Benton County senior Sulli Schaffer named Arkansas 4-H Governor’s Award winner
July 23, 2026
By Ryan McGeeney
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Schaffer a 4-H member for 13 years
- Top prize includes $3,000 scholarship, silver platter
- 2026 featured five finalists, an unusually high number
(638 words)
Download photos from awards ceremony
(Editor’s note: ‘Jon-Austen Linch’ is c.q.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Sulli Schaffer, a Gravette High School senior, was named the recipient of the 2026 Arkansas 4-H Governor’s Award on Wednesday night at the conclusion of the 4-H Awards of Excellence Ceremony.
The ceremony is the culminating event at the Arkansas 4-H State O-Rama, an annual event that brings together Arkansas 4-H members from across the state for competitions, the election of new 4-H state officers and the awarding of college scholarships.
Schaffer, the daughter of Ali and Toby Schaffer, was one of five finalists for the award announced in May. Each of the other four finalists will receive a $1,000 4-H scholarship; Schaffer will receive a $3,000 scholarship as well as an embossed silver platter commemorating the scholarship award.
The award, instituted in 1983, recognizes one outstanding Arkansas 4-H member each year. To be eligible, award applicants must be former state record book winners, have letters of recommendation and maintain a current record book. With deep roots in farm management, 4-H holds recordkeeping in high regard, with a premium placed on the documentation of both process and outcome of any project.
Schaffer, a 2024 state record book winner and member of Benton County 4-H, has been involved in Arkansas 4-H for 13 years. Her long-term project area was animal science and agriculture, with a focus on dairy goats. She is the current president of her local 4-H club in Gravette, Arkansas, and served as the Ozark District Vice President during the 2024-2025 term.
At the national level, Schaffer helped develop a free mental health therapy app. In June, she was one of three members inducted into the Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame, along with fellow finalists Channing Ashworth of Washington County and Daley Rogers of Grant County.
Letters of recommendation in support of Schaffer include one written by Benton County 4-H agent Jessica Street. In her letter, Street described Schaffer’s commitment to Arkansas 4-H as “astonishing.”
“With most members we see a decline in enthusiasm and commitment during the final years of their 4-H career, but Sulli is exactly the opposite,” Street wrote. “It has been exciting to see the light bulb go off the last few years and know that she truly understands what 4-H has done for her and how she encourages others so they can have the same 4-H experience.”
Jon-Austen Linch was a member of the judging committee for this year’s Governor’s Award. He said choosing between the five finalists was extremely challenging.
“It was an incredibly hard decision,” Linch said. “If we could’ve sent all of those kids with this award, we would have. But we had to pick one.
“Sulli was enthusiastic about 4-H in general,” he said. “But what she was most enthusiastic about was how she had helped grow her local 4-H through years as a 4-H’er.
“Something like that really stands out, when this person is the most excited about how she was able to give back to other 4-H’ers and younger kids, and grow a program from very little to very big and very impactful,” he said. “Of all the things, I think that was the one deciding factor in my mind.”
At the conclusion of Wednesday night’s ceremony, Schaffer said the award came as a surprise in large part because all the finalists had such strong resumes.
“I was so shocked,” Schaffer said. “The whole group was over-qualified. I didn’t know who was going to get it. I genuinely think it could’ve been picked out of a hat. It’s a really big honor.”
Schaffer’s mother, Ali Schaffer, said 4-H has been a lifelong pursuit for her daughter.
“She’s bled green her whole life,” Ali Schaffer said. “This has been the thing she loved, and it has loved her back. Everything she’s given to 4-H, it’s given back to her. We’re just so proud, so happy.”
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About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
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Media Contact:
Ryan McGeeney
rmcgeeney@uada.edu
501-671-2120