4-H Member Represents Mississippi Co at 4-H Day at Capitol
OSCEOLA, Ark. –
March 2, 2023
Mississippi County was represented at 4-H Day at the Capitol!
A member of Mississippi County 4-H attended the daylong festivities on Feb. 28 to learn about state government, meet legislators and share their 4-H experience. It was his first visit to the Arkansas Capitol.
Participating members include:
Will Cato from Blytheville, who is dual enrolled in both Craighead and Mississippi County 4-H Programs, attended with Mississippi and Craighead County 4-H Agents, Kamella Neeley and Maleigha Cook.
“I enjoyed the day at the Capitol and getting to Page for the House Legislative session was cool and I liked meeting and talking with my Representative, Jon Milligan and Fran Cavenaugh.”
The Mississippi and Craighead County 4-H group drove down the night before and stayed overnight at the 4-H Center which was a first for Will.
Attending Mississippi and Craighead County 4-H members were among the more than 400 Arkansas 4-H members, agents, leaders and volunteers from 52 of the state’s 75 counties who participated. The gathering is usually held every other year when the Legislature is in session. The 2021 event was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, 4-H members learned about the roles of the state’s constitutional officers and heard from many of them, including Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, Attorney General Tim Griffin, Treasurer Mark Lowery, Secretary of State John Thurston and Commissioner of State Lands Tommy Land.
Attorney General Tim Griffin urged the 4-H members to get to know their elected officials.
“A lot of people get to know their elected officials only when they need something. That’s the wrong way to do it,” Griffin told the group. “Get to know your elected officials early in life. Learn the process. Develop meaningful relationships now, so that when you become a community leader — and you will be — you will know people. When leaders know other leaders, they can’t be stopped.”
Mississippi County 4-H member Will Cato did just that. He visited with Representative Jon Milligan and Frances Cavenaugh and they discussed what projects Will and his fellow 4-Hers from Craighead County were working on this year and what they loved about being in 4-H. Lots of talk about horse projects, polo, blacksmithing, culinary arts and citizenship and how they planned to take their talents and interests further and utilize 4-H to get them there.
Throughout the day, 4-H members watched sessions taking place in the House, Senate and Arkansas Supreme Court. They also heard resolutions read aloud in the House and Senate, recognizing the positive impact of the Arkansas 4-H program on youth and proclaiming Feb. 28 as 4-H Day. Many groups were also able to visit the Treasurer’s Office, where they got to stand inside the vault and hold $600,000 in cash.
What is so special about 4-H Day at the capitol?
The event gives 4-H members an opportunity to see government in action and encourages them to think about citizenship and civic responsibility — tenets of the 4-H program, along with leadership, healthy living and science and technology.
4-H is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension Service, part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The program serves more than 144,000 youth statewide and is open to youth ages 5-19.
In Mississippi County, we love our youth and encourage even more to join our clubs! We have a MissCo 4-H Community Club that is open to all ages 5-19, where members do service projects in the communities across the county as well as fun activities together. There is always room for more youth to join and start a new club of their interest!
To learn more about 4-H, contact Kamella Neeley or visit the Mississippi County Extension website https://www.uaex.uada.edu/counties/mississippi/ and the @MissCo4H Facebook page to find out more!
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By Kamella Neeley
Mississippi County Extension Agent - 4H
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service