Forty-two, Chattooga County Cloverleaf 4-H’ers traveled to Georgia Highlands College, in Rome Georgia to participate in District Project Achievement on Saturday, January 31, 2015.  485 students from 12 Counties (Bartow, Catoosa, Carroll, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Heard, Murray, Polk, Walker and Whitfield) turned out to compete in Rome.  With that being said competition was stiff, with some project areas having as many as 20 students competing for a top placement.  Many of our Chattooga County students came home with tops honors.  However, I would say that “They are all winners for being chosen to attend this prestigious event.”   It took a lot of work and practice for each young person to prepare for this level of competition.  Each fifth or sixth grade 4-H’er gave an illustrated talk or demonstration on a topic they chose.  Most demonstrations last about five minutes, and the 4-H’er uses two or three posters.  I can still remember my first 4-H project, which was over 30 years ago.  It was the stepping stone to get me through many more speeches and presentations, though out school, college, and my career.

            Prior to district competition, 5^th and 6^th graders from all the county schools had the opportunity to prepare a speech and compete at school. Chattooga County had a total of 331 youth prepare a project and present at their projects at school.  Students choose from 64 projects for their demonstration.  Many people may think 4-H is just cows and gardening, but it’s so much more than that.  Today’s projects include international, veterinary science, computers, conservation, photography, public speaking, plant and soils, performing arts, and financial management, just to name a few.

            Competition for Cloverleaf 4-H’ers ends at district competition, but it prepares them for more advanced competition as they get older.  Competing at DPA, not only allows our youth to gain valuable life skills, and the ability to share their interest, but also earns them top honors in our county.

            4-H’ers participating were:

Last Name	First Name	Project Area	Placing	School	Grade
Baltazar-Pedro	Alonzo	International	7th	TES	5th
Beach	Gray	Between Meal Snacks	1st	LES	6th
Beech	Lorianna	Target Sports	4th	TES	5th
Blackwell	Rilley	Safety	7th	TES	5th
Blalock	Tori	Companion Animal	2nd	LES	6th
Blalock	Ansley	Crafts	8th	TES	5th
Brock	Ethan	History	8th	TES	5th
Brown	Brecklyn	Arts	2nd	LES	6th
Busby	Belle	General Science	4th	LES	6th
Cabe	Colton	Environmental Science	6th	TES	5th
Canada	Gracie	General Recreation	2nd	TES	5th
Christol	Alyson	Cat Care	4th	MES	5th
Cooper	Isabella	Crafts	4th	MES	5th
Cordle	Brittonie	Health	9th	LMES	5th
Dawson	Adam	Herpetology	4th	LMES	5th
Eckroat	Jackson	Entomology	7th	LES	5th
Edwards	Jaelyn	Plants, Soils and Fertilizers	6th	TES	5th
Elrod	William	Outdoor Recreation	5th	LES	5th
Elrod	Ramsey	Sports	6th	MES	5th
Faulkner	Grace	Dog Care and Training	8th	TES	5th
Hall	Calleigh	Arts	8th	LMES	5th
Hollingsworth	Katelyn	Target Sports	3rd	TES	5th
Jackson	Madison	Companion Animals	7th	MES	5th
James	Camryn	Marine and Costal Environments	5th	LES	6th
Jones	Austin	Fresh Water Fish	2nd	LES	6th
McCutchins	Shelby	Environmental Science	8th	TES	5th
Mosley	Jenna	Outdoor Recreation	7th	TES	5th
Riley	Patrick	History	6th	LES	5th
Roach	Grant	Agricultural Awareness	4th	TES	5th
Rossen	Rett	General Recreation	1st	MES	6th
Sanford	Carlie	Horses	8th	TES	5th
Sargent	Isaiah	Flower Shrubs and Lawns	2nd	TES	5th
Smith	Rachel	Horses	2nd	TES	6th
Smith	Caden	Time & Money Management	2nd	MES	5th
Stephens	Landon	Health	2nd	LMES	5th
Taylor	Mackenzie	Cat Care	5th	TES	5th
Vaughn	Brody	Workforce Preparation & Career Development	1st	TES	5th
Warren	Brianna	Crafts	9th	MES	5th
Wheeler	Ethan	Computer Science	6th	LMES	5th
Whitt	Allison	Arts	4th	TES	6th
Wilson	Emma	Wildlife	7th	LMES	5th
Wyatt	Clara	Outdoor Recreation	6th	LES	5th

 

This event would not have been possible without the support of our leaders and teen leaders who accompanied us to the event.   Faith Coalson, Caleb Millican, Mekenzie Parker, Kendra Stallings, Hamp Thomas, Zach White, and I served as judges.  Bronson Champion, Kendra Conner, Kaitlyn Conner, Chandler Godfrey, Kristen Hankins, Tyler Hunt, Taylor Ozment, Jacob Peterson, Natalie Peterson, and Lily Thibodeaux also attended district competition with the youth, assisting with class room assignments, hall monitors and chaperone responsibilities.  4-H Northwest District Board of Directors President, Cam Anderson, who is also a local 4-H’er, presided over the opening assembly. 

For more information on 4-H programs and activities, please contact the Chattooga County Extension Service at (706) 857-0744