Florida 4-H annual meeting celebrates successes, looks to the future

Please see caption below story.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida 4-H agents spend their careers helping young people learn life skills that put them on the path to becoming successful adults. However, these dedicated professionals also know that learning is a lifelong process.

At the 2017 4-H Youth Development Institute, Florida 4-H faculty and staff from across the state will come together to learn from each other and share success stories from their own 4-H communities. The institute is set for Jan. 10 to 12 at the Hilton Hotel in Ocala, Florida.

“At the 4-H Youth Development Institute, we work to provide our wonderful 4-H agents with the latest science behind positive youth development and the latest youth development curricula,” said Chris DeCubellis, associated state program leader for 4-H youth development with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension. “We also provide training for the organization and volunteer systems necessary to provide positive experiences for Florida’s Youth.”

“We are striving for the Florida 4-H Youth Development Program to be the premier youth development program in the nation,” DeCubellis said. “In order for this to happen, we must have the best-trained professionals in the business.”

The institute will include workshops on topics such as agricultural literacy, youth leadership and entrepreneurship, and program administration. This year’s guest speaker, Erin Bain, 4-H and Extension client relationships coordinator for the special risk division of American Income Life, will give a talk on insurance and 4-H programming on Jan. 10 at 11:30 a.m.

Laurel Brown of UF Distance and Continuing Education and Tamra McGaughy, a southern region director of the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents, will also speak during the gathering.

Attendees will also hear about what’s in store for 4-H in 2017. “This year we will be piloting the 4-H Juntos program in Orange County, an academic success program for youth who are of Latino descent,” DeCubellis said. “We will also be working on a Florida Crops series, and in January we will be sending dozens of youth to our nation’s capital with 4-H Citizenship Washington Focus to witness the presidential inauguration.”

Caption: At the 2017 4-H Youth Development Institute, Florida 4-H faculty and staff from across the state will come together to learn from each other and share success stories from their own 4-H communities. Photo by Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS

-30-

By: Samantha Grenrock, 352-294-3307, grenrosa@ufl.edu

Source: Chris DeCubellis, 352-846-4444, cdecube@ufl.edu

The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS works to bring science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents. Visit the UF/IFAS web site at ifas.ufl.edu and follow us on social media at @UF_IFAS.

0

Avatar photo
Posted: January 11, 2017


Category: 4-H & Youth, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & Life



Subscribe For More Great Content

IFAS Blogs Categories