Emanuel County 4-H co-hosted 4th, 5th, and 6th grade 4-H’ers from 13 counties on March 14 for the annual Cloverleaf Project Achievement competition held at Metter Middle School. Emanuel County was represented by 23 competing 4-H’ers, six teen leaders, and 11 adult leaders.
All twenty-three of the contestants placed among the top three in their respective project area. Emanuel County’s first place winners were Alec Rhodes, 4th Grade Beef; Dawson Clements, 4th Grade Between Meal Snacks; Phoebe Daniel, 6th Grade Between Meal Snacks; Trinity Flanders, 4th Grade Cat Care; August Street, 6th Grade Current People, Places & Events; Evan Flanders, 5th Grade Earth & Space Sciences; Elic Fitzner, 5th Grade Engineering & Mechanics; Emmanuel Moran-Esparza, 5th Grade Entomology; McKenleigh Tankersley, 6th Grade Food Fare; Thorne Jersey, 4th Grade Food for Health & Sport; Elyce Gunn, 5th Grade Herpetology; Kayden Kapp, 4th Grade Historic People; Natalie Fox, 5th Grade Life Science; Natalie Smith, 4th Grade Marine & Coastal Ecology; Brooks Powell, 4th Grade Outdoor Recreation; Rayce Sheppard, 4th Grade Outdoor Survival Skills; and Karaleigh Mills, 5th Grade Veterinary Science. Second place winners were Emma Bird, 4th Grade Crafts; Dessie Singletary, 5th Grade General Recreation; Briar Marsh, 4th Grade Historic People; Nixon Marchman, 4th Grade Outdoor Survival Skills; and Preston Rowland, 5th Grade Robotics. Placing third was Caroline Williford, 5th Grade Team Sports.
Emanuel County 4-H also earned top recognition at the event, achieving 1st place for Highest Percentage of Winners with an impressive 100%, receiving the 3rd place for Most 4-H’ers Competing with 23 participants, and earning 1st place for Greatest Improvement in Participation with an increase of seven participants from the previous year. A key factor in Emanuel County’s success at this competition was the support of Ms. Amber Street, Outlook teacher at Swainsboro Elementary School, who integrated Project Achievement into her 4th and 5th grade gifted classes as part of their informational writing unit in English Language Arts. During class time, students selected and researched topics, wrote their speeches, created visual aids, and practiced public speaking skills to prepare for competition.
4-H Project Achievement competition offers something for just about everyone. From Bicycle to Workforce Preparation & Career Development, there are 63 different categories. Fifty-seven projects include oral presentations. Six projects have special presentations including three performing arts categories, a sewing presentation, and foods labs presenting a no-cook snack. 4-H’ers pick a project area of interest, research the topic, prepare a demonstration, and then share their presentation with others.
4-H provides fun, exciting, and educational events year-round for all youth in grades 4-12. For more information about the Emanuel County 4-H Club and how you can get involved, contact Emanuel County Extension by calling (478) 237-1226 or visit the office located at 129 N Anderson Drive in Swainsboro.
