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Mr. Kirk Martin has been serving Lafayette Parish 4-H since the mid-1980s, first as a parent and now as a proud grandparent. He began his involvement as a business owner and a parent working to recruit buyers for the parish Livestock Show and Sale.
Mr. Martin has served in various leadership roles on numerous committees and task forces, including the Lafayette Advisory Leadership Council; the Lafayette 4‑H Livestock Advisory Committee; and the Acadiana District Livestock Show Board.
Kirk served as a member of the Livestock Advisory Task Force for 25-plus years; the chairman of the Lafayette 4-H Livestock Advisory Committee for 15 years; a board member of the Acadiana District Livestock Show Board for 15 years and its president for the past six years; and a member of the parish Advisory Leadership Council.
Mr. Martin has stepped up to the plate in a variety of leadership opportunities to coordinate area 4-H livestock clinics, validation days and livestock sale buyers luncheon, just to name a few. He has helped develop budget proposals for both the parish and district livestock shows. He helps manage both accounts and oversees about $150,000 of total assets for both shows annually.
Kirk has served as a board member on the Lafayette Parish Cattlemen’s Association and the Lafayette Farm Bureau Association. Both of these organizations make an annual contribution to the parish and district livestock shows that has totaled more than $15,000 over the last 25 years.
Mr. Martin has worked diligently to encourage and increase participation in the 4‑H livestock projects. He has assisted members who had limited resources to exhibit an animal and even house the animals at his house. He recruits parents to become more involved in the program at every opportunity through clinics, phone personal contacts, shows and more.
He has provided leadership in the annual parish livestock sponsorship campaign that helps raise about $2,000 annually to provide awards to the top winner in each class as well as the champions of each specie.
Mr. Martin has been a supportive parent of the Jr. Leader Club and encourages participation in 4-H University. He inspired all three of his children to do their best in their 4-H activities and contests. Now, a generation later, he motivates his grandchildren with the same energy.
Those who work with him assert that he has spent thousands of hours over the past 25 years at the parish, region and state levels assisting youth. He is an essential component to the parish program, giving of himself some 200 hours annually. At the national volunteer rate of $23.56, that amounts to more than $4,700.00 each and every year.
