide a positive educational experience for 4-H members.

Though the club itself requires countless hours of service, Oliver still finds more ways to give back to the 4-H program. For example, she serves on multiple county committees, leads 4-H SPIN (special interest) clubs, coordinates the 4-H food booth at the county fair, and in the past has helped develop a summer camp and hosted livestock clinics. She is an expert on rabbit, sheep, goats, and poultry and shares her expertise with neighboring county 4-H programs.

Outside of 4-H, Oliver has been a teacher for 28 years and works diligently to incorporate agriculture into her lessons. Her students take field trips to local farms, grow and harvest produce in the school greenhouse and garden, collect sap and make maple syrup, and make apple cider, just to name a few activities. Oliver’s passion for educating youth and promoting agriculture is evident in all that she does.

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4-H has given me the confidence to feel I can accomplish my goals.

— Sydni Specht, Saginaw County

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2024 4-H Salute to Excellence Award Winners

he Michigan Farm Bureau 4-H Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes 4-H volunteers who exhibit excellence in 4-H youth education and leadership in agriculture-related areas. 2024 4-H Salute to Excellence Award winners pictured include Robert Richards (left) and Jennifer Specht (right). Click on the button below to view all of the 2024 4-H Legacy Award winners!