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W. Reserve senior, Ohio State freshman crowned king, queen
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
CANFIELD
Photo
Katie Rickman | The Vindicator .The 2014 4H King and Queen on left, Tara Balsinger, 18 of Lake Milton and Levi Smith, 17 of Berlin Center.
Levi Smith couldn’t stop smiling.
Barely a half-hour before, the 17-year-old had been crowned as this year’s 4-H Club king on the Canfield Fair’s Concourse Stage during the annual Junior Fair Youth Day Program. He still couldn’t believe his luck.
“It’s so crazy,” said Smith, who lives in Berlin Center and is a senior at Western Reserve High School. Smith, who was on the 4-H Royal Court last year, also is taking classes at Youngstown State University.
Smith added that 4-H, with which he’s been involved for a dozen years, has taught him almost everything he knows. Thanks to 4-H, which gave him the opportunity to work with and care for animals, he learned responsibility.
He said he’s repeatedly been surprised over the years by just how often the skills he developed and honed in 4-H have applied to “the real world” as well.
The youth organization has been a major part of Smith’s life, and involvement is something he would “100 percent” recommend to anyone.
Tears came to newly crowned 4-H Queen Tara Balsinger’s eyes as she attempted to describe what 4-H has meant to her over the past decade.
“Four-H has just done so much for me,” said Balsinger, 18, of Lake Milton, who is a freshman at Ohio State University. “I can finally give back to 4-H what it’s given to me.”
Balsinger added that being part of the 2014 4-H Royal Court and being selected as this year’s queen was a humbling experience.
Assisting with the crowning of both Smith and Balsinger were Leland Knauf and Gloria Custler-Rudzik, who were picked as 4-H king and queen in 1954 — the first year for the award. Brandon Benson and Meghan Svetlak, last year’s king and queen, also were on hand.
The other members of the 2014 4-H Royal Court are Hanna Bond of North Jackson, Emily Erb of Canfield, Emily Smith of Berlin Center, Anngel Benson of Youngstown, Scott Erb of Canfield, Joe Fagnano of Canfield, Nathaniel Kramer of Diamond and Samuel Kulifay of Poland.
Not long after the 4-H Royal Court left the Concourse Stage, Fagnano and Logan Moff won Junior Fair Outstanding Youth. They were “crowned” with cowboy hats by last year’s winners, David Corll and Colleen Maskarinec.
Fagnano, 18, a freshman at YSU, said receiving the honor means “quite a bit to him.” He added that he’s hoping to volunteer with 4-H in the future so he can help other youths accomplish great things. Fagnano has belonged to 4-H for 10 years.
Moff, an 18-year-old freshman at Kent State University-Salem, noted that the experience of being on stage with all of the nominees was an honor on its own.
“It was amazing to be a part of,” said Moff, a 13-year member of 4-H and a 12-year member of Girl Scouts.
The other Junior Fair Outstanding Youth candidates were Alyssa Armstrong of Canfield, Balsinger, Benson, Bond, Emily Erb, Mikayla Hahn of Beloit, Kulifay, Renee Reisner of Salem, Russell Seymour of Springfield, Erin Styka of Canfield, Olivia Wince of Salem and Danielle Yuhas of Boardman.
Referring to members of the 4-H Royal Court and the candidates for Junior Fair Outstanding Youth, Mahoning County 4-H Director Janice Hanna said they are “the cream of the crop.” The Junior Fair Youth Day Program allows them the chance to be recognized for their accomplishments, she added.
“It’s a joy working with them,” Hanna said.