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“It gives them something to look
forward to at each level of their 4-H experience."
Mark Mains
UK Extension Associate for 4-H Youth Development |
By Aimee Nielson
JABEZ, Ky., (Oct. 26, 2005) – For the first time, seventh- and eighth-grade
4-Hers have something just for their age group – Pre-Teen Conference. Organizers
said there has been a gap between elementary 4-H activity and high school 4-H
activity for many years.
“Anyone who is familiar with 4-H numbers knows that we have a huge number of
fourth- and fifth-graders and then from sixth grade on, it just plummets,” said
Mark Mains, University of Kentucky Extension associate for 4-H youth
development, specializing in teen programs. “Part of the reason is that we don’t
have a lot of programs that hold their interest as they change from the younger
age group to the older age group. This program is our first step at providing
programming specifically for seventh- and eighth-graders.”
As a pilot program, the first Pre-Teen Conference was held at the Kentucky
Leadership Center in Jabez with about 150 youths participating. The theme of the
two-day event was “TAG – You’re It.”
“The idea was to encourage leadership and communication,” Mains said of the
theme. “What we want is for a kid to come to a program and extract new ideas and
knowledge and take that and tag someone else in their community.”
The conference consisted of classes focused on leadership, communications and
crafts. The attendees also participated in large, organized group activities.
The delegates to the Pre-Teen Conference also rallied together throughout the
year leading up to the conference for the “A Dime Makes a Difference” campaign.
Mains said the effort, devoted to raising money to purchase phone cards for
Kentucky soldiers in Iraq to call home, brought in more than $300. In the spirit
of friendly competition, each district tried to raise the most money. The
winners were from District 6.
Mains said the inaugural event went off without a hitch and organizers are
excited to do it again.
“We filled the leadership center,” he said. “This is a pilot year and had a
perfect number of delegates to have the first experience so we can iron out any
wrinkles and be able to handle any problems. As we grow in numbers we’ll be able
to offer a better system every time.”
Mains said organizers have discussed adding sixth graders into the mix. He
thinks the conference will be successful in bridging the gap in 4-H
participation.
“It gives them something to look forward to at each level of their 4-H
experience,” Mains said. “The fourth- and fifth-graders can look forward to the
Pre-Teen Conference and the pre-teens can look forward to Teen Conference. So,
it continues to build and keep them involved to kind of bridge that gap from
sixth grade to ninth grade.”
Writer:
Aimee Nielson
859-257-4736, ext. 267
Contact: Mark Mains
859-257-5961
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