A tremendous amount of young talent was gathered under one roof in Fort Dodge recently.

The occasion was the Webster County 4-H awards celebration, which brought together the student club members and their adult leaders and other supporters.

Throughout the evening, the event lived up to its name as a long list of awards was presented. They included a variety of club and project honors, special awards, scholarships and volunteer recognition awards.

4-H members who will graduate from high school this spring were saluted as they wind down their years in the club.

It was a memorable night for the 4-H members, whose awards will be cherished for years.

But it was also a remarkable night for those of us who weren’t there and have no connection to 4-H.

The evening was remarkable for the rest of us because it demonstrated that there is a large group of young people in our community who are dedicated to learning and serving. And the 4-H kids aren’t the only ones like that. There are other young people doing the same thing in scouting, church groups and sports.

These are the kids who will grow up to be the future leaders of our churches, schools, communities and, ultimately, our nation.

It is worth remembering that we have so many youths of such high caliber in our community when it is so easy to focus on negative things.

To the kids, we say good work and keep it up.