Time for The Teens!

Well, it took me a few days to recover from the late, fun night enough to write this, but the South Central District 4-H'ers met recently at Teen Retreat in Moore County. The county was again a wonderful host to around 100 youth and adults from the 15 county district as they met to conduct business and have fun. This year's District Officers; Nick Clegg President from Moore County, Kelli Hateley Vice President from Stanley County, Allen Monk Reporter from Bladen County, and Ashley Willams Secretary from Cumberland County, lead the meeting.


Richmond County 4-H'ers Nathan Ezzell, Grayson McQueen, Courtney Miller, Logan Northcutt and Sarah Tyler then spread out and attended workshops on scrapbooking, Introduction to the Ambassador program, Botanical Prints, Vermicomposting, and Breaking the Ice: an Introduction to Ice breakers. The workshops were fun, educational and gave the 4-H'ers a chance to meet people from across the district.

After the workshops, everyone loaded up for the short trip to Moore County First Health's fitness center for some swimming and recreation. After everyone dried off, it was time for our district Service Learning project of writing letters for the Operation military Kid program. This programs give Hero packs to children of deployed military parents. Inside each Hero pack is a letter to the military parent and child to thank them for their service and for sharing their lives with the country.

Once all the letters had been written & dinner eaten, it was time for Officer Campaigns. Richmond County was well represented this year with two of our Outstanding 4-H'ers running for district office. Nathan Ezzell ran for Vice President with a campaign slogan of "Come Roll With Me" and Courtney Miller ran for Reporter amongst the flashes of cameras, mostly her own. After a tough night of campaigning and answering questions about their background, opinions and activities, everyone waltzed into the main room for the Dance.

Everyone was up early on Sunday morning & ready to complete the county skits, chants and generally show good 4-H Spirit! After the votes were tallied, the new district officers were announced. Dixie Acorn from Hoke County will be President, Luke Hill from Bladen County will be Vice President, Courtney Miller from Richmond County will be Reporter and Ryan Fairley from Scotland County will be Secretary. After what had to be a very difficult discussion about the great attitudes showed throughout the weekend, Bladen County was awarded the District Spirit Stick for 2009.

Thanks for everyone who went or supported those attending! Don't forget that we will be conducting our Summer Fun Volunteer Training at the next County Council meeting on April 28th. Come hungry, we'll have pizza! Check here for pictures of the weekend!

Here They Come Again!

For the second time this year, something special is growing in my office, and in 23 classrooms in Richmond County! No - it's not mold - it's baby chickens! Teachers and students at Mineral Springs, Washington Street and West Rockingham Elementary Schools are getting their chance to participate in the 4-H Embryology Project!



The growing embryos are on about Day 14/15 of their development. By this point, the embryos are taking up more and more of the egg and have absorbed nearly all of the albumen (or white/clear stuff in the egg). They have feathers over their body & now begin to "look" like a baby chick.

Students have been taking very good care of the eggs, which includes turning the eggs everyday, making sure there is water in the incubator, recording temperature and humidity, and making sure that the incubators is out of direct drafts. We are visiting the classrooms to practice safe handwashing with the 1st graders and chat with the 2nd graders about general agriculture before the babies arrive.

You can check out pictures of the candled eggs be clicking here! We'll be sure to add some more pictures when the babies arrive, which should be about this time next week.

Happy Hatching!