Posted on August 21, 2023 at 2:21 PM by Emily Saveraid
Marty Overmann was raised on a hog and row crop farm in Northeast Iowa. He and his wife moved to the Indianola area after being married and bought an acreage 28 years ago. They wanted to become involved in the community and the first thing they did was to spend time volunteering at the National Balloon Classic.
Next, they participated in the Warren County Fair. This was something new, and after receiving his first ribbons, he was hooked. He wanted to become part of 4-H when he was young but was not able to. When their son was old enough, he joined the Shooting Stars 4-H club and Marty started volunteering at 4-H activities, and at the Warren County Fair. Their second son started 4-H in Clover Kids, so he began helping with the Clover Kids group. Later he became co-leader of Shooting Stars. He continued as a leader until his son graduated and Iheno longer had a child in 4-H. While he was a leader he was also an active member of the Warren County Youth Committee which he continues with today.
A 4-H activity he is still very involved with is the 4H / FFA Poultry show at the Warren County Fair where he is one of the superintendents. Each year they hold a workshop at the Warren County Extension to educate and encourage new participants. The poultry show has a lot of first time exhibitors, and it is very important to him that everyone who participates in the show has a positive experience and it hopefully encourages them to return next year. It is important that the poultry barn is a positive collaborative environment where 4-Hers help each other and ask each other questions and offer advice. Whether they choose to show poultry again or move on to another species doesn’t matter so much as that they have the confidence to try any project that interests them, and that they understand how and where to find the resources they need to be successful in whatever they try.
