Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2C
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2011
What 4-H means to me... continued from page 1C
“I love spending time with the youth and becom
ing a role model to them,” she said. “Nothing is
better than a younger 4-H’er coming up to me
and telling me how I have made a positive impact
on their life. When I was a sixth grader, Caroline
Black was a Teen Leader for one of my Cloverleaf
camps at Rock Eagle. She explained to me what
State Congress was —the second level of DPA —
and that if you win State Congress you become a
Master 4-H'er. I longed for this accomplishment.
When I was a junior in high school I won District
and had the chance to attend State Congress; I only
placed third, but I didn’t give up. So this past year I
attended State Congress. It was my senior year, my
last chance before I went off to college, and I won.
I became a Master 4-H’er.”
Caroline Black and Becca Bryan, two 4-H'ers
a few years older than Ella, “brought me out of
my shell and helped shape and mold me to be the
person I am today.”
She also names Shannon Smith, Andrea
Dorsey, Penni Tench and Wanda McLocklin as
influences in her 4-H experience.
“(4-H) did make me more outgoing and showed
me that anything is possible and when I put my
mind to something it can happen,” Ella said. “In
college it’s a whole different ballfield, and the fact
that I was involved in 4-H allows me to be more
open and well-minded. The other day I was walk
ing through the campus of Georgia Southern, and a
girl whom I met through 4-H was walking by and
stopped me. It feels good to know that she remem
bered me and wanted to talk to me.”
Ella said she would recommend 4-H Club to a
younger person “because it will be the best experi
ence that they can possibly do in their life. They
will make lifelong friends and (learn) lessons that
no other club can teach them. Not to mention the
activities that 4-H offers are the BOMB! 4-H will
give them chances to do things that they might nor
mally not have the chance to do, and will expand
their horizons.”
Caroline Black
Caroline Black, Commerce, attended Commerce
Elementary School, Commerce Middle School
and Jackson County
Comprehensive High School.
She was involved with 4-H
Club from 1998 to 2007.
“My mother, Lydia Black,
was an extension agent after
she graduated from UGA,”
Caroline said. “I grew up on
my family’s beef cattle farm
and began showing steers and
heifers in the fourth grade.
This was my first 4-H experience.
Caroline showed steers and heifers, competed in
District Project Achievement (DPA) and served as
a county (County Council), district and state officer
(North District Junior Board 2002-2003, Northeast
District Senior Board 2004-2005, State 4-H Board
2005-2006).
In 2006, she became a Master 4-H’er through
winning the State 4-H Beef Project at State 4-H
Congress. She lists those as highlights of her 4-H
experience.
Caroline names the people who helped her
the most in 4-H as her 4-H agents, Mark Shirley,
Wanda McLocklin, Marica Allen, Shannon Smith
and Penni Tench.
“These individuals were always there to lend a
helping hand, drive the 4-H van, make DPA posters
or simply have some fun at a 4-H County Council
meeting,” she said. “My parents, Gary and Lydia
Black have also been lifelong supporters of 4-H
and extension.”
Being involved in 4-H Club helped shape
Caroline’s life path.
BLACK
“I have always known I would work in agricul
ture,” she said. “As a young 4-H member, I quickly
gained an appreciation and passion for our food
and fiber industry. I am now a graduate student
at Texas A&M University studying agricultural
communications. This chapter in my life would
not have been possible had I not learned to feel
comfortable ‘outside of the box’ many years ago as
a 4-H’er running for board or traveling to a confer
ence or camp.”
When asked why she would recommend 4-H to
young people, Caroline said: “4-H offers a wide
variety of opportunities for students to get involved
in their communities. It encourages students to be
responsible citizens, give to charities and always
lend a helping hand. ‘To make the best better’ is
4-H’s motto. Georgia 4-H has a deep heritage, dat
ing back to the early 1900s. I chose to make the
best better through serving the agricultural industry.
There is a place for everyone.”
Shea Corley
Shea Corley, 11, is a student at West Jackson
Middle School and has been involved with the
“Love of Llamas” 4-H club program since the start
of fifth grade.
“Through the years, I have been making new
friends and have made a close bond with the llamas
and have sprouted from my shell,” Shea said. “I
joined Llama Club when my BFFL (Best Friend
For Life) asked me to participate in a friend day
where I got to do and see what the Llama 4-Her’s
did daily. I couldn’t stay away from the llamas and
signed some paperwork and began to go to 4-H reg
ularly. On these club days, I scooped llama manure
(or, as we call them, beans), do obstacles and feed
and groom llamas. I am now on my second year,
having fun, doing community events and starting
my very first show.”
