St. Charles 4-H members participate at 4-H University

Six take home the blue ribbon after placing among the top 12 in the state

Every June hundreds of 4-H members gather in Baton Rouge at the Louisiana State University campus to participate in the annual LSU AgCenter’s 4-H University, formerly known as 4-H Short Course.

4-H members look forward to attending the annual three-day event where they reside on the LSU campus, compete in over 40 different project related statewide contests, participate in interactive educational programs, and establish friendships that last a lifetime with people throughout Louisiana.

This year was like no other as State 4-H President Jonas Augustine from Destrehan High School led 2,000 people, including 4-H’ers, adult leaders, volunteers, agents, parents and friends, in celebrating 100 years of 4-H in Louisiana at the 94th annual 4-H University.

On June 17-20, ten St. Charles Parish 4-H’ers competed in state contests ranging from fashion review to ATV safety.

Six of the ten contestants placed among the top 12 in the state in their category and recieved a blue ribbon.

With her natural ability to communicate effectively, Courtney Rachal of Luling placed 12th in Public Speaking. LeAnna Wilson of Ama and Jasden Williams of Hahnville sang their way to victory as they placed 9th in the “4-H Has Talent” competition.

For two days Ebonie Cooper of Hahnville, Jarvis Lewis of Luling, and Raven Scott of Boutte worked together as a team to create and present an organized and informative PowerPoint presentation based on a given situation, and took 6th place in the state.

Other contestants from St. Charles Parish include the following: Jintrell Tassara of St. Rose – ATV; Kelsey McGill of Luling – Fashion Review (Creative Choice); and Jonas Augustine of St. Rose and Justin Villers of Norco – Sports Broadcasting.

While some 4-H’ers competed in contests, others participated in a program called Clover College, which consisted of eight different areas of educational activities.

With this being its fifth year in existence, Clover College allows 4-H’ers to experience 4-H University without enduring the pressure of competition.

Seventeen individuals from St. Charles Parish participated in various categories of Clover College as follows: Michelle Bourgeois and Cody Duhe – Camp Counselor; Leah Alday, Allison Dukes, Teri Linton, Daniel Morgan, Keaton Northington, and – Dramatic Arts; Ryan Costa and Terry Gullage – Exploring the World of Sports; Heather Bergeron, Nikeo Brown, Victoria Caldarera, and Payton Harrison – Forensics: A Clue and a Crime; Perry Macaluso and Rachel Tastet – Make Your Health Rock; and George Hill – Sportsman’s Paradise.

St. Charles Parish truly shined at the evening assemblies held in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Villers captured the crowd’s attention as he played his saxophone with style on Tuesday night. Augustine provided the entertainment on Wednesday night by singing and bid farewell and good luck his fellow peers on Thursday evening as the outgoing state 4-H president.

As a 2007-2008 National 4-H Conference Delegate, McGill introduced the incoming 2008-2009 National 4-H Delegates.

Scott from Hahnville High School was also recognized to serve on the State 4-H Executive Committee as the newly elected regional representative for the South Central/Crescent Region. This will be Scott’s second consecutive year serving as a regional representative.

The LSU AgCenter of St. Charles Parish would like to thank the following volunteers who assisted during 4-H University: Andy Alday, Dee McGill, and Mamie McMillion.

The St. Charles 4-H members were sponsored by the United Way of St. Charles and the St. Charles 4-H Foundation.

For information on the 4-H Club program, contact David Pichon or Kali Boudreaux at 985-785-4473.

Submitted by Kali Bouudreaux.