Recognition and Awards Program
Progress Toward Personal Goals

Progress toward personal goals enables youth to gain experience in goal-setting and realistic self-assessment as they plan their projects, set their goals and reflect on their experience. This area of the Recognition program connects closely with the Essential Elements of Belonging and Independence and Mastery. 

Section links for this page:
Project Record
Key Award
Award Certificates
Missouri Report Forms

Project Record
Youth self-select projects and goals at the beginning of the project year and then reflect on the experience at the close of the year. The purpose is to help members learn to set goals, reflect on their experience and apply this experience to other parts of their life. Eligible youth are 4-H members 8 to 18 on December 31st of the program year .

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Key Award
The Key Award, the highest award a 4-H member can receive, recognizes 4-H members who have achieved significant leadership at the club or group, community and state levels. The Key Award is a prestigious award rewarding 4-H members for their hard work and accomplishments as well as the contribution they have made to the overall 4-H program.

The objective of the Key Award is to encourage the growth of Missouri youth in the areas of leadership, community service, project excellence and personal growth which are contributing factors to the development of outstanding citizens.

Eligibility

• Ages 14 to18 years old on December 31st of the program year
• 4-H member for at least one year
• Worked with an adult mentor (preferably an adult that is not the members parent or guardian)

Application Process

• Visit with your 4-H youth development specialist or youth education assistant.
• Select an adult mentor who will support your work and help document your efforts.
• When you and your mentor agree that you have completed at least one section (for example, leadership), submit the documentation for the corresponding section of the Missouri 4-H Key Award Application Y2300.
• Submit the section to your local extension office by the locally established date. You will do the same for each section upon completion.
• Members will receive a medallion upon completion for each section: leadership, community service, project excellence and personal growth.
• Members will receive the Missouri 4-H Key Award and certificate when all four criteria sections have been completed. The mentor will receive a 4-H Key Award mentor pin.

Application Format

• Complete the application form with all the required signatures.
• Documentation of achievements is important. Document your work to demonstrate that you have reflected on and applied the experience.
• Work with both the 4-H youth specialist and 4-H program assistant at the beginning of the 4-H year to determine the preferred method to capture what was learned and achieved. The method needs to be consistent for all applications submitted by youth in the county. One method is to create a notebook divided into five (5) sections – Biographical, Leadership, Community Service, Project Excellence and Personal Growth. Other types of documentations, if approved locally, may include a scrapbook with pictures, captions, and reflective writing; video essays of their work; a scrapbook with an audio dialogue; or web pages with pictures and reflective essays.
• Make sure the documentation is easily accessible for the mentor and local staff. Completion of the criteria will take two to several years.

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Award Certificates
Versatile certificate that can be used for participation, progress toward personal goals, peer competition and standards of excellence.

See Award Certificates for a description.

Missouri 4-H Recognition Forms
Missouri 4-H Recognition Forms are used as both progress toward personal goals and peer competition.
State Excellence Award Information

Level 1

• 4-H members who are between 8 and 10 years old on December 31st of the program year
• Visit with your 4-H youth development specialist or youth education assistant
• Complete Missouri 4-H Recognition Form Level 1 Y2000
• Submit form to your local Extension office by the locally established date

Level 2

• 4-H members who are between 11 and 13 years old on December 31st of the program year
• Visit with your 4-H youth development specialist or youth education assistant.
• Complete Missouri 4-H Recognition Form Level 2 Y2100.
• Submit form to your local Extension office by the locally established date.

Level 3

• 4-H members who are between 14 and 18 years old on December 31st of the program year.
• Visit with your 4-H youth development specialist or youth education assistant.
• Complete Missouri 4-H Recognition Form Level 3 Y2200
• Submit this to your local Extension office by the locally established date.

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