Written by Aaron Gray
Denton County 4-H is gearing up for our summer events and we could not be more excited. The first event coming up is our Second Annual Denton County 4-H Dessert Auction. The proceeds from the auction will go directly to our community 4-H Clubs as well as the Denton County 4-H Council, which will be led by our new president Samantha Moody, who is a member of the Agricultural Leadership 4-H Club and a freshman at Guyer High School.
The auction items are made by 4-H Members and families and some are donated by community supporters such as; Beth Marie’s Ice Cream, Candy Haven, Cookies in Bloom, Davis Purity Bakery, McAlister’s Deli, Mom’s on Main, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Sugar Queen Cupcakes. We also had community support from the North Texas Fairgrounds and First United Bank of Krum. We would like to take this opportunity to thank this year’s auctioneer, Cory Kiefer, for donating his services and equipment.
If you are interested in attending our 4-H Dessert Auction, it will be held on Saturday May 30, at the Joseph Carrol Building located at 401 W Hickory Denton, Room 115. Viewing will start at 3 p.m. and the auction at 4 p.m. If you would like to enter a bid but cannot attend, please contact our office at 940-349-2884 or email our 4-H Administrative Assistant,[email protected] no later than Friday, May 29, at 5 p.m.
As we move into June, we gravitate more towards events that revolve around scholarships and hopefully some first place finishes for our state qualifiers. 4-H Members will turn in their record books which document their learning experiences and accomplishments for the year. These record books not only help the 4-H Members learn about establishing goals and seeing how far they have come since the beginning of the 4-H year, most “retired” 4-H Members will confess that these record books are the most complete training they ever receive on how to fill our scholarship and college applications. Here in Denton County, these record books also serve as the “application” for our county Gold Star Scholarship. Several other county awards are also based on the record books, including the Farm Bureau Award sponsored by Denton County Farm Bureau. These awards will be presented during our Gold Star Banquet later in August.
4-H Roundup will also take place June 9-11 at Texas A&M University in College Station. We have several teams and individuals who have qualified for Texas 4-H’s “Super Bowl”. The individual that may be leaving Roundup the happiest is Catherine Arndt of Marcus High School. While at Roundup, Catherine will be presented with one of the highest honors a 4-H member can attain. She will be presented with one of the very generous 4-H Foundation Scholarships. Last year our three senior members compiled $38,000 in scholarships. We wish Catherine the best of luck as she starts the next chapter in her life!
I would like to recognize two new 4-H Volunteers that have successfully proven to be passionate and successful leaders for the youth of Denton County. Kym Simonis and her family recently moved here from Tennessee and quickly volunteered to train members in the areas of Hippology and Equine Science. Her training resulted in Bobbie Wiersema, of Marcus High School, earning a $10,000 scholarship for placing third in the San Antonio Livestock Show, Horse Skillathon Contest. Also, Michelle Richey of Corinth Elementary and Lake Dallas ISD 4-H, led her robotics team to a sixth place finish at the GEAR Robotics Invitational Contest in their first year! Ms. Richey has gone above and beyond in offering the training and guidance to the members of her 4-H Club. Without these volunteers we would not be able to offer educational opportunities to the youth of Denton County.
If you have any questions about getting involved in 4-H, and the project and curriculum areas we offer, I can always be reached at [email protected], (940) 349-2884 or you can visit us at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office at 401 W. Hickory Suite 125 Denton, Texas 76201. We would love the opportunity to discuss our programs with you and your family.
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