A Night in Paris Part 1

Tonight the 4H leaders were treated to a special evening of sparkle and beauty.  The tables were set with red roses and the skyline of Paris was set along the walls of the large county extension office.  We even had a large rendition of the Arc de Triomphe!  We were being honored for our volunteer work from the past year.  


The program was just the right length to be enjoyable and included recognition of all the leaders.  After the county president, Wilson, greeted everyone for the evening, Sean led the group in the pledges.  Caleb introduced the county officers present and Treyton led us in prayer.  

A catered meal was provided by the county extension office staff.  I think they got confused, and mixed up Paris-France with Paris-Texas, but who could blame them!  Everyone loves fajitas and peach cobbler (I love Sandi's cobbler)!  We were even given a special treat of wild hog that had been on the grill slow-cooking all day (Thanks to Daron and Ryan)!  It was so amazing and tender! 

There were special awards given out as well.  Up for nomination from our club were Jamie and Carolyn.  Although they were not awarded this honor at this level, we know they appreciate the nomination from our 4Hers.  Robert from the Blue Ribbon club and Steve from the Horse club were given this much deserved honor.  Actually I am not sure how the county officers can choose the adult leader each year.  All of the volunteer leaders are wonderful and respected by the 4Hers.  I do know that both of these men spend many hours working with the projects and want our 4Hers to succeed.  I know the parents and 4Hers are happy to have them in our county.

Then the scholarships were announced.  We had five 4H scholarships announced tonight.  It was so nice to have two of these scholarships given to Caleb and Treyton from our club.  They certainly have shown great leadership qualities over the last few years in our club.  Adam and Wilson were also given this award.  Wilson was then awarded the memorial scholarship for our county.  All of these young men are good examples for our younger 4Hers and have spent many years in this wonderful youth organization.  There will be a huge hole in our county next year that will need to be filled as these young men begin a new phase in their lives.  We wish them all well. 

Ryan closed the banquet with his gracious words of thanks.  He thanked us for our hard work as volunteers.  He surprised us by telling us that our county 4H was one of the few (29 out of 254 counties) who managed to maintain or grow their club membership over the last year.  He said when asked how we were able to do this, his answer was because of his amazing adult volunteers.  That was very kind. We are just as thankful for him and the other staff at the extension office.  We make a great team that work hand-in-hand to 'make the best better for our clubs, our community, our country and our world!"