Laura Allen: Rowan County 4-H summer in review
Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 17, 2024
Rowan 4-H Electric Congress attendees
Summer Fun flower arranging class
Nathan Croyle (left).Rowan 4-H member.new NC 4-H President along with his teammates
Olivia Stirrup.inducted into NC 4-H Honor Club
Rowan 4-H attendees at NC 4-H Congress along with Rowan 4-H Agent
Judging ready-to-cook carcasses at 4-H poultry judging practice
Members of the Rowan Ranchers 4-H Club that competed in NC 4-H Livestock Judging
Millstone 4-H Camp attendees with Rowan 4-H
By Laura Allen
N.C. Cooperative Extension
Rowan County 4-H is busy all year long providing opportunities to local youths, but summer time definitely takes the cake. In the past three months, we’ve held workshops, traveled to overnight camps and conferences, competed in various 4-H contests and more. Now it’s time to give some “shoutouts” to all the amazing young people who have participated in 4-H opportunities this summer.
On June 23-28, 15 youths ages 8-14 attended 4-H Camp at Millstone 4-H Camp in Ellerbe. For several of these youths, it was their first time away from home for an overnight trip without their family. They learned how to be independent, overcome fear, challenge themselves and grow during this week-long camp. Camp activities included: boating, fishing, swimming, archery, riflery, giant swing, rock wall climbing, low and high ropes courses, arts and crafts, dance, field games, campfires, talent show and more. If you are interested in your child attending 4-H Camp in 2025, please go ahead and contact laura_allen@ncsu.edu. A special thank you to those donors who helped provide financial support to several of our attendees.
Rowan 4-H’ers participated in the N.C. 4-H Horse Artistic Expression competition in July. The following 4-H’ers submitted their horse related artistic creations as part of this contest: Clara Canup, Lela Canup, Baylee Householder, Kyann Race, Sarah Tucker, John Tucker, Addie Webster, Rosie Wells.
The Rowan County 4-H Poultry Judging team competed in the N.C. 4-H Poultry Judging competition held in Raleigh on July 10. Rowan Team A consisted of Guy Deal, Audrey Faggart and Annalise Watts. They placed third in the junior division. Guy was the second high individual in the contest and Audrey was the third high individual. Rowan Team B consisted of Aiden Best, Libi Henry and Breighlyn Miller. They competed in the junior division. Aubri Austin competed as an individual in the senior division. This team was coached by the 4-H agent, livestock agent and our summer intern.
Rowan County had three youth delegates and one 4-H volunteer attend the N.C. 4-H Electric Congress, held at UNC-Wilmington in mid-July. Since 1947, Duke Energy and Dominion Energy have sponsored the annual congress to emphasize electrical energy concepts, energy conservation and safety working with electricity. Delegates included: David Croyle, Nathan Croyle and Lucas Weeder. 4-H volunteer attendee was Crystal Croyle. These youth participants qualified based on their work with electric projects and their completion of a 4-H Project Record Book or 4-H Portfolio outlining their 4-H electric project participation. This was a free reward trip for them, which was full of learning and fun. We would love to increase our participation in this event next year. For more information on the 4-H Electric Program, go to https://nc4h.ces.ncsu.edu/electric/ or email laura_allen@ncsu.edu.
On July 21-26, four Rowan 4-H’ers participated in Fur, Fish and Game Rendezvous at Millstone 4-H Camp. This camping week was focused on hunting, fishing and being outdoors. Participants included Bonnie Goossens, Laylah Hamrick, Caleb Parker, Jacob Parker and Lucas Parker.
North Carolina 4-H Congress was also held in Raleigh on July 22-25. The Rowan County 4-H delegation participated in the election process for the new state 4-H council officers, attended various workshops, toured local places (such as the N.C. General Assembly, the J.C. Raulston Arboretum, or the campus of N.C. State), and interacted with 4-H members from all across the state. The following 4-H’ers represented Rowan County 4-H at N.C. 4-H Congress: David Croyle, Nathan Croyle, Mason Gabosch, German Jaramillo, Emily Simon, Georgia Veleke, Emma Weeder, Lucas Weeder.