Harold Jarrett
Harold Jarrett, Jefferson, was a student in the
Jefferson City School System and was involved in
4-H Club from 1964 to 1972.
“The county agent, Spud Welbom, came to our
school and talked about 4-H Camp and an array of
interesting projects,” he said. “The camp sounded
great, of course, but so did the Tractor Project (since
my dad had bulldozers). Mr. Welbom, Jana Guy,
Willie Nell Garrett, Dan Gunnels and, of course,
Pat Bell provided a progression of leadership over
the years that made 4-H fun, and created a very
successful program in Jackson County. Of course,
Pat Bell was the best known leader we had, but our
volunteer leaders made a huge difference in our
experience. Jean Booth and Margaret Ward were
tireless supporters of our 4-H program throughout
all those years.”
Jarrett participated in a range of 4-H proj
ects, including Tractor, Gardening, Photography,
Business, Rifle and Electronics and said they were
“fun, challenging and a creative outlet.”
“The years of going to camp, participating in
competitions, and even becoming a 4-H Camp
counselor were a great focus for me, and a lot of
my friends on through our teen years,” he said.
“Winning the Electronics competition resulted in a
scholarship from Georgia Power for my first year’s
tuition at Georgia Tech.”
Jarrett said 4-H provided an opportunity to meet
other motivated kids from all over the state, and
eventually across the nation.
“I learned how to stand up and give a presen
tation to a room full of strangers, and that skill,
learned early, is immensely important in my every
day business,” he said. “I learned to work hard
for a desired result, and to be a good winner and
loser. The 4-H Electronics project set my path for
a lifetime, as I’m still deeply involved in electronics
with our business.”
“Over the last few years. I’ve gone to Rock
Eagle to support my sons’ 4-H competitions,’ he
added. “When the day is done, and the competi
tions are over, the kids all gather in the giant audito
rium there, to hear the announcement of the project
winners. When I stand there in that auditorium, and
look at over 1,000 energetic, bright-eyed kids who
have worked hard to be there, I am deeply moved.
Those kids could have stayed home to watch TV
like most of their classmates; but all these 4-Hers
got up early on that Saturday morning, after weeks
of working on their displays, and after many prac
tice speeches, to gather at Rock Eagle to excel, to
push back their limits, and to show what they can
do when given the chance. Leading and support
ing these kids is enormously important, because
they are leaders today, and will be business and
community leaders in the future. The 4-H program
gives these kids an incredible advantage in their
lives.
"To parents of elementary and middle schoolers,
I’d say that the 4-H program offers a terrific growth
path for their kids, in a safe environment, with an
outstanding history of achievement and leadership
outcomes. We have to remember that our kids will
find something to belong to, and belonging to 4-H
is as good as it gets.”
Greg and Gena Tyler
Greg and
GREG
TYLER
Gena Tyler,
Hoschton, were both
involved in 4-H Club grow
ing up, from fifth grade on,
he in Wilkes County and
she in Effingham County.
Both were active in colle
giate 4-H at UGA. Greg got
involved because he wanted
to be involved in showing
and judging livestock, and
Gena’s mother was a 4-H
GENA
TYLER
extension agent.
Greg was on the Livestock
and Dairy judging teams, par
ticipated in District and State
Project Achievement in the
Dog Care and Training proj
ect — he won the state title
in all three areas — and was
4-H Camp counselor at Rock
Eagle and Tybee Island. He
was selected to attend National
4-H Conference as a collegiate
4-H’er. He was the Muskogee Chief at Rock Eagle
4-H Center and was head counselor the following
year.
Gena was involved in the Foods and Nutrition
projects — she won the state title — and land judg
ing and was a 4-H Camp counselor at Rock Eagle
and Jekyll Island. She was the Shawnee Princess at
Rock Eagle 4-H Center.
Greg named his county agents, Susan Branan
and Carl Tankersly, and his parents as being the
most influential in his 4-H experience. Gena named
her county agent, Beth Epling, and her parents.
“4-H gave us both excellent public speaking
skills and experiences that helped us to become
better leaders,” the Tylers said. “It also taught us
citizenship and to get involved in your community.
In addition, it guided us both into our career choices
— Greg into international trade of food products
and Gena to working with children.”
They added: “4-H allows you to make friends
that will last for a lifetime, both in your community
and around the state of Georgia. It gives you the
opportunity to travel around the state and nation
to participate in various competitions. 4-H allows
you to grow as a person and to have experiences of
a lifetime.”
Friends of Braselton-West Jackson Library plan membership drive
THE FRIENDS of the
Braselton-West Jackson Library
will hold its annual member
ship drive on Sunday, Oct. 16,
from 4-6 p.m., at the Braselton
Library.
