Meigs County 4-H’ers – Off to a Great Start​

By: Michelle Stumbo, 4-H Extension 4-H Educator & County Director

MEIGS COUNTY – While 4-H clubs are currently collecting enrollments for new & returning members, seven current members from Meigs County submitted outstanding 4-H Achievement Records to compete for county and state awards in 2016.

Achievement Records try to capture the whole scope of a member’s activities and experiences in 4-H and in the community as well. As one judge said, “There are so many activities and achievements noted in these records. Meigs County can be proud of the accomplishments of all these youth!”

Each county can submit a Nominee and an Alternate for state level awards in one of 25 categories based on their project work and interests. This year, Meigs County 4-H was represented in 12 categories: Citizenship & Community Service, Clothing & Textiles, Dairy, Family Life & Child Development, Gardening & Horticulture, Food & Nutrition, Leadership, Meat Goat, Personal Development, Poultry, Rabbits and Shooting Sports.

The following teens were chosen as Alternates from Meigs County 4-H: Hannah Erwin of Albany for Poultry. Jesse Morris of Long Bottom for Food & Nutrition. Taylor Parker of Racine for Dairy and Family & Child Development. Gage Smith of Racine for Leadership, Personal Development and Rabbits. Elizabeth Teaford of Portland for Citizenship & Community Service.
Meigs County 4-H is proud to be represented by the following teens who were selected as the county nominees: Ashley Buchanan of Racine for Meat Goat. Jesse Morris for Poultry. Laura Pullins of Long Bottom for Dairy and Clothing & Textiles. Gage Smith for Gardening & Horticulture and Citizenship & Community Service. Elizabeth Teaford for Leadership, Food & Nutrition, Shooting Sports, Personal Development, Rabbits and Family Life & Child Development.

Youth completing Achievement Records can also be nominated for several State honors, and Meigs County was well represented there as well. Jesse Morris was the county nominee for the Ohio Township Association Award. Laura Pullins was the nominee for the National 4-H Dairy Conference with Taylor Parker being named alternate in the category. Finally, Elizabeth Teaford was the county nominee for State Junior Fairboard, which serves at the Ohio State Fair. Elizabeth was one of five young ladies in the state to interview for a position on the board at last weekend’s Ohio 4-H Conference.

Ohio 4-H announced state winners earlier this week and we are proud to report that Gage Smith has been named the state winner in the Gardening & Horticulture category. Gage will be representing Ohio at the National 4-H Conference in Georgia this fall. Meigs County 4-H is proud of all of our teens who submitted Achievement Records in 2016. We look forward to honoring these teens, and all of our outstanding 4-H members, during the Jr Fair Awards Program during this year’s Meigs County Fair. For those younger members who are thinking of opportunities that may be available to them, start early! If you know a young person who would like to be involved in the Meigs County 4-H program, please contact Michelle Stumbo, Meigs County 4-H Educator, at 740-992-6696 or [email protected]. Enrollments are due April 4th, so don’t wait to start YOUR 4-H career!