4-H wraps school year with honors night
Kevin Tatum, County Extension Coordinator
Over 200 people gathered at the First Baptist Church in Douglas on Monday, May 6, to recognize active Coffee County 4-H members and volunteers during the Annual 4-H Honors Night Program. 4-H members were presented awards for their participation in District Project Achievement (DPA), Poultry Judging, livestock shows, target sports, and community service projects.
Recipients of the Outstanding 4-H Member of the Year awards were also announced. Recipients of this coveted award included: Cloverleaf – Aaron Chaney, Kayden Davis, May Belle Davis, and Aryiah Scott; Junior – Kilee Davis and Glenn O’Steen; and Senior – Savannah Cothern and Sariah Wells.
Incoming Senior Board member Jeremiah Brantley was recognized for his new leadership role on the Southeast District 4-H Board of Directors for the 2019-2020 school year. Jackson Cowart was recognized for his leadership in serving on the Georgia 4-H Technology Leadership Team as well. Evie Woodward was recognized for her role in Georgia 4-H Clovers & Company and Savannah Cothern was recognized for competing in the Dean’s Award Competition.
Awards were presented to 110 students for participating in District Project Achievement this year including 69 Cloverleaf 4-H’ers, 22 Junior 4-H’ers, and 19 Senior 4-H’ers. Fourteen students were recognized for participating in the Area Poultry Judging Contest. Livestock awards were presented to 41 students which included 18 horse awards, 10 market hog awards, 1 cattle award, and 12 goat awards. In Target Sports, 54 awards were presented to students which included 10 BB team, 3 22 rifle team, 6 air rifle team, 21 archery team, and 14 shotgun team awards. Twenty-six new and all of the experienced Certified Teen Leaders, as well as ten graduating 4-H members were also recognized. 4-H Advisory Committee members were recognized for the role they serve in 4-H program planning. Mrs. Erin Aycock, Mrs. Katrina Burch, and Mrs. Darci Tuten were recognized for serving as club sponsors at the Freshman Campus and Coffee High School, and Mrs. Chalanda Woods was recognized for serving as the 4-H photographer and capturing so many 4-H activities for the annual slide show.
In community service, 46 students were presented participation awards for helping with the 4-H Adopt-A-Highway workdays. In projects at Vista Park, The Landings, and Lakeside Senior Center, 17 students were presented participation awards for helping with the 4-H Pet Therapy visitations, 6 for participating in Healthy Seniors project, and 4 for participating in Nana’s Nails project. We also had 22 students recognized for participating with the Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive.
Other special awards earned during the year were: Coffee County 4-H program won awards during the year for most Cloverleaf DPA participants, most Junior/Senior DPA participants, fifth place Junior Poultry Judging Team, and second place Junior Sporter Air Rifle Team.
Many parents and volunteers were recognized for their contributions to help make the 4-H program a success in Coffee County. Their contributions are greatly appreciated by the 4-H staff.
The Coffee County 4-H staff would also like to thank Douglas First Baptist Church for allowing us to hold our awards event at their church as well as thanks for the staff that assisted with setting up and cleaning up afterwards.
Jake’s Shoot
Saturday, April 13, 4-H Target Sports Team members, as well as Junior and Senior 4-H members, assisted the National Wild Turkey Federation and General Coffee State Park host a Jake’s Day at General Coffee State Park. The event was scheduled from 10 AM to 2 PM and included an archery and a BB range.
4-H members who assisted included Ashton Ates, Aaron Chaney, Amelia Gibson, Muskan Minhas, Ishika Sadarangani, and Mason Stewart. BB Coach W.B. Merritt and Archery Coach Chalanda Woods, served as chaperones for these 4-H members at the event.
State Council Registration Deadline
Each summer, Georgia 4-H holds its annual meeting for the purpose of electing state officers and reviewing the state 4-H constitution. This meeting is called State Council and is held at Rock Eagle. The dates for this year’s State Council are June 21-23. Cost is $110 ($55 if you competed in DPA this school year) for the weekend. The event is open to current 8th – 12th grade 4-H members. This will cover meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast, lodging for Friday and Saturday nights, and the weekend’s events. Space is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Please sign up as soon as possible if you are interested in attending this event. The registration fee is due in the 4-H office by Friday, May 24.
If you would like to learn how you can become more involved with the Coffee County 4-H program, please contact the Coffee County Extension office at (912) 384-1402 or visit our website at http://coffee4h.org.