The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Just where has the summer gone? Like everyone else, our Chouteau County 4-H members have been very busy finishing up their projects and attending 4-H events.

On June 9, some of the Chouteau County 4-H members participated in Project/Demo Day where they attended workshops that included hands-on learning and exploration about the projects they were enrolled in or wanted to learn more about. The topics included animal nutrition, making rope halters, fly fishing, gardening, sheep shearing, soap felting, cooking, trick photography, rabbit showmanship, CPR/First Aid and archery. 4-H members also presented demonstrations or illustrated speeches. Georgia Wortman won first place in the senior division, Lauren Crowder won first place in the Junior Division (9-10 yrs old) and Nick Woods won first place in the Junior Division (11-13 yrs old).

The next 4-H event to highlight was 4-H Camp held June 12-14 at Camp Kiwanis in Beaver Creek Park south of Havre. Chouteau County 4-H was represented by seven campers and one Junior Counselor. The camp included Glacier, Toole, Liberty, Hill, Blaine, Phillips and Chouteau counties. The campers took part in workshops that included archery, canoeing, crafts, games and dance and getting to know other 4-Hers from other counties.

Montana 4-H Congress was the next 4-H event where Chouteau County was represented. Andrea Rutledge and Jordee Bomgardner participated in the State Ambassador Team selection process during pre-Congress, July 10-12 at the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. During this time, they completed many interviews and exercises in hopes of being selected for one of the positions on the State Ambassador Team. Andrea Rutledge was selected as the President and will be very busy over the next year promoting Montana 4-H. Andrea and Jordee also played a very large role in getting final preparations done before the rest of the Montana 4-H Congress delegates arrived and were responsible for leading some workshops from July 12-15. Brook Bomgardner and Maci Meyers attended and participated in contests and workshops building their leadership skills.

The National 4-H Western Heritage Conference and Championship Shoot will be hosted in Fort Benton August 1-3, 2017. Spectators are welcome!

Please also plan to attend the Chouteau County Fair August 16-20 where our 4-H youth will be exhibiting their animals and projects as a final wrap-up to their 4-H year. Thank you to everyone who supports the Chouteau County 4-H program and the youth.

If you would like more information about 4-H in Chouteau County, please contact the Chouteau County MSU Extension office at 622-3751 or stop by at 1308 Franklin St in Fort Benton. We are in the green building next to the courthouse.