By Matthew McClellan

Rowan 4-H Agent

I’m going to continue my thread of congratulating Rowan 4-H members who have achieved some impressive commendations and awards recently. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to believe that we truly have an embarrassment of riches in this county when it comes to the caliber of our youth and the leaders that I know they will become.

Let’s start this segment with a member I mentioned last time, Makayla Ryder. Makayla competed at the 2017 4-H National Shooting Sports Championships in Grand Island, Nebraska, recently and brought home the top overall honors in the air rifle discipline.

To win the overall award, scores from all the different air rifle competitions — CMP 3 position, silhouettes, and standing 40 shot — are combined to give an overall winner. Makayla competed against 95 shooters from across the nation and was the only competitor to place in the top five of each event.

Next, I would like to congratulate some of our Rowan 4-H members who won major awards at the 4-H State Horse Show in Raleigh. Tiffin Jacobs won Junior Speed Events Reserve Champion; Jaysa Causby won Jr. Nontrotting Grand Champion; Hannah Barringer won Sr. Nontrotting Reserve Grand Champion; and Micah Furr won Sr. Nontrotting Grand Champion. Furr, Barringer, Nicole Lakey and Causby all qualified to compete at the Southern Regional Horse Show in Perry, Ga., later this summer. All of our Rowan exhibitors did an awesome job and gained loads of valuable experience in the ring. Way to go Rowan!

How about a shout out to some of the boys? Well, Nathan Gobble and Sam Oster are participating in the North Carolina 4-H Electric Congress in Charlotte. To be selected for Electric Congress, youth must be enrolled in the electric project and then complete a record book, teach an electric workshop to at least eight youth, or have completed an electric portfolio.

Both Nathan and Sam did project records, with Sam doing a portfolio which is a three-year cumulative record project. Nathan also taught three electric project workshops to other Rowan County 4-H members. Both of these young men have excelled in the electric project and represent Rowan County well.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to give a big shout to one of our 4-H members who has received some big accolades not only in 4-H but in her academics. Micah received the Park Scholarship at North Carolina State University. Micah was one of 39 recipients of the Park Scholarship and was selected from an applicant pool of more than 2,100 applicants from 43 different states. Micah will attend N.C. State in the fall to study biology.

As a 4-H agent, there is no greater satisfaction than seeing youth from the 4-H program take those lessons taught here and using those skills to become successful young men and women in other areas of their lives.

Like I said last time, this is only a few of the many success stories being written by Rowan County 4-H members every day. I would encourage you to see what 4-H can offer your child. I hope one day I can write about a success that they have had. As always, I can be reached at the Rowan County Extension Office located at 2727 Old Concord Road in Salisbury or by phone at 704-216-8970. I look forward to talking with you.