Oregon 4-H'ers attend National 4-H Congress in Atlanta

CORVALLIS – Two dozen Oregon 4-H members participated with hundreds of other 4-H members from throughout the United States in the recent National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Ga.

"National 4-H Congress is a flagship event and one of the highlights of a 4-H member's career," said Jim Rutledge, Oregon State University Extension 4-H Youth Development program leader. "Selection to the state delegation is a high honor."

Oregon's 4-H Congress delegation included high school juniors and seniors, as well as college freshmen, according to Mary Arnold, OSU Extension 4-H Youth Development specialist and coordinator of the Oregon 4-H Congress delegation program.

"All delegates to the National 4-H Congress are carefully selected through a rigorous application process based on each applicant's activities in leadership, communication, citizenship, and 4-H projects," Arnold said.

The 2003 National 4-H Congress featured the theme "Growing Into The Future" and focused on environmental issues and trends including wildlife conservation, preserving the world's rain forests and global warming concerns.

Over the five-day event, delegates enjoyed opportunities to tour several Atlanta attractions including the Martin Luther King Center for Non-Violent Social Change, the Carter Presidential Center and CNN World Headquarters. In addition, delegates attended workshops, participated in group discussions and heard several speakers including Ericka Dunlap, the 2004 Miss America 2004; and Rick Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Delegates also joined in a community service project in which they collected dimes in support of a Habitat for Humanity project in Atlanta called "Clover House." The project goal is to generate the funds needed to build a house in the Atlanta area, said Arnold.

The leaders of the Oregon delegation were Doug Hart, 4-H faculty in the Curry County office of the OSU Extension Service; Rutledge; and Sandra Anderson, 4-H volunteer leader in Wallowa County.

4-H members in the 2003 Oregon delegation to the National 4-H Congress are:

Albany

Brittany Edwards

Canby

Melissa Williams

Canyon City

Emily Keerins

Central Point

Rachel Moore

Corvallis

Tessa Maggiulli, Tate Newburgh, Sharon Sternadel

Cove

Camden McClelland

Eagle Point

Tera Dunbar, Kelsey Heider

Enterprise

Matt Williams

Keizer

Lindsey Boatner

Medford

Ashley Marcu

Monmouth

Shaina Kutzer

Monroe

Shiann Ashenbrenner

Myrtle Creek

D'Laura Brumfield

Portland

Katrina Wright

Prineville

Katie Griffin

Rainier

Steven Gibson

Sandy

Bibiana Gomes, Brittany Sintek

Tillamook

Julie Schneidecker

Union

Teresa Weeks

Wallowa

Relissa Wortman

Note to Editors: Digital photos of some of the 4-H youths in the Oregon delegation to the Congress are available by calling Bob Rost, of Extension and Experiment Station Communications, at 541-737-3381