Incoming president of Tennessee 4-H Alumni Joe Huffine is a lifelong 4-H member. He grew up on his family’s farm in Jonesboro and joined 4-H as a student.
“I started showing cattle in the fifth grade,” he recalls. “At the end of the show season, my parents asked if I wanted to do it again the next year.”
He replied with an enthusiastic yes, but his parents told him that he would be responsible for buying his own heifer. By the time he graduated high school, Huffine and his younger brother, Danny, had a herd of 45 registered cows.
“And 4-H helped us develop lifelong skills and real-life lessons,” he says. “Our annual calf crop was our college tuition.”
Huffine says that the 4-H agents he encountered were committed not only to helping students but also to encouraging parental and volunteer involvement as well. As he grew to adulthood, he stayed active in the organization.
“There was a real consortium of lifelong friends,” he says. As Huffine got into business, he wanted to leverage his positive 4-H experiences. “I wanted to be able to give back, like volunteering some time and making financial contributions where I could.”
He says that involvement with 4-H once you’re an adult “brings a level of satisfaction because you’re helping to support the next generation of 4-H’ers.”
Becoming an Active Alumni
After college, Huffine focused on his work and career, but he also made sure that the local Co-op he ran supported local FFA and 4-H clubs. And when he became director of training for Tennessee Farmers Co-op, he had the opportunity to get more involved with 4-H.
“Nearly 20 years ago, I joined the 4-H Foundation board, and I really enjoyed that,” he says, noting that it was “a natural progression of input and involvement.”
Huffine places great value on “being able to interact with folks who have an appreciation for the organization and are willing to give back.” He says that one of the strengths of 4-H Alumni is the way it brings together like-minded 4-H enthusiasts with a multitude of backgrounds.
Against that backdrop, his new role as 4-H Alumni president is a continuation of that progression.
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“Anyone who’s been through 4-H appreciates that it makes them a better citizen,” he says. “Oftentimes 4-H’ers are more supportive of their community, and that makes our neighborhoods better places to live.”
Huffine has three major goals he hopes to achieve during his term as 4-H Alumni president. First, he wants to focus on the large number of former 4-H’ers in Tennessee and bring many more of them into the alumni organization. Second, he wants to continue to find ways that 4-H alumni can contribute through underwriting or other support to current 4-H activities. He cites alumni sponsoring the graduating seniors’ breakfast at 4-H Roundup as one example. Third, he says 4-H alumni must provide reasons for current alumni to stay involved. Growth and retention are critical.
Supporting Today’s 4-H’ers
In addition to his role as 4-H Alumni president, Huffine is the chief executive officer at ProTrition Feeds, a joint venture between the Tennessee Farmers Co-op and Purina Animal Nutrition, a division of Land O’ Lakes. With an array of four market-specific feed brands, ProTrition has footprints in several states across the Southeast.
See more: Co-op Round-N-Raise Campaign Supports Tennessee 4-H
“We have a lot of employees, dealers and customers who are former 4-H’ers,” Huffine says. “And a lot of our cooperative and independent dealers are very supportive of 4-H, too.”
He notes with pride that every single bag of Co-op brand of feed that ProTrition sells has a label that emphasizes the company’s support of 4-H and FFA.
“Every time somebody opens a bag, they see those emblems,” he says. “And hopefully it makes them feel good.”
Plus, Huffine is committed to 4-H Alumni’s mission of supporting today’s students as they find their way in the world.
“Any parent who helps their sons and/or daughters maintain 4-H involvement encourages them, provides that open door and eliminates the barriers is doing such a blessing,” he says. “I certainly didn’t realize that until I got older and looked back. I thought all parents did that.” And as 4-H Alumni president, Huffine will continue to emphasize a core belief – when the community encourages students’ participation in 4-H, “they’re really setting them up for a more balanced, successful and enjoyable life in the years ahead. Our young people and communities benefit from youth organizations like 4-H today more than ever.”