Harms, Dorothy

Dorothy Harms

Sauk County 4-H Volunteer

The foundation of life-long service was deeply rooted in Dorothy as a 4-H youth. She is quoted in her National Award application over 35 years ago as stating, “I have been able to set high standards for myself and attain considerable achievements through the work and efforts I have contributed, not only in 4-H, but in my personal life, too.”
Her career goal of agri-business management, or more importantly working with people, stemmed from her “people” experiences in 4-H. Her accomplishments have given her practical knowledge on how to effectively deal and communicate with people. Now 40 years later, these core values are the drive for Dorothy’s everyday life. Using the skills, she developed in 4-H, Dorothy’s mantra is “give your best efforts ALWAYS, lead others by service, and grow leaders for the next generation.”
In giving her best efforts, Dorothy is a respected voice for agriculture and has a lifetime dedication to community service. She has served as a role model for the hundreds of 4-H youth she encountered through her service to others.
Dorothy has served in multiple 4-H leader roles since 1982 and served 10 years on the Sauk County 4-H Senior Leaders Board. In 2015, Dorothy chaired the Constitution/Bylaws committee in a major rewrite that created a youth/adult partnership board. The Board now includes 4-H older youth as voting members. Little has given her as much satisfaction as seeing youth grow from bright-eyed, eager Cloverbuds to engaged and responsive adults for the betterment of the future.