Kevin Tatum, County Extension Coordinator
With the school’s summer break quickly approaching, our 4-H summer programs will soon begin. We will kick off the summer break with our Junior/Senior District Project Achievement competition at Rock Eagle 4-H Center on May 31-June 1. Twenty-five 4-H members submitted portfolios on their project work and are getting presentations ready for the contest.
We will also have our 4-H summer camp for Cloverleaf 4-H members (grades 4-6) at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center the week of June 7-10. Because of COVID, we will have a modified schedule at camp. However, our 4-H members will get a great experience doing most of our usual activities at camp such as canoeing, swimming, and more.
We also have some Junior 4-H members (grades 7-8) who will be going to camp at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center the week of July 12-15. They will have a similar schedule to the Cloverleaf 4-H’ers with a slight modification.
We have a few summer day activities planned in June for our Cloverleaf 4-H’ers as well. They include a couple of days at Wild Adventures, a trip to the Macon Bacon baseball game, and a trip to Savannah to visit the Ronald McDonald House and take a dolphin cruise around Tybee Island.
We are looking forward to getting COVID behind us and to experiencing some activities with the youth again.
DAIRY POSTER CONTEST
The theme for the 2021 June Dairy Month 4-H Poster Contest is “Dairy Potter: Real Dairy, Real Delicious.” 4-H members are encouraged to create a poster and submit it by the May 14 deadline. The artwork should be an original idea of the 4-H member and hand-drawn on a 14” x 22” piece of white poster board. Prizes of gift cards are given for each age division. The age divisions are Cloverleaf (4th-6th graders), Junior (7th & 8th graders), and Senior (9th – 12th graders). Posters will be scored on: originality (40%), follows theme (20%), conveys message (15%), general appearance (15%), and accurate information (10%). Gift cards are $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd place, and $50 for 3rd place. Entries are due at the Coffee County Extension office by 4 PM on Friday, May 14.
DEAN’S AWARD PORTFOLIOS
The Dean’s Award marks the culmination of a 4-H’er’s career, recognizing youth who have participated and excelled in a broad spectrum of activities and experiences over an extended period of time. A Dean’s Award will be presented in each of the following six areas: Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Civic Engagement; William “Bill” Edwards 4-H Dean’s Award for Communications and the Arts; Family and Consumer Sciences; James Harris 4-H Dean’s Award for Leadership; and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).
A cumulative 4-H portfolio must be compiled and submitted to the Extension office by Friday, May 21. Five finalists in each project area will be announced on Friday, June 11. Finalists will have a virtual interview on Friday, June 25. Dean’s Award winners will be recognized at the Annual Winners Banquet at State 4-H Congress in Atlanta in late July.
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.