Illinois 4-H'ers head to National 4-H Congress

4 from Logan County to attend

[October 21, 2009]  CHAMPAIGN -- Delegates from across the nation will gather in Atlanta, Ga., for National 4-H Congress from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1. Illinois will be represented by 31 teens, including Kristin Bishop, of Atlanta, in the curriculum area of plants and soils; Daniel Fulton, Lincoln, for environment and natural resources; Ryan Huffer, Lincoln, in personal development; and Hayden Zimmer, Lincoln, in engineering and technology.

National 4-H Congress offers states an opportunity to send outstanding 4-H youth to the event and provide them with an expanded educational experience through seminars, community service projects and tours sponsored by local and national 4-H program donors.

Hayden Zimmer	Ryan Huffer
Kristin Bishop	Daniel Fulton

Highlighting this year's event will be presentations by Dan Thurmon, Dan Clark, Dr. Barbara Chamberlin and Miss America 2009, Katie Stam, who is also a 4-H member from Indiana.

All 4-H delegates will participate in special cultural programs such as the International Dinner & Dance and a night at the Atlanta History Center. Other educational experiences for delegates during National 4-H Congress are participation in workshops focusing on cultural differences, team leadership development and the power of youth. Several delegates will have the opportunity to tour locations around Atlanta, such as CNN, the Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Aquarium, Turner Field (home of the Atlanta Braves), Cyclorama, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and more.

Accompanying this year's delegates will be chaperones Deanna Roby, Kane County unit educator in youth development; Sharlene Finegan, 4-H volunteer from Ashkum in Iroquois County; and George Gerrietts, 4-H volunteer from Green Valley in Tazewell County.

Throughout the year, over 260,000 University of Illinois Extension 4-H Youth Development participants can receive recognition for their involvement at the local, county and state level. County nominations for curriculum area winners are sent to the state selection process in January to begin an intense process that includes application judging, 4-H story judging and interviews. The process helps judges select the top 4-H members in various curriculum areas. Many of these winners are selected for a trip to the national gathering.

National 4-H Congress is conducted by Cooperative Extension Service staff on behalf of the Cooperative Extension System of the state land-grant universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

[Text from file received from Amy L. Hyde, Logan County Extension Unit]