Nineteen youth participated in the annual Cloverleaf District Project Achievement, Saturday at the Rock Eagle 4-H center, with many winning a first, second or third-place and honorable mentions. The Madison County delegation — part of the 456 competitors at the competition — won 5 blue ribbon medallions, four red ribbon medallions, three white ribbon medallions and seven honorable mentions.
“We are thrilled at the work the 4-H’ers put into their projects to bring home to Madison County their medallions,” said Susan Goldman, County Extension 4-H Agent.
Project Achievement is an annual competition that teaches young people public speaking, research and presentation skills by having them select a topic of interest from more than 60 different project areas and prepare a six-minute demonstration, including visuals like three or four posters, to present at the contest. The most popular categories in the competition this year were: Sports – Team (21), Marine & Coastal Ecology (18), Wildlife (18), Dog Care and Training (17), Health (16), and Historic People (16).
“This competition provides youth with an opportunity to research and present a speech on a topic that interests them,” Goldman said. “Learning public speaking at a young age gives each young person confidence in their abilities. Plus, learning this skill will help them with future presentations in school and eventually the workplace.”
Deborah Wofford, 4-H Program Assistant, was pleased with how well Madison County Cloverleafs — the name given to 4-H’ers who are in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades — did on their presentations at one of their largest competitions of the year. “I am very proud of the work that each 4-H’er put into their projects,” she said. “Public speaking can be very intimidating, and they all did a great job.”
Winning first place medallions for 2020 were C.A. Duncan, Between-Meal Snacks, Hull / Sanford Elementary: Maggie Moon, Fruits, Vegetables & Nuts, Comer Elementary; Mallory Lee, Sheep and Meat Goats, Comer Elementary; Bella Grace Hambrick, Marine and Coastal Ecology, Danielsville Elementary; and Abbigail Parham, Cat Care, Madison County Middle School. Second place finishers were: Douglas Ray, Health, Ila Elementary; Ben Darwin, Environmental Science, Madison County Middle School; Mallory Lasseter, Dog Care and Training, Danielsville Elementary; and Brantley Burgess, Fresh Water Fish & Shellfish, Danielville Elementary.
Taking home third place awards included: Sofia McCannon, Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts, Ila Elementary; and A’Moni Gantt, Companion and Specialty Animals, Comer Elementary.
Named as Honorable Mentions were: Matthew Morris, Sports – Team, Ila Elementary; Samantha Carey, Sports – Team, Ila Elementary; Rosley Wagner, International, Colbert Elementary, Abby Lynne Hardiman, Ila Elementary, International Project, Andrew Ray, General Recreation, Ila Elementary, and Karleigh Gilliam, Health, Colbert Elementary.
A group of teen leaders, made up of Sa’Lee Evans, Alyssa Goldman, Jarrett Lasseter, and Elise Sparks helped show students to their project areas. J.T. Painter and Kaylie Goldman also served in this role and assisted with Northeast District Roles. Parker Varnadoe helped with planning and conducting the day, giving out awards, and presenting a devotional and singing songs at the awards ceremony. Madison County Extension Staff Members in attendance included: Carole Knight, County Extension Coordinator and ANR agent, Susan Goldman, and Deborah Wofford. Bobbi Kesler served as the bus driver for this event. “Teen and adult leaders are very important,” Carole Knight said. “They help each student find their room and cheer them on.”
One 4-H competitor remarked, “This was the first year that I tried it, and I liked it,” he said. “I learned to like speaking in front of people. I like the competition and being with other people. I also like the attention.” This year’s contest taught him “to not think about messing up before a competition because it can cause you to make more mistakes.”
These young 4-H’ers began working on their research and speech writing in late November and continued through January; many competed in a January County Project Achievement and continued practice rehearsing.
Competition for students who participate in Cloverleaf Project Achievement ends at the district level so winners don’t have the option of moving on to state. This contest does help prepare them; however, to compete as Junior and Senior 4-H’ers.
