4-H Logo.
Six 4-H members from New Jersey have been selected to represent the state at the 86th National 4-H Conference to be held April 9-14 in Washington, D.C. The New Jersey delegates are Teresa Coppola, Hunterdon County; Kacey England, Ocean County; Nikayla Hetzell, Cumberland County; Abigail Sharp, Salem County; Madeline Teitsma, Sussex County and David Wolverton, Middlesex County.
Headquartered at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, this conference provides a forum for nearly 400 4-H members, leaders and staff from 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, District of Columbia and Canada. These teens offer an import voice in the development of programs and the future of 4-H. The theme of the conference is “Locally Grown, Global Leaders.”
The National 4-H Conference is the premier civic engagement opportunity for 4-H members, 15-19 years old, who are actively engaged in 4-H programs across the U.S. and its territories. The conference is administered by 4-H National Headquarters of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. National 4-H Conference delegates have an opportunity to increase knowledge, resources, and skills that will empower them to make an impact on their community in a meaningful and genuine way.
Conference delegates were selected amid keen competition following interviews at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. Conference delegates were chosen based on their leadership and communication skills and strong participation in the 4-H program.
“They also share an overall knowledge of the mission of 4-H and a broad understanding of Cooperative Extension,” says Jeannette Rea-Keywood, State 4-H Agent and National 4-H Events Coordinator with Rutgers Department of 4-H Youth Development.
The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, a unit of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. 4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades K-13 (one year out of high school), on an age-appropriate basis, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, marital status, domestic partnership status, military service, veteran status and any other category protected by law.
