Florida 4-H News Room: 4-H News from Around the State

GAINESVILLE, FL - After an extensive national search, Florida 4-H is pleased to announce that Sarah Hensley has accepted the position of Youth Curriculum and Evaluation State Specialized Extension Agent. Sarah previously served as the regional specialized 4-H agent to the central extension district.   Previous statewide duties included healthy living projects, Cloverbud programming for 5-7 year olds, and serving as the program chair for Florida 4-H University. As program chair for Florida 4-H University Sarah helped lead the program into it’s current workforce preparation focus. As the new Youth Curriculum and Evaluation State Specialized Extension Agent, Sarah will provide statewide leadership for the design, adaptation, implementation, and evaluation of 4-H educational programs and curricula that support Extension faculty, staff, and volunteers in carrying out the mission of the UF/IFAS Extension 4-H Youth Development Program. ...

Florida 4-H welcomes new State 4-H Citizenship and Leadership Coordinator. Grace Carter grew up in the Florida 4-H Program in Duval and Nassau Counties. She participated in a medley of 4-H events such as county fairs, public speaking, county and district councils, the Florida 4-H Executive Board, and state events. After graduating high school, Ms. Carter worked at 4-H Camp Cherry Lake for four summers. Currently, she is working on a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in International Affairs at the University of North Florida.  Grace’s first day as State 4-H Citizenship and Leadership Coordinator is October 5th, 2015.

Five outstanding individuals who exemplify the spirit of 4-H take their rightful place in the Florida 4-H Hall of Fame. Mr. Terry Stout, Ms. Frances Dianne Spann, Ms. Shirley Risser, Mr. Barry Hoffman, and Dr. Bobby Damron are honored as members of the Florida 4-H Hall of Fame for their contribution to the 4-H program.

As Kalan Taylor talked about agri-business in Sumter County last week, she hoped it would inspire some of the young people in her audience to pursue a career in agriculture. Taylor, the 4-H agent with the UF/IFAS Sumter County Extension Offices, spends much of her time sharing the history, present and future of agriculture with Sumter County youth. During the first “Fresh from Sumter County” Ag Awareness Camp, more than a dozen children and teens traveled the county for a firsthand look at local agriculture. Taylor and Martha Maddox, the family and consumer science agent for UF/IFAS Sumter County Extension, led the tours. Taylor’s goal was to show the children the diversity of agriculture and let them know there are thousands of careers available in the agriculture field. “It’s not necessary to be a farmer or raise livestock to work in the field,” Taylor said. “In fact, there are more than 25,000 careers listed in the agriculture field.” Acco...

Florida 4-H welcomes Chris DeCubellis as our new Associate Program Leader for 4-H Youth Development! Chris joins State 4-H Headquarters from Gilchrist County where he has maintained a strong track record as a County Agent and an admirable passion for 4-H and for all youth.  Chris brings ideas for helping strengthen Florida 4-H programs and reach in both rural and urban areas.  He will officially begin in this new role on July 1, 2015. 

RCFJAS 4-H Club St. Lucie County, Florida Contributing Author:  Linda Jones https://www.facebook.com/RCFJAS4HSTEM Jubilee Clark, Nathaniel Quirion and Zoe Barbeau in the Statistics scene from the 2014 annual RCFJAS 4H Science Fair Boot Camp skit at the Savannas Preserve State Park Education Center. Photo Credit: Erin Barbeau Zoe Barbeau has earned Congress’ highest award for youth – the Congressional Award Gold Medal. Congressman Patrick E. Murphy presented Zoe and 21 other young people of the Florida 18th Congressional District with their gold medals, the most medals earned for any C ongressional District in the nation in 2015. The Congressional Award is a voluntary, non-competitive program, open to young Americans, of any gender, race, academic or athletic ability, or socioeconomic background. The Congressional Award has no minimum grade point average requirements. It accommodates young people with special needs or disabilities who are willing to take the ...

FANNING SPRINGS, Fla.-- A young North Central Florida girl is using her experience with animals to help a friend in need.   Regan Varnes is a 4th grader at Chiefland Elementary School and is a part of the Kountry Bumpkins 4-H group. She is raising a pig called Socks, as part of a project. After hearing her friend was suffering from cancer, she decided to give all the money she would make from auctioning off her pig to help her friend. Once she announced this. some people in the Tri-County community rallied behind her.   "It was humbling," said Karen Tillis, one of the people at the auction who bought into Socks. "I thought that it was amazing how our community came together to support this little girl."   The sale for Regan's pig will be kept open for donations until the end of the auction on Friday.   This story was originally published at: http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2015/03/young-girl-sells-pig-help-friend-suffering-cancer ...

4-H has always taught life skills to youth, and it all began with agriculture. Florida 4-H began as a program to teach farming methods to rural youth and became a community-based program that taught millions of young Floridians how to “Learn By Doing”.  “Agriculture is firmly cemented in the foundation of Florida 4-H and thanks to the resources of the University of Florida IFAS Extension and a nationwide network of extension professionals, agriculture remains an important part of Florida 4-H programming.” Shaumond Scott, State 4-H Communications Coordinator. In 1909, UF Dean of Agriculture J.J. Vernon organized corn clubs for boys in Alachua, Bradford and Marion counties.   Clubs for girls followed in 1912.   After 1915, Florida A&M University directed a program for African American youth.   The clubs were part of a national movement that became known as 4-H and is now one of the largest youth organizations in the country.   4-H o...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida Dean and Director for Extension Nick Place announced Tuesday that Professor Michael Gutter has been promoted to associate dean and state program leader for 4-H Youth Development, Families and Communities within the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Gutter, who has been serving as interim program leader for the Family and Consumer Sciences Initiative, will officially begin in this new role Feb. 6. “Michael Gutter has had overwhelming support from many of our faculty through this search process and I am highly confident in his visionary leadership for this critical position in UF/IFAS Extension,” Place said in an announcement to faculty and staff. “He has a strong passion for youth, families and communities, which came out clearly in his interview. He sees many opportunities where we will be able to grow and strengthen these Extension programs across the state in both rural and urban areas.” Gutter has a Bachelor of Science de...