Yadkin County 4-H Summer Fun
Busy 4-H Summer
In 4-H, there is always something for youth to be involved in throughout the year. However, many would agree that summertime is the most jam-packed with activities! This is because we try to take advantage of youth being out of school for the summer. At the county level we offer all sorts of free and reduced price educational programs for youth to be involved with and the state 4-H program offers other educational experiences for kids as well. Let’s take a look at some of the fun things we have already been a part of this summer in our 4-H program!
We have been hosting a number of Yadkin County 4-H Summer Fun since June 13th of this year. We offer our programs at a free or reduced price for the youth in our county so they can have educational experiences that are both impactful and meaningful. We have gone on educational trips such as attending the North Carolina Zoo and Grandfather Mountain State Park. Youth have learned about the dairy industry through our Dairy Day event. We have learned how to cook through our Chef and the Child and Kids Can Can programs. And youth have even learned about another culture through our Exploring Colombian Culture workshop.
We have learned a lot through our Summer Fun programs thus far, but we still have more to learn about! Keep up with us and our Summer Fun adventures on our Yadkin County 4-H Facebook page.
We also started off our summer with some district wide competitions that included 20 different counties across North Carolina. On June 17th, the North Central District 4-H Activity Day was held at Wilkes Central Middle School. This event includes three events that include 4-H Entertains, Fashion Revue, and 4-H Presentations. Yadkin County was represented in all of these competitions.
North Central District 4-H Activity Day
We also started off our summer with some district wide competitions that included 20 different counties across North Carolina. On June 17th, the North Central District 4-H Activity Day was held at Wilkes Central Middle School. This event includes three events that include 4-H Entertains, Fashion Revue, and 4-H Presentations. Yadkin County was represented in all of these competitions.
4-H Entertains is where youth showcase their talents. The youth that were selected for this competition had to have won first or second place at the county level in order to participate. We were well represented by Carly Greene (15) who performed “Fur Elise” on piano and Henley Poindexter (8), who sang “He Shall Forever More” by Chris Tomlin. Both received high marks from judges and Carly was selected to perform for the closing assembly of this competition for all participants to see.
In addition, we had two youth compete in the Fashion Revue. This competition is where youth show off their sewing skills by making a sewn item that they can be modeled. The item is then reviewed by judges and the youth are not only judged for their sewing skills, but also for their interview skills. We were represented by Katy Swaim (12) who made a pink sundress and Bailey Poindexter (13) who made a teal shirt with pockets. Both did a wonderful job and Bailey won second place for her garment in the 8-13 Age Group.
Lastly, but certainly not least, there were 4-H Presentations. This competition is where youth choose a presentation topic and are put into age groups/categories to compete with youth around the district. We had a total of seven of our 4-H’ers in this competition. For the 8-10 age group, Emmalyn Rogers received Gold for her Egg Cookery Presentation. In the 11-13 age group, Bailey Poindexter (13) received Gold for her Citizenship/Community Service Presentation, Rebekah Crouse (12) won Gold for her Food & Nutrition Presentation, and Lola Wilbanks also won Gold for her Forestry & Wildlife Presentation. In the 14-18 category, we had Carly Greene (15) Gold for her Small & Companion Animals Presentation, Reece Jones (14) received Gold for his Dairy Foods Presentation, and Bryson Helton (15) received Gold for his Entomology Presentation.
If you were able to experience camp as a child, this was most likely one of your favorite childhood memories. Camp is where youth get to learn and grow in an engaging and impactful way. At our 4-H camps, we let the kids have five full days of fun where youth get to participate in so many fun activities. Some of those activities include rock climbing, horseback riding, canoeing, archery, swimming, hiking, and more. This year, Yadkin County 4-H sent three 4-H’ers to 4-H camp on July 10th-15th. These kids had an amazing time! It is also never too early to sign up for camp, so make sure to contact us if you like to sign up for your child for the 2023 camp year!
4-H Camp
If you were able to experience camp as a child, this was most likely one of your favorite childhood memories. Camp is where youth get to learn and grow in an engaging and impactful way. At our 4-H camps, we let the kids have five full days of fun where youth get to participate in so many fun activities. Some of those activities include rock climbing, horseback riding, canoeing, archery, swimming, hiking, and more. This year, Yadkin County 4-H sent three 4-H’ers to 4-H camp on July 10th-15th. These kids had an amazing time! It is also never too early to sign up for camp, so make sure to contact us if you like to sign up for your child for the 2023 camp year!
North Carolina 4-H Electric Congress
We all love to win things, but have you ever won a free trip before? That’s exactly what our four youth did that went to the North Carolina 4-H Electric Congress this year. They conducted an electric-based project that earned them a trip to this event held at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
At this event, youth stayed on campus and participated in workshops where they learned how to make solar cars and solder, tour power plants, learn about electric cars/energy, and even got the chance to go to Carowinds as a treat. Our county was represented at this event on July 12th-14th by Sydney Tucker (18) and Griffin Taylor (15) who each created an Electric Portfolio, Reece Jones (14) and Rebekah Crouse (12) that created Record Books on electric, and Kelly Taylor who came as the volunteer chaperone.
North Carolina 4-H Congress
Another event we were involved in was North Carolina 4-H Congress. This year’s 4-H Congress, held in Raleigh July 16th-19th, attracted more than 300 young people and their adult leaders for activities including presentations on a variety of subjects, leadership and citizenship training, service opportunities, officer elections, and more. Bryson Helton (15) and Sydney Tucker (18) represented Yadkin County 4-H at this event.
On July 16th, at 4-H Congress, we had five youth compete at the State Level of the 4-H Presentation competition. Our youth had to compete on the county and district levels in order to compete on this level. In the 11-13 age group we had Lola Wilbanks (12) win Bronze for her Forestry & Wildlife Presentation and Rekekah Crouse (12) won Silver in her Food & Nutrition Presentation. In the 14-18 category, Carly Greene (15) received a participation award for her Small & Companion Animals Presentation, Reece Jones (14) received Gold for his Dairy Foods Presentation, and Bryson Helton (15) received Gold for his Entomology Presentation.
Another one of the highlights of this event was that Sydney Tucker (18), longtime Yadkin/Surry County 4-H’er, being inducted into the North Carolina 4-H Honor Club on Saturday night, July 16th. Membership in the Honor Club is based on service to the 4-H program, leadership, moral standards, 4-H activities, and project achievement. Less than one-half of 1 percent of North Carolina 4-H’ers are selected for membership each year.
As seen in the Yadkin Ripple.
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