Robyn Stewart
Georgia 4-H District Project Achievement (DPA) is designed to empower youth with necessary skills for use throughout their lifetime. Students choose an area of interest, research their topic, write a speech, prepare a poster, and present their findings to judges at the district DPA competition. 4-H’ers develop skills in leadership, creativity, research, public speaking, record keeping, and more. Cloverleaf DPA is open to 5th and 6th graders in Lincoln County, and Junior/Senior DPA is open to 7th through 12th graders. The 2020 Northeast District Cloverleaf DPA Competition was held at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, GA on Saturday, February 15th, 2020. This year, Northeast District Cloverleaf DPA welcomed 19 different counties with 465 competitors and 1020 total attendees. Project areas varied in size from 1 competitor all the way up to 22 competitors. Lincoln County wants to congratulate all 2020 Northeast District Cloverleaf DPA participants!
Last year, Lincoln County took 17 Cloverleaf 4-H’ers to DPA, with 9 competitors placing in the top 3 for their project. This year, we increased participation to 22 Cloverleaf 4-H’ers, and brought an additional 6 Teen Leaders, 2 staff members, and multiple families and parents to the competition. We had students compete in the following categories: Between Meal Snacks, Dog Care & Training, Food Fare, Health, Horses, Interior Design, Marine & Coastal Ecology, Performing Arts, Sports Team, Target Sports, Wildlife, History, Arts, and Computer Technology. Our first place winners were: Janiah Norman (Food Fare), Patricia Huffman (Performing Arts Vocal), and Amelia Hall (History). Our second place winners were: Madison Terry (Between Meal Snacks) and Trayon Jones (Target Sports). Our third place winners were: Kennede Wideman (Food Fare), Grace Qualls (Interior Design), Nahum Chiles (Performing Arts Instrumental), Jakayla Royster (Arts), Javon Alston (Computer Technology), and Byron Hogan (Sports Teams). Our other participants included Caleb Burns, Hayden Johnson, Adreiana Wilkinson, Hannah Williams, Lanee Treadwell, Aysha Elam, Gionni Smith, McKenzie Curry, Lucy Bailey, Jacobe Moss, and Triston Jones. When asked what their favorite part of the day ways, most students said they enjoyed getting to spend time at Rock Eagle with their friends, and many stated they would like to try a new topic or project next year!
It takes an army for our students to compete and be successful at things like DPA. Lincoln County Extension would like to extend a sincere thank you to our sponsors: Lincoln County Farm Bureau, Lee Builders, Ag Georgia Farm Credit, F&M Bank, R&W Auto Parts, Rayle Electric, Jeff & Sherri Easter, Commercial Insurance Service, Lincoln County Farmer State Bank, H&H Industrial Maintenance, Relyant/Wilkes Telephone, and J&T Service Center Inc. The financial support of our sponsors allows all of our DPA students to compete at no cost to them- our 4-H office covers all of the associated fees. Recognition is also due to our teen leaders, Naomi Partridge, Annabelle Ratliff, Logan Perkins, Naomi Chiles, Kaylei Sick, and Eliza Treadwell for their time and effort in helping prepare our Cloverleaf DPA participants and for their assistance the day of the contest. Further thanks are due to all parents, teachers, school staff, and transportation staff for their collaborative efforts in making DPA such a huge success.
Please join us in congratulating our 4-H’ers on their success at the 2020 Northeast District Cloverleaf DPA. Our Junior/Senior DPA preparation is well underway at this time, with 10 confirmed participants from Lincoln County. Junior/Senior 4-H’ers will travel to Rock Eagle 4-H Center for their DPA contest from March 6th-8th. If you know a child who is interested in participating in DPA next year (Spring, 2021) please reach out and let us know at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.
