4-H Members are Geared Up for a Busy Summer

“The Great Outdoors!” was the theme for the 2014 4-H Multi-county 4-H Camp. Hopkins County sent nineteen 4-H members and leaders to this fun camp. We generally have the largest group of any county there, and our kids bring home lots of awards! Big thanks go to Jeremy Bridges, Billy Branch, and Ruthie Mayers for assisting Mario and me with the shooting sports and sewing workshops! Other workshops included Outdoor First Aid, Ropes Course, Biologist Skills, Water Conservation, and Canoeing/Kayaking.

Several Hopkins County 4-H members came home with camp awards. They are:

· Talent Show Choreographed Routine – Eric Bridges

· Outdoor First Aid – Eric Bridges

· Rookie Camper – Zia Miller

· Out of the Shell campers – Honesty Bridges, Eric Bridges

· Blue Team – Ki Northcutt

· Pink Team – Elida Miller

These kids were selected out of over 70 campers, so congratulations to each of them! Others attending the camp from Hopkins County were: Morgan Mayers (group teen leader), Jace Mayers, Joel Villarino, Savannah Allen, Geoffrey Stewart, Hayden Burnett, Kassie Northcutt, Wesley McDonald and Blaine Allen. We had a good group of well-behaved, responsible kids!

That group is back home now, and several of them dashed home to do laundry and to re-pack for the 4-H Exchange trip to Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The group left Friday, July 11 and will make several stops along the way to visit sites of history and fun. In order to qualify for the Exchange trip, interested 4-H members had to complete an application listing their 4-H projects, leadership, and reason for wanting to participate in the exchange trip. Eight were selected, and many fund raisers took place in order to raise funds for the excursion. Among the fund raisers were: silent auction, cake walk at Reilly Springs Jamboree, Beans & Cornbread supper and live auction, Pet Show, Carnival, “Kiss the Pig”, two rummage sales, I-HOP give-back day and numerous bake sales. We also want to thank the individuals, businesses, and organizations who donated additional funds and items for host home bags.

The itinerary for the Exchange trip included stops in Little Rock, Arkansas and Tunica, Mississippi on Friday. On Saturday, the group planned visits to Memphis, Tennessee to see Mud Island, the Peabody Hotel Ducks, eat barbeque on the famous Beale Street, and travel on to St. Louis, Missouri for the night. Sunday’s agenda will include a visit to the Arches of America, a riverboat ride on the Mississippi, and travel to Chicago, Illinois to ride a ferry over to Michigan. If time allows, they hope to visit a lighthouse in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, where they will spend the third night.

The group will arrive in Eau Claire on Monday, July 14, and will spend the week in host homes for the next few days. Some of the activities while in Eau Claire include a visit to the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, Governor’s Hall, Chippewa River float, Exotics Farm Tour, Farmer’s Market, Castle Rock Dairy, Sunbow Farm for seminar on Permaculture, Chippewa Valley Museum, Paul Bunyan Logging Camp tour, Chippewa Valley Technical College Fire and Safety Center, Altoona County Park – Ski Sprites exhibition, Gemini Drive-In movie, and hands-on rocket building and launching.

The Hopkins County group will depart Eau Claire on Thursday, July 17 and travel to the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area for a visit to Loring Park and the American Swedish Museum. Alexandria, Minnesota is next on the stop where they will spend the night and visit the “Big Ole Viking” statue, time permitting. Stops on July 18th include Wahpeton, North Dakota/Abercrombie Fort, Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take photos at the Falls, then Sioux City, Iowa for a visit to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. They will spend the night in St. Joseph, Missouri.

July 19th will include a stop at the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, and then on to Goessel, Kansas for the Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church and Wheat Museum. They will then travel to Oklahoma City for a visit to the Cowboy Hall of Fame and dinner at Eskimo Joe’s in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The last stop on the trip is Sulphur Springs, Texas, arriving approximately 10:30 to 11:00 p.m.!

This Exchange trip is a wonderful experience! The uniqueness of the trip is multiplied when you see the participants – four sets of siblings! Participants are Jace & Morgan Mayers, Ki and Kassie Northcutt, Wesley and Katelyn McDonald, and Jake and Josh Couch. Chaperones for the trip are Margarett McDonald, Ruthie Mayers, Mario Villarino, and our own local news correspondence, Bobby McDonald. Be sure to check www.Frontporchnewstexas.com and the Front Porch News Texas Facebook page for daily coverage! Please pray for safe travels and health for this group.

Closing Thought

Critics can be some of your best teachers – claim your inner champion, don’t give up, and strive for excellence – Emmitt Smith

Johanna Hicks
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Family & Consumer Sciences
1200-B W. Houston
P.O.Box 518
Sulphur springs, TX 75483
903-885-3443 – phone
903-439-4909 – Fax
[email protected]