From left, Casey Hobbs, Julia Yearout, Pierce Langford, Lauren Pike, Rylie Chamlee, Marina Mosgrove, Maddie Daniel, Savannah Vann, Haleigh Parker and Cyndi McConnell celebrate the successes of the county's 4-H program.
Photo by Timara FrassrandWalker County 4-H has a growing amount of feathers in its hat. At the 2012 4-H Cloverleaf District Project Achievement, participating students took 10 first place, 10 second place and nine third place wins. The group also received the award for the Highest Percentage of Winners, with 75 percent of members placing first, second, or third.
"Eighty-eight percent of Walker County fifth-graders submitted a project, which was an overwhelming response," said Casey Hobbs, Walker County 4-H agent.
4-H'ers selected from more than 50 project areas for their demonstration. Each student was required to present a five-minute speech as well as produce posters and other visual aids. The individual demonstrations were observed by a panel of judges, as well as other spectators, who have had experience in the field. After completing their demonstrations students were scored off of their presentation skills, visual aids, knowledge of the subject and several other factors, Hobbs said.
District Project Achievement is one of the largest events hosted by Georgia 4-H with 524 students competing.
Among those placing first from Walker County, were:
Rylie Chamlee, General Recreation, Naomi Elementary
Austin Daniel, Pork Production, Naomi Elementary
Maddie Daniel, Time & Money Management, Fairyland Elementary
Pierce Langford, Creative Stitchery, North LaFayette Elementary
Kaytlin Mitchell, Forest Resources and Wood Science, Naomi Elementary
Marina Mosgrove, Human Development, Stone Creek Elementary
Haleigh Parker, Fruits Vegetables and Nuts, Rock Spring Elementary
Lauren Pike, History, LaFayette Middle Sixth-Grade Academy
Jacob Tatum, Geology, Rock Spring Elementary
Savannah Vann, Arts, Cherokee Ridge Elementary
These 4-H'ers were chosen to represent Walker County after participating in County Project Achievement (CPA). All recognized 4-H'ers had to place first at the county level in order to move onto the district level to compete. This year, Walker County had 740 CPA projects.
"Our hope is that we can continue to collaborate more with the school's research-based curriculum," Hobbs said. "We are hoping to help get students in school at Georgia Performance Standards and in turn benefit from 4-H services."
Two 4-H'ers, Julia Yearout and Dalton Green, campaigned for the opportunity to be elected to the Junior District Board and both were voted onto the board by more than 300 of their peers. They represent all 7-8 grade 4-H'ers in the 39 Northwest District 4-H counties until March 2013.
"Learn by doing, that's what we hope to achieve," Hobbs said. "4-H is laying down the foundation for success."