By Kate Pittack/Extension 4-H Agent
What do Hamburger Festivals have to do with 4-H? Actually, quite a lot! This will be the second time that Henderson County 4-H will be making an appearance at the “Uncle Fletch Hamburger Festival” held in downtown Athens. Our team of chefs includes Callie and Cassie Turner, Colton Hemphill and our newest cook team member, Bethany Hinnant. This group of 4-Her’s also known as “The Chuck Wagon Gang” are eager to bring their burger cooking expertise to the event! They are also looking to reclaim their title of “Most Spirit”.
Along with the cook-off, we’ve got some other exciting events coming up. We are having our first 4-H robotics meeting of the year on Thursday, September 22nd. It will be held at 6 p.m. at the Henderson County Sr. Citizens Center (next to the Fair Park complex in Athens). If you are new to 4-H or even if you’re not a part of 4-H please come and join us and see what 4-H robotics is all about! We’ll also be doing some science and technology related activities this year and a plan is even in the works to visit the NASA balloon station by Palestine.
We’ve got a large group of youth who will be participating in a variety of shows at the East Texas State Fair that gets kicked off soon. 4-Her’s will be showcasing their rabbits, goats, sheep, steers and heifers. There are also many academic rodeo contests that are held in conjunction with the fair that our youth are a part of as well.
Another activity that I am excited about is National 4-H Week. It is October 2nd – 8th. We have a great group of members who are going to be doing radio spots on Lake Country 95.9 KCKL that highlight their favorite 4-H projects and what they love about the program. Be sure to tune in as our favorite DJ, Tim, helps interview our youth! We will cap off 4-H week on the 8th by volunteering at the Fall Festival out at the East Texas Arboretum.
We’ve got lots of neat workshops and activities planned for this 4-H “year”. If you are interested in joining, or would like more information we accept enrollments year round! It’s never too late to get signed up and be a part of one of our many clubs across the county. Having been a 10 year member growing up, I might be biased (and bleed green instead of red), but I think we have one of the best youth development programs around!
Kate Pittack is the Henderson County Extension Agent – 4-H & Youth Development for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Contact her at: [email protected] & visit our webpage at http://henderson.agrilife.org