We had a very special year at 4-H Congress with many outstanding achievements by our 4-H’ers. These achievements include: 4-H’er Olivia Stirrup was tapped into the N.C. 4-H Honor Club during 4-H Congress. This is the highest honor to be bestowed upon a 4-H member in N.C.
Nathan Croyle participated in the AIRE (Application, Interview, Resume, Essay) contest this summer and at 4-H Congress was announced as an AIRE winner. He was awarded a trip to the National 4-H Congress (held in Atlanta this coming November).
A special congratulations also goes to Rowan 4-H’er Nathan Croyle who was elected by his 4-H peers from across our state to serve as the 2024-25 North Carolina 4-H state council president. We are so proud of him and excited to see him serve our state in the year ahead.
We also had six 4-H’ers qualify to present 4-H presentations at the state presentation finals, held in Raleigh during 4-H Congress on July 23. Rowan 4-H was well represented at this state level competition. Award winners include:
Gold:
• Careers and Entrepreneurship, 8- to 10-year-olds: Luke Allen
• Horticulture Science, 8- to 10-year-olds: Ada Waller
• Safety, 8- to 10-year-olds: Natalie Weeder
• Fisheries and Aquatic Resources: 14- to 18-year-olds: Nathan Croyle
Gold winners will receive a monetary award.
Bronze:
• Open Class: 14- to 18-year-olds: Lucas Weeder
Participation:
• Livestock and Dairy Production, 14- to 18-year-olds: Samantha Simon
For the first time since 2017, Rowan County 4-H had youth competing in the N.C. 4-H Livestock Judging competition, held on Aug. 1 in Raleigh. Junior competitors were Nora Brown and Barrett Devine. The Rowan intermediate division team consisted of Guy Deal, MaryLynn Overcash, Kyann Race and Annalise Watts. This team placed sixth in the state. Special thanks to 4-H volunteer Eric Deal for coaching these youth.
On Aug. 9-10, Lucas Weeder represented Rowan County 4-H at the N.C. Association of County Commissioners YouthVoice event held in Winston-Salem. He was able to learn more about government and citizenship through this opportunity.
We’ve also had 4-H Summer Fun programming happening throughout the summer at our county office. A total of 15 workshops were offered for youths which focused on robotics, electric projects, science lab activities, sewing, beekeeping, soil/nature and flower arranging. Thank you to all the Rowan Extension staff, 4-H volunteers, Extension Master Gardener volunteers, Rowan County Beekeepers Association, our intern Sarah Bailey and community members who helped make these workshops happen.
Lastly, I would like to take time to recognize a special, unexpected donation that the Rowan County 4-H Program has recently received. The Richard Wainwright Barber Farm Preservation Trust recently donated $20,000 to the Rowan County 4-H Program. These funds will be instrumental in providing new and continued opportunities to youth in Rowan County. Thank you for your belief in the 4-H program in our county and for supporting Rowan’s youth who are our future.
Even though our summer programming has ended, please remember that the 4-H year continues. If your children are not already involved in 4-H, this is a great time to get started. We currently have seven 4-H clubs in the county. These clubs meet once a month to conduct a business meeting and provide additional learning opportunities on various topics for youths ages 5-18 (as of Jan. 1). There are other 4-H opportunities available as well.
For more information on 4-H, please contact 4-H Agent Laura Allen at 704-216-8970 or laura_allen@ncsu.edu. You can also go to https://rowan.ces.ncsu.edu/, the Rowan County 4-H Program Facebook page, or come by the Rowan County Cooperative Extension office at 2727-A Old Concord Road Salisbury, NC 28146.. 4-H is the youth development component of NC Cooperative Extension.
Laura Allen is 4-H agent with the Rowan County Extension.
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