List of 4-H alumni

4-H alumni have participated in many fields. One out of every seven adults in the U.S. is a former 4-H member. Participation in 4-H events and activities, the value of projects completed, and the challenges and responsibilities experienced in 4-H have contributed to the personal and leadership development of 4-H alumni. A majority of alumni feel that 4-H experiences have also significantly contributed to their success in the workforce and that the knowledge and skills gained through 4-H continue to benefit them in their adult lives.

Many notable politicians, entertainers, athletes, business individuals, and educators got their first start in 4-H.

Political figures


Notable alumni include U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and U.S. Vice Presidents Al Gore   and Walter Mondale.


 * Current and former U.S. Senators:
 * Howard Baker
 * Birch Bayh
 * Sam Brownback
 * Dale Bumpers
 * Conrad Burns
 * Ben Nighthorse Campbell
 * Thad Cochran
 * Mike DeWine
 * Bob Dole
 * Byron Dorgan
 * Wendell H. Ford
 * Bob Graham
 * Judd Gregg
 * Clifford Hansen
 * Tom Harkin
 * Orrin Hatch
 * Mike Johanns
 * Jon Llewellyn Kyl
 * Mitch McConnell
 * Bill Nelson
 * Sam Nunn
 * Larry Pressler
 * Pat Roberts
 * W. Kerr Scott
 * Jeff Sessions
 * Paul Simon
 * Debbie Stabenow
 * Steve Symms
 * Herman Talmadge
 * Craig L. Thomas
 * Strom Thurmond
 * Malcolm Wallop


 * Current and former U.S. Governors:
 * Alabama:
 * George Wallace
 * Arkansas:
 * Asa Hutchinson
 * Georgia:
 * Roy Barnes
 * Nathan Deal
 * Sonny Perdue
 * Hawai'i:
 * John Waihee
 * Iowa:
 * Terry Brandstad
 * Kansas:
 * William H. Avery
 * John W. Carlin
 * Nancy Kassebaum
 * Kentucky:
 * Martha Layne Collins
 * Paul E. Patton
 * Maine:
 * John Baldacci
 * Michigan:
 * John Engler
 * North Carolina:
 * Jim Hunt
 * Robert W. Scott
 * Oklahoma: Mary Fallin
 * Raymond D. Gary
 * North Dakota:
 * William L. Guy
 * Tennessee:
 * Buford Ellington
 * Utah:
 * Olene Walker
 * Vermont:
 * Jim Douglas
 * Virginia:
 * Gerald L. Baliles
 * Wisconsin:
 * Tommy Thompson
 * Wyoming:
 * Mike Sullivan


 * Current and former members of Congress include:
 * Carl Albert
 * William Vollie Alexander Jr.
 * John F. Baldwin Jr.
 * Roscoe Bartlett
 * Rick Berg
 * Jaime Herrera Beutler
 * Tom Bevill
 * Rick Boucher
 * Allen Boyd
 * William V. Chappell Jr.
 * Donald H. Clausen
 * Eva M. Clayton
 * Howard Coble
 * Tony Coelho
 * Larry Combest
 * Jim Cooper
 * George Darden
 * Robert William Davis
 * Roy Dyson
 * Bill Emerson
 * Glenn English
 * Ronnie Flippo
 * William D. Ford
 * Virginia Foxx
 * Sam Gejdenson
 * William F. Goodling
 * James W. Grant
 * Ralph Hall
 * John Paul Hammerschmidt
 * Katherine Harris
 * J.D. Hayworth
 * Wally Herger
 * Clyde Holloway
 * Jerry Huckaby
 * Kenny Hulshof
 * Earl Hutto
 * Ed Jenkins
 * William L. Jenkins
 * Chris John
 * Ed Jones
 * Ron Kind
 * Jim Kolbe
 * Martin Lancaster
 * Tom Latham
 * Tiffany Lawrence
 * Jim Lightfoot
 * Koln McKay
 * John T. Myers
 * Sue Myrick
 * William Flynt Nichols
 * Chip Pickering
 * Graham Purcell
 * Adam Putnam
 * Ralph Regula
 * J. Roy Rowland
 * Martin Sabo
 * Daniel Schaefer
 * Jim Slattery
 * D. French Slaughter
 * Bob Smith
 * Neal Edward Smith
 * Virginia D. Smith
 * John Sparkman
 * Floyd Spence
 * David Stockman
 * Bob Stump
 * Mike Synar
 * Charles H. Taylor
 * Gene Taylor
 * Lindsay Thomas
 * Bennie Thompson
 * Jill Long Thompson
 * Edolphus Towns
 * Bob Traxler
 * Morris Udall
 * Wes Watkins
 * Vin Weber
 * Jerry Weller
 * Jamie Whitten
 * Heather Wilson

Former Puerto Rico Senator Miguel Deynes Soto.


