CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 03/25/04

Summer gala will celebrate Georgia 4-H centennial

By Janet Rodekohr
University of Georgia

If you bleed 4-H green, you won't want to miss the 4-H Centennial Gala at the Westin Buckhead Hotel Aug. 14 in Atlanta.

Alumni, donors and friends of 4-H will celebrate 100 years of Georgia 4-H with a special evening of entertainment, a silent auction and fine dining. The 4-H Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented, too.

Georgia 4-H traces its roots to Boys' Corn Clubs in Newton County in 1904. County school superintendent G.C. Adams organized the club for 151 members in Covington, Ga. At the same time, a black teacher, P.D. Johnson, planted demonstration corn plots to teach the sons of black farmers.

Girls soon became part of garden clubs, tomato clubs and canning clubs. The 4-H name, emblem, pledge and motto all evolved from similar youth education programs nationwide over the next 10 years.

4-H became the youth program of the Cooperative Extension Service when it was begun under the Smith-Lever Act in 1914.

Big changes

"I think both Mr. Adams and Mr. Johnson would be proud of today's 4-H program. But they probably wouldn't recognize it," said Bo Ryles, state 4-H program leader with the University of Georgia Extension Service.

"4-H started out teaching farm kids how to raise crops and livestock and prepare nutritious meals. Today, Georgia's 180,000 4-H'ers come from all areas of Georgia, urban and rural," Ryles said.

"They concentrate on building life skills such as leadership, character and citizenship," he said. "Today's 4-H'ers are helping the 4-H staff, county agents and volunteers design a dynamic youth program for the second century of 4-H."

Big celebration

The Centennial Gala will feature Clovers & Co., a nationally acclaimed performing group of about 40 Georgia 4-H'ers. They will show off their musical talents singing the praises of 4-H.

Walter Reeves, Georgia gardening guru and a former 4-H'er and county extension agent, will host the special evening.

Tickets are $100. Corporate sponsors can reserve a table at the gold, silver or bronze levels. Tickets are available through the Georgia 4-H Foundation at (706) 542-8914. Or buy them on-line at www.georgia4hfoundation.org.

Big goal

Silent-auction items include guitars autographed by professional musicians, original artwork vacation packages and many others. The goal is to raise $100,000 to support 4-H scholarships, facilities and programs. Check out silent-auction items on the 4-H Foundation Web site.

To learn more about the gala or 4-H in Georgia or your county, visit the Georgia 4-H Web site at www.georgia4h.org.

(Janet Rodekohr is a news editor and marketing specialist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Janet Rodekohr is a retired news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Bo Ryles
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.