Miller began as a 4-H volunteer in Georgia and has been devoted to Indiana’s 4-H program for 15 years now. The professional electrical engineer is involved not only in his county, but does much for the state 4-H program – by assisting with the State 4-H Junior Leader Conference, the Indiana State Fair Youth Leadership Conference, Purdue 4-H Round-Up and much more.

According to Miller, 4-H truly benefits kids. “4-H gives them direction in life,” he said. “It makes them a part of their community. It gives them pride in themselves and the work they do.”

Although the 4-H enthusiast believes volunteers are important, he credits parents for doing their part. “Parents play a big role as well by supporting the activities that the members must complete at home and getting the members to the activities. Take any piece of the puzzle away and it doesn’t work nearly as well.”

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Randy Brown, Vanderburgh County 4-H Educator, said it’s obvious by the 4-H events he attends that Miller is dedicated to youth, often using his electrical knowledge to create and build needed 4-H equipment. “Tony cares about kids and is interested in their development,” Brown added. “Probably the most impressive thing is Tony does all this because he enjoys it. He never expects to get paid and when he does, he donates most of it back into our local 4-H program.”

His commitment to the program stems from his concern for kids and their success, according to Brown. “Needless to say, and I know I speak for so many others, we are very blessed to have Tony as a volunteer in Vanderburgh County.”

Miller is one of many extraordinary 4-H volunteers from across the country being singled out by Monsanto’s 4-H Volunteer Initiative program. National 4-H Council has received a two-year $500,000 award from Monsanto Company to create hands-on training experiences for 4-H’s 540,000 volunteers, who provide 4-H youth across America with opportunities to learn leadership, citizenship and life skills.

“As a company 100 percent focused on agriculture, Monsanto is committed to investing in ag youth who represent the future of farming,” said Ernesto Fajardo, vice president of Monsanto’s U.S. crop production business. “We appreciate and are proud to support the dedication of 4-H volunteers across the country as they help youth become active citizens and community leaders.”

Through regional and state 4-H volunteer forums funded by Monsanto, 4-H volunteers will network with each other and learn about innovative programs that will help them bring fresh perspectives and activities to their local 4-H programs. Miller comes from a line of 4 H volunteers with his parents being 4-H leaders as well as his older brother and sister-in-law serving as volunteers in the youth organization.

“Volunteers are what make 4-H work,” Miller said. “It would be tremendously different without them. I can see differences between county programs and a lot of that has to do with the volunteer involvement in those counties.”