A Sense of Place and Community Through 4-H

Elva Farrell’s Impact on Sarasota County 4-H and the Community

Have you ever wondered what shapes us into who we are, what defines us and the world around us? It does not just come from the where we live, but from the relationships we build and the experiences we go through.

Finding your Purpose

People find their identities, values, and purposes in different ways, through family and friends, education, hobbies, amongst many more. No matter where you find it, it all has the same name: sense of place. One’s sense of place includes emotional and mental wellbeing, not simply a location at any given time. It is about interpreting the world, and the people in it. One of my favorite definitions of sense of place comes from The Upper New (2023), which states: “Sense of place is held by people, not the place itself.”  The people in our lives and our communities shape who we are. I chose to complete my summer internship project on how 4-H fosters a sense of place and community in Sarasota County.

Elva’s Background

Elva Farrell was the first full-time 4-H agent in Sarasota County, starting in 1976. Elva knows Sarasota County 4-H better than practically anyone in the county. She joined 4-H when she was 10 years old and living in Tavares, and continued through college. After graduation, Elva led the 4-H girls program in Manatee County. She later moved to Sarasota County to become a 4-H agent, a role she held for the next 18 years. After retiring, she remained very active in 4-H, as a volunteer leader and serving on the Sarasota Extension Advisory Committee.

In short: Elva knows 4-H.

A Sense of Place

Elva emphasized how 4-H shapes children into whom they become as adults, and how it affects their sense of place. 4-H builds important life skills, such as leadership, public speaking, and teamwork, and 4-H has a lasting impact on the people who participate. It not only shapes the skills that they have, but what they actually do with those skills. Elva found that many people who were involved in 4-H growing up landed in careers they likely would not have found without 4-H. The connection they found to their sense of place through 4-H followed them through life. Much like Elva herself had.

The Importance of Community

4-H develops not only a multitude of skills but also fosters one’s sense of community, both short term and lifelong. Elva’s involvement in 4-H connected her with people county-wide. As an agent, she relayed she had the opportunity to “get to know the community geographically and interacting with volunteers and other professionals in the program allowed [her] to quickly have a sense of the people.” She learned to know the needs of the community and figured out how to help, even in areas that were not her expertise. Due to all of this community building, Elva met numerous amounts of people, many of whom “are still friends today.”

The connections did not stop in Sarasota; rather, they went nationwide. Elva met many other agents, volunteers, and leaders on the county, state, and national levels. She attended national conferences and served on national committees. All of this big-scale work allowed her to take what she learned and apply it to the county level. Her sense of community in Sarasota County was developed through 4-H.

Get Involved with 4-H

It’s amazing to look back at Elva Farrell’s career and see how 4-H shaped her life. She is able to demonstrate how 4-H build’s one’s sense of place and community. Elva’s experience in the organization led her to where and who she is today. She is definitely not the only one who has had these lasting, positive effects from 4-H, but is someone in Sarasota County who can attest to impacts 4-H has on your life. Discover how you can get involved in Sarasota 4-H and make a difference in your community here.

Sources:

A sense of place. (2023, September 19). The Upper New. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://uppernew.org/a-sense-of-place/ 

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