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4-Hers keep busy over summer
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It hardly seems like it’s nearly the end of summer already.

But 4-H members have not spent the summer laying on the couch — they’ve been as busy as ever with service, leadership and project work.

Throughout the summer, our 4-H Health Rocks! ambassador team has been teaching their healthy living curriculum at the YMCA day camp.

Kayla Gartner, Kacie Gartner, Kara Gartner, Grace Smith, MaKenzy McCord and Mitchell Witcher are joined by volunteer leaders Jamie McCord and Sandra Gartner.

The team is also gearing up to teach one of our after school clubs next year.

Pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House fundraiser continue to pour into our office this summer. We’re appreciative of all our community supporters who continue to collect these as we seek to have the largest collection in the state this year.

Last week, Ohio 4-H’er Elyse White, demonstrated her 4-H project for local 4-H’ers in our office.

Newton 4-H’ers are also recording all their project work in calendars for their 4-H portfolios.

If your 4-H’er is a rising seventh through twelfth grader and would like a jump start on portfolio work, email me at tkimble@uga.edu. As I am at trainings and a conference much of the next two weeks, please allow a few days for a reply.

Tomorrow morning four high school 4-H’ers join 4-H and FFA members from around the state at Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp at the FFA-FCCLA Center in Covington.

They will explore the world of Georgia cooperatives as well as participate in teambuilding and leadership activities throughout the week, including the camp’s team mud course.

Local 4-H’ers accepted to the program are Grace Smith, Kara Gartner and Kacie Gartner, all of Newton High, and Patrick Dibble, of home school.

Dibble also volunteered as a teen leader at summer camp with Baldwin County 4-H this summer.

Newton 4-H’er Bradford Porter just wrapped up his summer at Rock Eagle as a first-year counselor in the Cherokee tribe.
He heads to the University of Georgia in the fall.

Twelve 4-H’ers are headed to Junior 4-H Camp at Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island with 4-H Program Assistant Kim Lawrence.

Jada Biggs, Keyarra Bolden, Brooke Floyd, Dekariah Kelly, Jamarcus Mason, Alyssia Neel, Alexis Nuqui, Cyann Owes, Luke Prosser, Rhonda Reynolds, Breosha Russ and Allison Stokes will learn about the coast, swim on the beach and take a dinner cruise in Savannah as part of the week’s fun.

I am headed north this week to Chattanooga for a training with Rockdale 4-H Agent Brittany Johnson.

Our training focuses on the work of educators at Whitwell Middle School in Whitwell, Tennessee, on the Holocaust.
Over the next two years, we hope to bring this curriculum to local 4-H members.

Flannery Peay, a home school 4-H’er entering her senior year, is wrapping up her year playing fiddle with our statewide performing arts group, Clovers and Company. She, along with several other local 4-H’ers, auditioned again for the group, and they are all eagerly awaiting the cast list.

Peay also heads to State 4-H Congress next week at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia in Atlanta.

To reach this level, Peay completed a portfolio of her 4-H project work, project sharing and teaching, community service and leadership as well as performed at District Project Achievement in March.

The performing arts other instrumental category was the largest project at the Northwest District 4-H competition, and Peay finished first in both portfolio and project.

The state competition adds an interview element to the competition, where she will face off against the top competitors in the state.

At stake is Master 4-H status and a trip to National 4-H Congress in November.

The final banquet at State 4-H Congress officially closes our 4-H year, and then just a few short days later we kick off club meetings and 4-H demonstrations in club meetings across the county.

Finally, we send up best wishes and prayers for 4-H volunteer Dianna Galloway in her renewed fight against cancer. Her son, Ken, served as Newton County’s Relay for Life chair this year, just six years after he started out as a ninth grade team captain for our first relay team. We’re pulling for you, Ms. Dianna!

Terri Kimble Fullerton is a Newton County 4-H Agent through UGA Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at tkimble@uga.edu.