'A huge asset.' Familiar face from Holmes County 4-H joins OSU Extension Office

MILLERSBURG – Ella Lorentz has been a longtime volunteer in 4-H who has long made a positive impact in the Holmes County community.

Now, she is getting paid to do so, thanks to her recent hire with the OSU Extension Office.

Lorentz has joined the OSU Extension staff as a program assistant, where she will not only use her skills and background working with the youth of Holmes County but also expand her horizons.

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A welcome staff addition

Extension 4-H educator Janessa Hill is excited to have Lorentz on board.

"Ella has been a huge asset to the Holmes County 4-H program as a volunteer long before coming on full-time as a program assistant," Hill said. "We are so excited to have her and see what she can do to continue to grow this 4-H program in Holmes County.

"She is an amazing addition to this team, and we are so so excited to have her in this role and getting into the schools," Hill continued. "Her main goal this year will be to continue her work with the JFB, work on getting into the schools for in-school and after-school enrichment and STEM activities."

Lorentz will be going into the elementary schools to help with robotics, explode some bottle rockets, hatch some chicks and butterflies, offering a slew of learning activities.

"We'll offer this to kids in West Holmes, East Holmes and even some in Wayendale as well," she said. "I'm excited. I did this same thing in Ottawa County eight years ago as their 4-H program assistant, and did some enrichment there. This isn't my first rodeo, but it's the first time it's been offered here in Holmes County."

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Lorentz has enjoyed her new expanded role with OSU Extension in Holmes County. She and her husband Keaton had previously served 4-H as volunteer advisors since returning to Holmes County to raise their family. The former Holmes County Fair king and queen have three sons.

She grew up in Millersburg and graduated from West Holmes before attending Ashland University, earning a degree in child and family studies.

Making connections

"It's definitely a good thing, having all the connections I've made, at my disposal," she said. "(Staff members) Ashley (Gerber) and Janessa (Hill) have been making fun of me, asking, 'Do we know somebody who can help with scrapbooking, or gardening?' and I can just rattle off a name."

She points out that the junior fair board and the fair are a small part of the 4-H program, but are among the more visible parts of 4-H.

"I am doing so much more through my new role than what I have done as a volunteer in the past," Lorentz said. "I feel getting into the schools will be huge, and then helping get more teen leadership programs started. We're hoping to get our teens more involved within the county in the next couple of years."

Life skills

Julie Jones is a parent who has seen first-hand the impact Lorentz had on her three children through 4-H.

"Our kids didn't take animals, so they did the life skills projects," Jones said. "Ella showed them everything she could. She is a great leader, who took three quiet, timid kids who would never speak in public, and by the time they were done, AJ, who was probably the quietest of all three, was junior fair board president his senior year of high school," Jones said. "She had all of them doing public speaking with microphones in the show rings. She pushes them to the point where she knows they can do this. She was a huge mentor to our three children."

The Jones kids all credit Lorentz and Hill for what they learned in 4-H and helping ease the transition to college life.

A.J. Jones shared how he didn't realize Lorentz had suckered him into emceeing a rabbit show.

"I was scared out of my mind going in, but she helped me through it, and by the end of the show, I felt good about it and I could do it again," he said.

Lauren Jones, who attended Kent State last fall, said if it hadn't been for Ella and Janessa, her speech class would have been much more difficult. But she was prepared, thanks to Holmes County 4-H.

The Jones kids said they consider Lorentz a good friend and appreciate what she did for them and all the other members of junior fair board.

"She always kept a positive attitude, even during the week of the fair when we were all kind of stressed," A.J. Jones said. "She is a good friend, always willing to listen. If we ever had a problem, she was always there to listen, offer advice and help out."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Longtime 4-H volunteer Ella Lorentz now part of Holmes OSU Extension