Written by: Raleigh Dawson, Franklin County 4-H Agent
Cloverleaf Project Achievement was held last Saturday, March 23rd, in Jackson County. There were 319 competitors who gathered to share their research based presentations to a panel of expert judges. Cloverleaf Project Achievement empowers 4th-6th graders with communication, confidence, research, and presentation skills for a lifetime. In addition to the presentation aspect of District Project Achievement (DPA), there is a growing list of free time activities to choose from. Among those free time activities was the Jackson County 4-H Llama Club who brought a few furry friends and set up a llama kissing booth. There was an astronaut with NASA who set up a star lab and talked about his career with 4-H’ers, and nature walks were offered with an emphasis on plant and wildlife identification!
This year the following students were recognized for their hard work and determination at the DPA awards ceremony. Jonah Burger placed 1st in historic events with a project on Iwo Jima. Epiphany Mayfield placed 2nd in the health category with a project on being a healthy shopper. Jaime Trejo placed 2nd with an outdoor recreation project on hog hunting. Callie Walker placed 3rd with a wildlife project on elephants. Tied for second in the wildlife project was Jerry Ginn who presented on giraffes. Zoe Hattaway placed 3rd in the cat care project. Other Franklin County competitors whose projects were worthy of honorable mention were the following: Rebekah Corne with a project on Sea Turtles, Jayden Curry with a project on stuttering, Alan Oliver with a project on Herbie, Johnny Nyguen with a project on squirrels, Frankie Prybil with a project on hermit crabs, and Mikey Bennett with a story he wrote about a fox. To summarize this event perfectly Callie Walker said, “Not only is DPA teaching children to be more responsible, but it is also very fun! I got to meet new people and meet up with friends I haven’t seen in a long time, all while enjoying fun activities like the star lab.”