The group will honor
Diane Lemaster for her long
time service to the Friends,
the Braselton Library and to the
entire West Jackson community.
Light refreshments and an
afternoon of music played by
harpist Elizabeth Bennett will be
featured.
For more information, contact
Judee McMurdo at 706-654-4822
or judeemc@windstream.net.
4-H is... cont’d from 1C
•County Council: next informational meeting
4-5 p.m. Oct. 12 at the 4-H office for all 4-H ages.
For transportation from school, call 706-367-6344
at least two days before the meeting. Michael
Anderson will be the guest speaker, explaining
how Jackson County 4-H’ers can be involved in
the Poultry Fanciers Association.
•And more: 4-H Club also includes a BB Gun
Team (all slots filled for this year), Challenge
Bowl, Project Achievement, Leadership and
Citizenship, Community Service, Livestock Show
Team, Poultry Judging, curriculum on healthy
lifestyles and more. 4-H Club is introduced in fifth
grade at every school in Jackson County.
•Coming up: Future plans for 4-H include
developing a Robotics Team for grades nine
through 12; a Poultry Fanciers Club for all ages to
show chickens; and a .22 Rifle Team for past BB
team members and those in grades nine through
12.
Memory cont’d from 1C
scious, purposeful, destructive act. It was (I
think) mid-afternoon on a hot day. I was in my
cot against my wishes, but could not get out, and
I recall my mother’s voice mixed with the voices
of visitors coming from the cool of the verandah,
and I remember having been scolded (for not
sleeping? for whining instead of playing?) I can
not remember why, I only remember a sense of
injustice at having to be there, and an awareness
of deliberate disobedience in putting crayons
into my mouth. It was a protest, I was aware of
feeling hard-done-by. My age? I cannot say, but
I suspect I was too young to get out of my cot
unaided. — Male, 69, Australian
Being Read To On My Mother’s Lap
I remember the warm and the closeness of
sitting on her lap, with her arms around me, and
looking at the book as she read to me. I remem
ber the feeling of comfort, of being loved and
feeling secure. - Male, 50, English
Eating Worms
I was three years old and we had just moved
to a new house with a bigger garden. I had
been playing in the garden and had found some
worms. I wanted to make a sandwich, so I
reached up to the breadbin, which was quite a
struggle and took two slices of bread. I was wor
ried that I would get caught as I wasn’t supposed
to take food without permission. I took the slices
into the driveway on the side of the house and ate
my worm sandwich. It didn’t taste too bed, but it
was incredibly gritty! - Female, 37, Welsh
Lost On Ship
On a ship bound for Canada in 1953 aged
approx. 18 months. With my elder brother then
aged about 3 yrs., we were at a party with jelly
being served in white and blue wavy edged
paper rectangular dishes. Then we couldn’t find
our way back to our cabin, and I recall being
dragged around corridors. On the same trip, (not
sure if before the tea party or after it), I recall in a
play room getting in a squabble with a boy who
wanted to take a dinky toy pale blue car with dark
blue mudguards from me. I recall the fringe of a
dress and a woman who spoke crossly and took
the toy from me and, gave it to the other boy. -
Male, 57, English
Burying Toys In The Desert
My parents took me on a 10-month trip across
Africa in a landrover and I remember burying
some of my toy cars in the Sahara desert and
thinking that I would come back and find them
when I got older. - Male, 38, English
So, I (Female, 42, American) can remember
my surroundings from when I was 2, but nowa
days I may find myself not remembering why I
am standing in the kitchen. Umm, what was it I
was going to do?
Sad, but I guess that’s a whole other column.
Jana Adams Mitcham is features editor of The
Jackson Herald.
O
Headmaster’s
Corner
by
Steve Cummings
OUT OF THIS WORLD A
new observatory recently
opened in the Chilean Andes.
This observatory boasts a $1.3
billion telescope that can take
images of galaxies 70 million
light-years from earth.
In Genesis we learn that God
made the stars and placed them
in the heavens. Psalms tells us
that God calls each star by
name.
How many galaxies are there
in 70 million light-years of
space? Or, how many more
beyond that? At ACS we teach
that only a sovereign Creator
could have formed the galaxies
and placed each one in orbit. It
takes faith to believe this, but it
also takes faith to believe they
formed any other way.
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
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JACKSON COUNTY
AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Friday October 7 th , 10:00 AM
Ole Mill Village next to Johnny's Pizza Prizes
OO . £ 944 Lee Street
A 09^' Jefferson, GA
706-387-0033
Refreshments!
Bounce House!
§te<&y October 22P d
10:00 m trotil 8:00 pm
Party Supplies
Balloons
Themed Seasonal