Auburn’s Kelsey Messecar was among 11 WSU King County 4-H youth delegates who attended the recent Know Your Government (KYG) Conference in Olympia.

WSU 4-H Youth Development Program presented the conference, which is designed to connect youth with the political and government process by providing hands-on learning experiences for teens from every county through a mock, non-partisan, political party convention.

The conference, sponsored by Chevron and Microsoft, focused on political elections and the media.

Each county brings a team of teenage delegates, a teen candidate for governor and a set of positions or planks the teens have developed on key issues facing the state. During the conference, teens from each county select a single teen candidate for Washington governor and work in committees to develop statewide party planks on each issue. This year the planks were on education, immigration, health care, environment, safety and security, economy, election reform and energy.

After the conference, a booklet that presents the elected teen candidate and the finalized party platform is assembled and delivered to each state legislator.

Eleven teen representatives from King County spent their Sundays in January to attend two training sessions and worked between sessions to prepare for the conference. They formed a team of policy developers who put together King County planks on each issue.

The annual KYG event, only one of many WSU 4-H opportunities, provides an opportunity for teenagers to practice and use critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making, goal-setting and public-speaking skills.

In fact, while in Olympia, delegates Katie Miotke from Issaquah, Brendan Wiems from Carbonado and Maranda Butterfield from Enumclaw testified at the state hearing for a proposed 4-H license plate.

4-H, which is the largest youth development programs in the United States, is founded in interest-driven projects to keep youth engaged.

However, this is likely the last year King County youth will be included because of funding. The 4-H Youth Development Program was jointly operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington State University’s Extension Program and King County Government until King County eliminated it from its 2012 budget.

WSU is temporarily funding the program in King County so members can finish their year. Shutdown activities are under way and scheduled to be completed by Sept. 30.