Vestnik Project

SPJST January Věstník Project

This project earns a maximum 1 point in the SPJST Youth Merit Point System. To complete the project questions to earn 1 point in the SPJST Merit Point System, scan the QR Code below, or go directly to spjst.org/programs/vestnik-project/

Katie Daugherty was born a few days before Christmas and grew up in the small, rural town of Chardon, Ohio, near the city of Cleveland. Her town is known for the massive maple syrup industry, along with the town’s own Maple Festival and the record amounts of snow: over 100 inches of snowfall each year due to the city’s location along the “snow belt” of the Great Lakes.

Katie’s mom, Wendy, was on bed rest in the hospital with her for 62 days and says when they came home, the carpet in the house felt like she was walking on clouds! Katie’s dad, Doug, has been a high school principal and administrator at a career and technical center for 25 years and inspired her passion for education and working with youth.

While growing up in Northeast Ohio, Katie spent the majority of her time outside exploring the woods and creeks around her house with her sister and cousins. Her family has a small farm surrounded by forests with big hills, perfect for sledding through the snow in the wintertime. From a very young age, Katie, her sister, and cousins always explored the outdoors and even found a natural swimming hole in the creek just a few miles away from her house that they enjoyed jumping into during the summer months. The fall months were perfect for roaring bonfires, an event that took place almost every weekend while Katie was growing up. Once the snow flew, months of cold were spent sledding, snowmobiling, and snow tubing at the local ski chalets.

When Katie turned eight, she was finally old enough to attend the 4-H camp

Get to Know that her dad, aunt, and uncle went to Camp Kubena Program Manager when they were kids. It was her and her sister’s first Katie Daugherty summer at camp, and Katie was loving it. Then, her sister became very homesick and told Katie that she wanted to go home and that their mom was coming to pick her up. The camp director was so worried that Katie would see their mom picking her sister up that she tried to keep her away from the area, but somehow Katie went past them and saw her sister being picked up. Her response: “Bye, Mom. Bye, Danielle. I gotta get to my boating activity!” as she ran off. Katie loved that camp so much that she returned every year until she became an adult volunteer at the camp. During her teen years, Katie was very involved in the county 4-H program in many ways. From a young age, Katie and her family raised many livestock animals - rabbits, pigs, market steers, heifers, pygmy goats, ducks, and the family dogs and cats. She also trained each year to be a 4-H camp counselor where she and her fellow camp counselors created the camp schedule and led the evening programs and activities for all of the campers. During high school, Katie was also involved in her school’s marching band as a squad leader in the drumline, spending every Friday night having fun and being loud at the football games. Growing up spending most of her time outdoors, making memories at camp, and seeking out leadership experiences has inspired Katie to encourage young people to always keep learning how to become the best versions of themselves.

—SPJST—