Posted on August 23, 2020 at 12:00 PM by Global Reach
For Gary and Pam Nebel, 4-H, fun and the fair go hand-in-hand. Pam was an active member of the Lincoln Luckies 4-H Club in Page County. Her favorite projects included sewing and food and nutrition. Pam says showing a steer the last year she was involved in 4-H was a highlight for her. Pam volunteers at the Fremont County Fair in the Open Class building, assists with the Cherry Pie Contest where 70-100 4-Hers make cherry pies each year, and clerks both the cherry pie auction and premium sale. She also serves on the Fremont County 4-H Endowment Scholarship Fund Committee and acts as the recording secretary. 
Gary was a member of the Walnut-Monroe-Prairie (WMP) 4-H Club in Fremont County. Growing up on a dairy farm and milking cows his entire life kept him extremely busy, so showing dairy at the fair was only natural for him. Gary served on the Fair Board for 12 years and enjoyed helping out with anything that needed to be done, working with a great group of people and making many new friends. He also enjoyed attending the Iowa Association of Fairs Convention in Des Moines several years. It was very interesting to him given the big contrast between the larger and smaller fairs throughout the state of Iowa.
Pam and Gary met through a mutual friend and were married in 1982. Gary has worked for the Fremont County Road Department for 32 years with the majority of those years running the Imogene Road Patrol Route. Pam recently completed her 41st year as a school secretary. The first 38 were spent at the Farragut Community School/Nishnabotna School before the dissolution of the district in 2016. She is currently the HS Secretary in Shenandoah.
Their children, Brian and Chelsea (Coffey) were both active members of the same club as their dad (WMP) for 9 years. Brian is a Client Manager/Revenue Cycle Management Leader for Cerner Corporation in Kansas City and Chelsea is a Human Resources Representative for Pella Window Corporation in Shenandoah. Both kids believe 4-H played a large role in their career development, giving them confidence to speak before large audiences and helping them master communication skills at all age levels. Both kids attended the Citizenship Washington Focus trip and agree that this was one of their most memorable experiences of 4-H, learning about American history in Washington D.C., how our government functions, and developing relationships with other 4-H’ers.
The Nebels recognize 4-H as an organization that builds character and develops skills that will be used in everyday life. Volunteering has given them the opportunity to build and develop lasting relationships over many years.
