County 4-H program continues to grow

By REVIS BLAYLOCK

NEA Town Courier

Mississippi County Extension 4-H Agent Kamella Neeley is fairly new to the county and is excited to be working with the youth. 4-H is an educational program geared to meet the needs and the interest of area youth.

4H Community Club

Neeley joined the County Extension service a little over a year ago. She arrived at the end of Covid era. Due to the pandemic and the fact that many of the county 4-H youth were aging out, the numbers were low and she has been working on awareness and getting more young people involved. The age for 4-H is be-tween 5 and 19. The County Extension Service is under the umbrella of the University of Arkansas. There are 75 counties in Arkansas and everyone has a 4-H agent.

Neeley works with three other agents in the county office and partners with neighboring 4-H agents on some projects like 4-H camps, cooking classes and other beneficial and fun activities.

“The activities are so much fun, kids sometimes forget they are actually learning new things,” she said. “If there is an interest, we will try to find a program to fit. Many people associate 4-H with live-stock and that is part of it, but it is so much more.”

4-H Community Project

There is a youth leadership program that meets monthly during the school year and focuses on developing leader-ship skills. Students from all of the district schools are involved and it has been very successful. Once a month throughout the school year members are involved in workshops, special motivational speakers, and more.

Many people are not aware of what 4-H consists of. Young people can take it to the next level and receive college scholarships for their efforts. The scholarships are awarded to the college or trade school of the recipient’s choice.

Neeley is continually working on 4-H awareness through her Facebook. She has a passion for 4-H and its motto, “making the best better.”

4-H Leadership Group

Along with clubs, there is a need for volunteer adult leadership.

“Adults wanting to work in 4-H will need to attend training classes and undergo a background check,” Neeley said. “We do need invested volunteers. Working with the youth in 4-H is very rewarding.”

If there is an event anywhere in the county, Neeley does her best to be there sharing information on 4-H. Some of the projects they sponsor are specific to 4-H members and others are open to all youth in the county.

There is no charge to be part of the 4-H Clubs. Presently there is one active club, Mississippi County Community 4-H Club. Ages 5 to 8 are known as the Clover Buds. At nine years old 4-H youth start competing and may attend the County District O’Rama. Senior winners, ages 14-19 can qualify to participate in the state O’Rama.

Neeley said she especially enjoys watching the young people get involved. They learn public speaking, record keeping, code of conduct, and so much more. She had two youth qualifiers at District this year and will be attending the Dale Bumpers Career Day at the University of Arkansas.

One of the projects the community club undertook last school year was to provide water to band students at the football games. Neeley said Farm Credit provided the water and Tractor Supply provided the cooler.

“We made it to two games per school,” she said. “The community support is much appreciated.”

A few of the additional projects over the last year included serving a community Thanksgiving meal in Manila; helping with a Nucor project of clean-up in Blytheville, Gosnell and Manila; and stuff the bus for United Way. The youth leader-ship group made a trip to the state capital and received a tour by Rep. Jon Milligan and got to meet the secretary of agriculture, Wes Ward.

In addition to community projects, Neeley is always happy to speak to civic organizations about 4-H, submit articles to the local newspaper, and bring awareness to 4-H throughout the county.

Neeley encourages young people to start early and stay active in 4-H. It is rewarding, educational, fun, and college scholarships are available.

4-H has a lot to offer. Neeley said if a member has an interest, she will try to find a program. It can be cooking, live-stock, entomology, STEM, trap shooting, public speaking, gardening, photography or more.

“This gives our kids a chance to learn and compete,” she said. “I like to watch as members realize they can do it, they like it and they excel in it.”

She stressed again; they do need adult volunteers to help the 4-H grow in the county.

“4-H kids are hard workers,” she said. “They have great ideas.”

She also expressed her appreciation for the community support. She said they had their finale in April and County Judge John Nelson attended to encourage the young people.

If anyone is interested in volunteering or finding out more about 4-H, they can reach out to Neeley at her email kneeley@uada.edu or call 870-563-0236; or Facebook@MissCo4H.