Editor's note: This is our latest Nelson Motors 4-H Member of the Month Profile. We applaud 4-H for the positive impact it has on the lives of young people, and we salute all of the 4-H members for their efforts. We also thank Nelson Motors for their continued support of this promotion.
Name: Casey Brady
Club: Carievale 4-H Beef Club
Age: 17
Years in 4-H: One
Age group: Senior
Casey Brady is wrapping up her first year with the Carievale 4-H Beef Club, and she wishes she had joined the organization much earlier.
Brady, age 17, joined the club because some of her friends were involved, and her family has a cattle operation.
"I have worked on the farm with my dad for a long time, and I just wanted to try something new," said Brady.
She has been able to expand her knowledge of the animals and become more familiar with them. Driving trucks and trailers all over the place, she had gained a lot of experience with cattle and she met a lot of people.
"It really just opened my vision to new things," said Brady. "I learned grooming and how that works, too, and record keeping. That's something that was a big learning curve, but I did really well in it."
At the 4-H shows this year, she had some excellent finishes, particularly with a heifer.
Public speaking is a big part of 4-H, and Brady was involved with that as well, but it wasn't new to her, because it was something she had been involved with since elementary school.
Brady enjoyed the monthly meetings, which gave her the chance to get out, go somewhere and talk to people. Guest speakers taught her about such things as leather working. And she met new people and went to new places.
Her experiences through her first year of 4-H will "definitely" help her in the future, she said.
"It teaches you how to talk to judges, and that can help you talk to future employers, and it gets your nerves out before talking to people that you know are super important."
