National 4-H Week Celebrated
Fayette Co. 4-H’er is not too busy to plan for bright future

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Brooke Williams works with her show heifer, Annmarie. The 4-H’er enjoys exhibiting cattle, as well as participating in many organizations. -- Staff photo by Taylor

Oct. 6, 2005 - After meeting Brooke Williams, 17, a senior at La Grange High School, her accomplishments in 4-H and, academically, prove that she is a young woman with a plan.

Earlier this summer, Brooke was nominated for the National Young Leaders Conference (NYLC) being held in Washington, D.C., by Tanya Franke, Fayette County Extension agent for 4-H and youth development. One requirement was that the student have a 3.5 or above grade point average (GPA).

Franke, as a youth organization sponsor, was asked to recommend a student for the NYLC, and she selected Brooke. Then, it was up to Brooke, her parents Ceri and Karl, and younger sister, Lorin, 13, to go through the process of making application for the conference. Only 400 high school juniors and seniors were selected over the entire United States, so it is no small accomplishment just to be in that group.

The NYLC is sponsored by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, a non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization that was founded in 1985. The NYLC is designed to “educate, inspire and motivate students by giving them the confidence and leadership skills that will take them into the future.” The theme of the conference set for Nov. 15-20 is “Leaders of Tomorrow Meeting Leaders of Today.”

While attending the conference, attendees will tour the national monuments, and U.S. Capitol; meet with men and women who “shape laws and policies,” along with meeting cabinet secretaries, members of congress, diplomats, lobbyists, journalists and academicians. They will be able to participate in “model” congressional legislative process, which will include leadership skills, debating issues and role playing.

Since both Brooke’s parents are 4-H alumni, growing up in San Marcos, it was pretty much a “given” that Brooke and Lorin would join the local 4-H when they reached the third grade. Since that time, Brooke has participated in many project areas, including foods and nutrition, wildlife habitat, showing swine, chickens, dairy cattle and dairy judging. Her concentration in the last year or two has been the dairy cattle and dairy judging. At the recent Fayette County Fair, Brooke received the Overall Grand Champion award with her Brown Swiss heifer.

She has shown animals in the annual Houston, San Antonio and Austin Livestock Shows and won numerous awards. She plans to compete in the upcoming major shows in Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston in early 2006.

On the family farm that has been in the Williams family for 97 years, both Brooke and Lorin work with their parents, before and after school, to feed and take care of the animals.

(Getting up early to feed before school is the hardest part for Brooke; she said she is “not a morning person!”)

Along with the heifers they show, the family has a herd of beef cattle.

Brooke noted that the part of 4-H that she has enjoyed the most in her nine-year membership has been the people she has met at various shows, and the leadership and speaking skills she has gained by being a member. While the entire family loves attending the shows, Brooke said the “hurry up and wait” associated with the competition can get old pretty fast!

While Brooke has a heifer, Annmarie, at the farm, she also has three others, Glaze, Loren and the “A&M Cow,” over at the Kettler Dairy in Brenham. She exhibits cattle for the dairy, as well. 

Brooke plans to expand her livestock showing career to include swine on a local level, this year, along with Lorin.

Brooke serves as president of the local 4-H club that meets once a month, but that’s a “drop-in-the-bucket,” considering all of the other activities she is engaged in … along with keeping the high GPA. She serves as the director and chair of fundraising in the local Anchor Club and project director for obtaining speakers for the Medical Explorers field trips. At her high school, she is treasurer of the National Honor Society; member of the Spanish Club; a member of the Environmental Club; and co-captain of the color guard in the La Grange High School Band.

Her plans for the future are to attend Tarleton State University and, eventually, become a radiologist.

Although it sounds like Brooke is all work and “no play,” she has a plan. It involves her future after becoming a medical doctor, finding the 1,000 acres of pasture land where she and her husband can rear a daughter who wants to ride barrels and a son who wants to rope calves.

Watch out you Tarleton cowboys … there’s a woman with a mission who will be on campus, next fall!