4-H celebrates youth achievements

Welcomes new executive director

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The Jefferson County 4-H celebrated the achievements of its youth during its annual “Celebrate 4-H!” awards at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Oct. 20, while bidding farewell to 4-H Coordinator Tanya Barnett and welcoming aboard new WSU Extension Director Cliff Moore.

Moore stepped into the job Sept. 16, but as he hastened to point out, he’s no stranger to Jefferson County, the Washington State University Extension office or the 4-H program.

“After 19 years with WSU Extension, I went into local government for a while, on the county and city levels, but I missed the Extension program the whole time,” Moore said. “This is a great county, and 4-H is a very diverse program that makes the lives of the community better.”

Moore cited data showing that 4-H inspires young people not only to engage in extracurricular activities, but also to graduate high school and pursue post-high school educational options, from college to career and technical education.

“4-H is one of the premier youth development programs in the nation,” Moore said.

As part of Moore’s previous stint with WSU Extension, he’d been part of establishing distance learning centers throughout the state, including Jefferson County, so he’s familiar with the community, even as the county’s population has grown since the last time he worked for WSU Extension.

“In any rural county, it’s a challenge to provide access to a quality education, health care and broadband internet,” Moore said. “In a desirable location to live such as Jefferson County, you wind up with a bifurcated existence, between those who are well-to-do and those who are struggling. It’s part of our job to help ensure those underserved populations have access to quality educational programs in their home communities.”

Moore encouraged the community’s adults to get involved in programs such as 4-H as volunteers, asserting that connections with “caring adults” will help young people become caring adults themselves.

Barnett intends to continue on with 4-H as a volunteer, but with the arrival of Moore and 4-H Regional Specialist Dr. Joy Lile, she finally feels as though she can step down from her role as 4-H coordinator.

Moving to the 4-H youth who were honored that same evening, Barnett noted that more than 2- 4-H youth from Jefferson County took part in statewide exhibits and competitions for the nearly month-long Puyallup State Fair Aug. 30 through Sept. 24.

“These youth were shining ambassadors for Jefferson County,” Barnett said. “They did our county proud! From artwork and robotics exhibits, archery and horseback competitions, and cat husbandry and public presentations, our youth brought innovation, grace and professionalism into every arena they entered.”

ARCHERY:

• Juniper Cervenka, age 14, earned three Champion placings in her age category for “Freeman Shoot - Bare Bow & Basic Compound,” “Indoor NFAA Blue Face Shoot — Bare Bow & Basic Compound” and “900 Indoor FITA Multi Color Shoot — Bare Bow & Basic Compound” classes.

• Tyler Nelson, age 17, earned three Reserve Champion placings in his age category for “Freeman Shoot — Olympic Recurve Bow Free Style,” “Indoor NFAA Blue Face Shoot — Olympic Recurve Bow Free Style,” and “900 Indoor FITA Multi Color Shoot — Olympic Recurve Bow Free Style” classes.

• Leah Ferland, age 11, earned Champion in her age category for both “Freeman Shoot — Bare Bow & Basic Compound” and “Indoor NFAA Blue Face Shoot — Bare Bow & Basic Compound” classes.

• Michaela Steiner, age 11, earned Champion in her age category for “900 Indoor FITA Multi Color Shoot — Bare Bow & Classic Compound.”

CATS:

• Layla Franson, age 12, placed seventh in the entire state for her age group for cat showmanship and her cat, Mr. Tulip, placed fourth in the state for his breed, household long-hair).

EQUINE:

• Haley Bishop, age 13, was named a Champion in her age category for in Horse Judging, placing first out of 63 other youth from across the entire state. Barnett described it as “a competition that requires excellent oral reasoning skills and knowledge of equine care and science.” This was Bishop’s very first time competing in this class. She also earned a Reserve Champion and a Silver Medal in Western Dressage Rail Equitation.

• Other 4-H youth who participated in equine classes include Cassi Ann Moore, age 17; Savanna Hoffmann, age 15; Maggie Anderson, age 12; and Joanna Seelye, age 12. Hoffmann placed eighth for the entire state in her age group’s International Flags gaming class.

PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS:

• Sam Lott, age 16; Olivia Morningstar, age 15; Melanie Bakin, age 16; and Emma Kane, age 15, all earned both Blue and Special awards for their robotics presentation.

• Other award-winning presenters included Layla Franson and Timothy Heemstra, age 13; Tristen Nielsen, age 18; Joseph Ford, age 13; and Chloe Ford, age 12. Marciana Heemstra, Timothy’s mom, recounted how he gave his informative speech on “Space Junk” at the State Fair.

“The judge and audience were amazed at all the facts and the very real danger space junk poses, and they asked really great follow-up questions,” Marciana Heemstra said. “Timothy thoroughly enjoyed the big fair atmosphere, especially the roller coaster and dart games. It was a great memory made for the whole family.”

ROBOTICS:

• The 4-H/FIRST robotics team, the Roboctopi, hosted multi-robot, hands-on demonstrations throughout the day on Sept. 7, which drew in families from across the state.