Raffle winners attribute success in life to 4-H
 | | Kristy McKearn, left, of Baton Rouge, and Ben Legendre, center, head of the LSU AgCenter's Audubon Sugar Institute, won prizes in the 4-H raffle. Eric Eskew is the director of the Louisiana 4-H Foundation. |
Ben Legendre, head of the Audubon Sugar Institute, who won the $10,000 prize in the 2008 4-H Centennial Raffle, said he has been an ardent supporter of Louisiana 4-H since the early 1950s when he joined the local 4-H Club in grade school in Lafourche Parish. “It was an organization that made you believe in yourself. The leadership, citizenship and life skills I learned as a club member gave me the wisdom to excel. Today, I feel that my successes in life began with my participation in 4-H Club activities as a youth. Today, 4-H is an investment in our local human resources, and I am evidence of the success of the organization,” Legendre said. The raffle was held to raise money for the Louisiana 4-H Foundation. Proceeds are for the environmental education program at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center and 4-H Camp scholarships for low-income children, according to Eric Eskew, foundation director.
The second-prize winner of $1,000 was Kristy McKearn of Baton Rouge. “I purchased a ticket because I believe in 4-H’s emphasis on engaging young people to become informed members of their community and develop life skills that will promote and grow our next generation of leaders. From a personal standpoint, I was raised in a rural Illinois community where 4-H made a difference in the lives of so many of my friends and family – including my mother who said she learned responsibility and life skills that helped her become the person she is today.”
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