 * Cabinet officials:
 * John Rusling Block and Ann Veneman,  former secretaries of Agriculture


 * First Ladies:
 * Rosalynn Carter
 * Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
 * Pat Nixon
 * Idaho First Lady Patricia Kempthorne


 * Native Americans
 * Ethel Branch

Academics

 * former Kansas State University President Duane Acker
 * former Chancellor of Texas A&M University Perry Adkisson
 * former U.S. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander
 * Nobel Prize winners George Beadle and Daniel McFadden
 * former Arizona State University President Lattie Coor
 * Colorado State University System President Tony Frank
 * Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust
 * West Virginia University President Gordon Gee
 * Steve Gunderson of the Career Education Colleges and Universities
 * Former University of Illinois President Stanley O. Ikenberry
 * Former Yale University President Howard Lamar
 * Former Virginia Tech President William Edward Lavery
 * Former University of New Hampshire President Joan Leitzel
 * Former Clemson University President Max Lennon
 * Former Auburn University President James E. Martin
 * Former Kent State University President Glenn Olds
 * Former University of Nebraska President Ronald Roskens
 * Former Penn State University President Graham B. Spanier
 * Former University of Maryland President John S. Toll
 * Former Mississippi State University President Donald W. Zacharias

Arts and literature

 * Frank Herbert, American Science Fiction writer
 * Jim Davis, cartoonist
 * Pulitzer Prize winning novelist John Updike

Business and industry

 * Andrew Bosworth of Facebook
 * Colby Chandler of Eastman Kodak
 * Arnold W. Donald of Carnival Corporation
 * Bob Evans
 * Ken C. Hicks of Footlocker
 * Bill Mensch of the Western Design Center
 * Javier Palomarez of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
 * Harold Poling of the Ford Motor Company
 * Orville Redenbacher
 * Edward B. Rust Jr. of State Farm Insurance
 * Jesse W. Tapp of Bank of America
 * Randall L. Tobias of Eli Lilly and Co.
 * Leland Tollett of Tyson Foods
 * Frank L. VanderSloot of Melaleuca
 * Nancy Zieman of Sewing with Nancy

Entertainment and media

 * Anne Burrell of the Food Network
 * Johnny Carson
 * Steve Doocy
 * Nancy Grace
 * Florence Henderson
 * Holly Hunter
 * Karen Kilgariff
 * David Letterman
 * Miss America Jacque Mercer
 * Jim Nabors
 * Aubrey Plaza
 * Donna Reed
 * Julia Roberts
 * Sissy Spacek
 * Tony Award nominee Tom Wopat

Military

 * General Creighton Abrams
 * Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré
 * General Hugh Shelton
 * Brigadier General Wilma Vaught

Music

 * Roy Acuff
 * Luke Bryan
 * Glen Campbell
 * Johnny Cash
 * John Denver
 * Vince Gill
 * Faith Hill
 * Jermaine Jackson
 * Reba McEntire
 * Sherrill Milnes
 * Jennifer Nettles
 * Randy Owen
 * Dolly Parton
 * Charley Pride
 * Kevin Richardson
 * Jean Ritchie
 * Roy Rogers
 * Ricky Skaggs
 * Trisha Yearwood

Sciences and technology
4-H alumni include the astronauts:
 * Bonnie J. Dunbar
 * Ellison Onizuka
 * Jerry L. Ross
 * Alan Shepard
 * Peggy Whitson
 * Donald E. Williams

Sports

 * Robert A. "Bob" Baffert, racehorse trainer
 * Johnny Bench
 * U.S. Triple Crown jockey Steve Cauthen
 * Olympic Gold Medal winner Stacy Dragila
 * NASCAR Champion Ned Jarrett
 * Archie Manning
 * National Collegiate Basketball coach Pat Summitt
 * Dan Reeves
 * Original owner of the Miami Dolphins Joe Robbie
 * All-Time leading women's professional basketball scorer Katie Smith
 * Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker
 * Reggie White