With a long family history tied to 4-H, Mike Huston is no stranger to the organization.
“I’m guessing I started 4-H in 1979. Back then, 4-H was a very big part of growing up in a small community. Whether it was livestock, crops, sewing, baking, photography — there were so many different projects,” says Huston. “In my family, the Huston family, going back to my dad and my uncles, 4-H was a huge, I mean, extremely huge part of their lives growing up, and it just kind of metamorphosed into our lives growing up.”
The tradition didn’t end there. Huston says that when he and his wife, Tina, started their own family, their children also got involved in 4-H. The couple continued their involvement by helping host 4-H events at the Warren County Fair.
“Tina and I have stayed very involved with 4-H and the county fair. Tina has served as the 4-H secretary for the Warren County Fair since 2004, so she’s been doing that for almost 25 years,” says Huston. “I joined the county fair board in 1997 — maybe 1996. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to be on the fair board, but I wanted to be there to help the kids, primarily in the livestock arena.”
Mike and Tina Huston were recently recognized at the Warren County Fair and later at the Illinois State Fair as the 2026 Warren County 4-H Hall of Fame inductees.
“I guess there’s probably a heck of a lot of other people more deserving than my wife, Tina, and me. But, you know, it’s a nice reward,” says Huston. “It was just something you do — just working and helping the kids out along the way. But, like I said, it was something that was a huge part of my life. From ’79 to ’91, 4-H was very important to us.”
During his time in 4-H, Huston was a member of the Hoof and Hobby 4-H Club, where he showed multiple livestock species and held leadership roles, including president and historian.
