4-H mom says her blood runs green

BIBLE GROVE, Mo. – Alisa Forrester Kigar’s blood runs 4-H green.

The former State 4-H Council officer became a 4-H “mom” Oct. 17 when her oldest child attended a meeting of Kigar’s own childhood club, the Scotland County Jolly Jacks and Jills 4-H Club, formed in 1973.

“Ironically, on our trip down the road this evening to our first club meeting, in front of us was a beautiful rainbow,” she said. “It warmed my heart and was a sign to me that this new adventure in 4-H, as a family, was going to be a real blessing.” Her new role begins as 4-H members across the state are observing National 4-H Month.

Kigar said she knows the life of her 8-year-old son, Eli, will be enriched by participation in 4-H activities, just as her life was. Kigar’s 7-year-old daughter, Elsie, is a new Clover Kid.

“I can see now what a huge impact those early leadership experiences on the council, coupled with the local leaders and members and my mother’s influence, are what made me the adult I am today,” she said. “I’m eager to jump back into the green and white field of 4-H as a mom and leader for my children.”

Kigar was a 4-H member from ages 8-20. As a member of the Central Missouri State University Collegiate 4-H Club during college, she attended the National Collegiate 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C., and visited Switzerland as an International Four-H Youth Exchange (IFYE). “My IFYE experience was the momentum behind my love of traveling, and hosting and making friends from around the world,” she said. In return, Kigar and her family are hosts to 4-H, Rotary Club and international guests in their home as often as possible.

She and her husband, Jim, have been married for 18 years and live on the family farm in Bible Grove. Both are graduates of Scotland County R-1 High School in Memphis and alumni of CMSU.  Her husband is a deputy juvenile officer for the First Judicial Circuit of Missouri covering Clark, Scotland and Schuyler counties. They manage a 120-head cow-calf operation with Jim’s brother.