4-H News: Results of public presentations, management committee to hold meeting
The Saline County 4-H Management Committee will hold a business meeting on Tuesday, June 9, at 8 p.m. at the Extension office.
All committee members and other interested adults and youth are encouraged to attend. Committee members include one adult representative from each 4-H club and the current Saline County 4-H Federation officers. We will be discussing and finalizing plans for our 2015 Saline County 4-H shows.
Public Presentations Contest Results
The 2015 Saline County 4-H Public Presentations Contest was held recently at Brookstone Estates in Harrisburg. 4-H members and their families and the Brookstone residents and staff enjoyed the wonderful speeches, demonstrations and food demonstrations that our 4-H youth exhibited.
The evening began with the public speaking portion of the evening. Speech categories included this year were Formal Speech, Oral Interpretation, and Illustrated Speech. Alex McRoy started off the speeches with an Oral Interpretation of "Getting Through the M's" by Celeste LeBeaux, a poem about a young person studying for the National Spelling Bee. The words on his list spark memories of the mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. The next presenter was Luke Barton with an Oral Interpretation of "Lord of the Rings." Luke was dressed in costume and wowed the crowd.
Drew Stacy was up next with an Illustrated Speech on Charlie Birger, his interesting story, and his history in Harrisburg and the surrounding counties. Following that, Cassi Cotter gave an Oral Interpretation of the book, "Dragons Love Tacos" by Adam Rubin. Beware, dragons love tacos, but not salsa!
Samuel Deiters gave a wonderful Formal Speech on Roald Dahl, author of many of our favorite, classic childrenÃs books, such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach." Isaiah Deiters followed his brother with a Formal Speech on Medal of Honor winners. He told of the heroic story of a Vietnam Veteran, his duty to country above all else, and what he did to win the Medal of Honor.
Callie Oxford gave a moving Illustrated Speech entitled "Who You Are." This motivational presentation, based on a YouTube video, told of how we all, and women and girls in particular, are more than enough, despite what the world and our peers try to tell us. Finally, Kayla Heath gave a speech and demonstration on the workings of a piano and terms to indicate to the pianist to play faster, slower, louder or softer. Kayla then played "Let It Go" from Disney's "Frozen" and "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran.
The 4-H Public Presentations Contest also includes Food Demonstrations and Flower Arranging Demonstrations. Our Food Demonstrators this year were Alex McRoy with Lemon Chicken, Kayla Heath with Broccoli Quiche Muffins, Missy Foster with Cherry Dump Cake, and Rebecca Stricklin with Scones. The judges and crowd all agreed that these dishes were delicious.
Callie Oxford created a cute St. Louis Cardinals-themed flower arrangement in a small red and white cooler. She included a Cardinals t-shirt, a small batting helmet, a battery-operated candle, and a stuffed animal with the fresh, red, white and blue daisies and potted red geraniums and white impatiens.
All of the exhibitors received blue ribbons. State Fair ribbons were awarded to Alex McRoy for his Oral Interpretation and to Callie Oxford for her Illustrated Speech. Kayla Hearth received a County Champion ribbon for her Piano demonstration. Callie Oxford received a County Champion ribbon for her Flower Arranging demonstration.
For the Food Demonstrations, Rebecca Stricklin was chosen as the Best First Time Food Demonstrator and Alex McRoy was chosen as the Top Food Demonstrator at the contest. Alex McRoy also received the Food Demonstration County Champion ribbon.
We would like to thank Eric Fodor for judging the speeches and demonstrations and Beth Montfort and Beverly Alvey for judging the Food Demonstrations and Flower Arranging Demonstrations.
And we would like to thank the staff and residents of Brookstone Estates for extending such a warm welcome to Saline County 4-H.