For Lisa Lauxman, 4-H has always been more than a youth program. It is the thread that connected her childhood on a small Kansas farm to a national leadership role in Washington, D.C., and now to her new book, 4-H - A DEI Love Story: How Positive Youth Development Became a Battleground for Democracy, a memoir and policy reflection co-written with longtime colleague John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas.

Lauxman grew up in Dickinson County as a member of the Harmony Hustlers 4-H Club, her father’s former club, surrounded by family who’d spent generations in 4-H.

Her cousins participated, her parents met at 4-H camp, and her grandparents were active in Saline County 4-H. She recalls showing her first dairy calf with a halter her father made.

“My dad actually made a halter out of twine for the calf

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