(08/13/25) POLLOCK, La. — Rosy Williams Bromell said if she can do something well, she probably learned it in 4-H. Bromell was one of 12 honorees inducted into the Louisiana 4-H Hall of Fame during a ceremony held Aug. 9 at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center in Pollock, Louisiana.

“I learned how to sew a little, how to cook, how to judge livestock, how to show cows and pigs and how to speak,” Bromell said. “I think the biggest thing that 4-H gave to me was my ability to be a leader.”

The ceremony was held in the multipurpose pavilion at camp, a building she helped secure funding for as chair of the Louisiana 4-H Foundation Board. She said being inducted was the honor of a lifetime.

Tara Smith, LSU AgCenter executive associate vice president and director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, opened the ceremony noting that the work the inductees have done over the years has benefited generations of 4-H’ers and has help grow the organization to more 148,000 youth across the state.

“Thank you for the time, talent, money and energy you have put into the youth in 4-H,” Smith said.

Inductee Staci Albritton Mitchell, mayor of West Monroe, brought her green livestock jacket she received in the eighth grade to the ceremony and spoke about how 4-H has influenced her path in life.

“I joined 4-H at 10 and never left,” Mitchell said. “I’m a lifelong 4-H’er.”

Clint Depew worked for Louisiana 4-H for more than 30 years, focusing on equine science and programs. He called his career rewarding and noted that the people he met and mentored through the years made his life richer.

“The strongest positive about horses and livestock is that the whole family gets involved. It brings families together, and I just enjoyed it so much,” Depew said.

He was moved by being named to this distinction. “It’s an honor and a privilege to even be thought of. There’s a lot of good agents and folks who’ve done a lot for the community. I’m just honored to be one of them.”

Retired Vermilion Parish sheriff Mike Couvillon attended 4-H camp as a child and hadn’t been back to Camp Grant Walker in decades.

“When I drove up, I recognized the most important building to me in 1963 — the dance hall,” Couvillion said. “Don’t ever change the dance hall.”

The 12 inductees are:

• Johnny Boudreaux, Vermilion Parish
  
• Rosy Williams Bromell, Lincoln Parish
  
• Mike Burns, Grant Parish
  
• Mike Couvillon, Vermilion Parish
  
• Clint Depew, 4-H State Office
  
• Raymond Latiolais, St. Martin Parish
  
• Amy Magee, Jackson Parish
  
• Judith Ann McKee, Caldwell Parish
  
• Staci Albritton Mitchell, Ouachita Parish
  
• Patsy Sonnier, Lafayette Parish
  
• Darlene Taylor, Cameron Parish
  
• Steve White, Calcasieu Parish
  

Biographies of the inductees are available on the Louisiana 4-H website. The site also includes information on former inductees.

The 2025 4-H Hall of Fame inductees are, seated, from left, Lou Burns, accepting on behalf of her husband, Mike Burns, Grant Parish; Patsy Sonnier, Lafayette Parish; Rosy Williams Bromell, Lincoln Parish; Staci Albritton Mitchell, Ouachita Parish; Judith Ann McKee, Caldwell Parish; and Amy Magee, Jackson Parish. Standing, from left, Clint Depew, 4-H State Office; Johnny Boudreaux, Vermilion Parish; Mike Couvillon, Vermilion Parish; Steve White, Calcasieu Parish; and Raymond Latiolais, St. Martin Parish. Not pictured is Darlene Taylor, Cameron Parish. Photo by Tobie Blanchard/LSU AgCenter