Camp for Christmas!!

2008 Campers take some time to get to know Gimlie, one of the camp’s horses, between riding and grooming lessons.

It’s that time again!! No, not for snowflakes and Santa, but for thinking about canoes, crafts and Richmond County 4-H Camp! What better present under the tree than a week of fun and excitement this summer!! If you pay the deposit before Dec. 19th, we will make you a certificate to open (maybe wrapped inside a new sleeping bag, etc?!?)

We will be camping at Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Camp in Reidsville, NC. We will depart on Sunday, July 26th and return on Friday, July 31st, 2009.

The camp is accredited by the ACA and is staffed by trained and dedicated young men and women from across the country and around the world. Youth aged 9-14 participate in horseback riding, canoeing, archery, climbing, swimming, arts & crafts, cookouts, campfires, nature exploration, team-building, high ropes, and much more. Adventure programs offer older youth (13 and 14 year olds) opportunities to gain compass, GPS and other outdoor living skills, plus participate in rock climbing, swift water canoeing and more. All these activities help youth improve their leadership and communication skills while making new friends from across the state.

If you are interested in more information about 4-H Camp, and to pay a $50 deposit or the whole camp fee of $315, call 997-8255 or email michelle_stumbo@ncsu.edu for a copy of the camp form! You can also check out what happened at camp this year in earlier posts. There will be an opportunity to receive $50 -$100 Camp Scholarships this year, and the application will be mailed to those having paid their deposits before April 1st!!! Merry Christmas & Happy Camping!!



2008 Campers learn water safety while having fun on the lake. Older campers even get to try their hand at swift water canoeing.

Christmas Time Is Here!!

Nothing rings in the Christmas season for me than taking time to give to those who may not be as blessed as I am during this time of year. 14 Richmond County 4-H'ers & parents met last night to do just that!!

Richmond 4-H County Council members chose this year's project of giving donations to the BackPack Pals ministry. This is a program that provides backpacks with non-perishable foods to students to eat on the weekends when they may not get a good meal. The students are then responsible for returning the backpack on Monday to participate the next week. Richmond County 4-H'ers collected over 350 individual items for donation for the group!! Richmond County 4-H Livestock Club earned a pizza party at their next meeting for collecting the most items! Family & Friends 4-H Club and Animals "R" Us 4-H Club came in a very close second & third. Great job everyone!!

While we were at the office, we also took some time to write letters to go into Hero Packs, which are given to children of deployed military parents. Two letters go into each Pack, one encouraging the child and one to go to the child's serving parent. The letters will go into Hero Packs to be given out over the next few months.

If you would like more information about Hero Packs, which are a part of Operation: Military Kids, check out http://www.nc4h.org/military/index.html. For more info about the BackPack Pals Ministry, contact Michelle at the Extension Office.



Richmond County 4-H members Courtney Miller & Aaron Wiggins were two of the 4-H'ers who donated food & wrote letters for the Operation: Military Kids Program.

Rabbit & Poultry Expo Sets the Stage!

Five young members of the Animals "R" Us 4-H Club recently met at the Extension Office to show off the animals they had worked with this year. They didn't need to trailer to bring them, or even a lead rope to tie them up with though. Kaitlin Brown, Brenden Watson, Kendell Watson, Courtney Miller, and Katie Miller all participated in the Rabbit & Poultry Expo! Click here to see pictures!

Pictured are Brenden Watson, Kendell Watson (with Kaitlin Brown's chicken, Katie Miller, and Kaitlin Brown.

4-H'ers spoke with Richard Goforth, Extension's Poultry Area Agent and Tiffanee Conrad-Acuna about taking care of their animals and each animals good points and areas for improvement. They also helped the 4-H'ers with their showmanship skills in preparation for having a full Rabbit & Poultry Show next year!

We are excited about the possibility of hosting a full show, with market and showmanship class, next year! If you would like more information about showing rabbits or poultry, please call Michelle or Tiffanee at 997-8255. If you don't have an animal - don't worry - we can help with that too!

Farm-City Week Ends on a High Note!

Pictured are Mrs. Betty Wilson, Farm City Week Chairperson, Mr. Clinton McRae, Richmond County Cooperative Extension Director, and Mr. Wiley Mabe, Farm-City Banquet Speaker and local businessmen. Mr. Mabe was presented a basket of local goodies to enjoy (much better than a plaque!)

Well, another Farm-City Week has come and gone. We hope that all of you took some time to share what you are thankful for with your family and friends over the Thanksgiving Break, and that you included the great agricultural heritage that we have in this country. We wouldn't have much of anything to be thankful for without the hard work of our farmers, and definitely not the good food that we had at my house!!

We had a very eventful Farm-City Week this year, ending with a wonderful banquet at the Cole Auditorium at RCC. Extension's own Ms. Carol Capel provided the entertainment for the evening with an amazing selection of songs to get everyone thinking about what we need to be thankful for. Mr. Wiley Mabe was our keynote speaker, and he shared his thoughts about growing up in Richmond County, his time spent away from home, and his desire to return. He stated that he owes a great deal of his success to the values he learned and support he recieved from the farming community and feels a strong desire to give back to his community wherever possible. Click here to see pictures from the Banquet!

We had a great time participating in this year's Farm-City Week activities, and hope that you did too. Please mark your calendars for next year, and remember to be thankful for all we have been blessed with in Richmond County!!