Clark County 4-H Leadership Clubs attend national conference

Published 11:42 am Wednesday, October 5, 2016

By Rachel E. Noble, Clark 4-H Youth Development Agent

Clark County 4-H was well represented at the 2016 Southern Region Teen Leadership Conference in Crossville, Tennessee Sept. 22-25. Members of the Teen Leadership Club share their experience below:

Megan Riley: “SRTLC was an amazing opportunity to be immersed in so many cultures! I had never realized how unique each state was from events like Pride of the States, Taste of the States, talking with other delegates throughout the southern region and dancing. For example, at the dances we all danced to ‘Cotton-Eyed Joe’ every state had a different style to the dance. My favorite workshop was Leadership through Swing Dancing, going from partner to partner, meeting new people and being spun around the dance floor was so much fun and something I had never done before.”

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Carlee Franklin: “The Southern Region Teen Leadership Conference was so fun! It was held at the Crossville, Tennessee, 4-H Camp, and 4-H’ers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas were at the conference. There we learned about being leaders, met a lot of new people, and we got a taste of different cultures from the south. My favorite part of the conference was the backpack program we did for foster children. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to impact a child’s life and maybe give them hope for a better life.”

Abigail Dittrich: “SRTLC is a three-day conference that takes place in Crossville, Tennessee. It is filled with fun workshops and events. There are plenty of different options for the workshops, you could learn anything from how to make quick healthy snacks to line dancing, helping veterans and helping your community. One of the service projects we did was loading all 380 of us in to a bus driving down to Walmart where we divided into groups and shopped for foster children. After that we went to the local theatre and watched a play, ‘The Secret Garden.’ It was a very fun and educational weekend and I can’t wait to go next year.”

Clay Comer: “What I enjoyed most about my time at SRTLC was meeting all sorts of new people from all across the South. Also, I learned about how other states’ officers did their jobs and about their election processes. On top of that, I learned more about teen leadership across Kentucky in a class called ‘Leadership in the Bluegrass.’ SRTLC was a great networking and learning opportunity and I’m glad I was able to attend.”

Emily Dittrich: “This year at SRTLC was my last year, and it was a blast! I had lots of fun attending workshops, participating in a community service project and watching ‘The Secret Garden’ at a theater. My favorite part was the Pride of the States, this is where you get to show off what projects are going on in your state. All of this, and of course superb food, was a bittersweet way to wrap up my final year at SRTLC.”

Hayden Turley: “On the SRTLC trip, I learned a lot about Kentucky leadership, but specifically in the ‘Leadership of the Bluegrass’ workshop. We were taught about the officer and district/state council positions and how you receive the positions. I also did some fun workshops like line dancing. I learned a lot of new dances, and old ones, but relearned them the ways that other states did. This trip let me experience a lot of new things, meet new people, and I definitely can’t wait until next year.”

Sydney Miller: “Attending SRTLC taught me new skills I never thought about having before. From learning how to make an omelet in a bag to swing dancing we did it all. My favorite part about SRTLC was the first day when we split into groups and I got to meet people from Florida to Texas. Another great part was the dance on the first night, it was so fun and I got to talk to a girl from Georgia about how 4-H is different than in Kentucky. After learning about 4-H in other states I realized that 4-H is diverse. I hope to attend next year and experience it all over again.”

Courtney Francis: “The best part of Southern Region Teen Leadership Conference for me was getting to learn about other states 4-H and their programs and activities. I am very excited to bring back the skills that I learned while at the conference, I will use these skills to help me to teach others how to be better leaders in our community and world.”

If you or someone you know might be interested in unique opportunities like the 4-H Southern Region Teen Leadership Conference, contact the Clark County Extension Office at 744-4682.