by Kim Atkinson/Samantha Dunn

BLACKSBURG
From June 19-22, eight Southampton and Isle of Wight 4-Her’s attended the Virginia State 4-H Congress. The delegates this year were Katie and Kole Atkinson, Alina Davis, Abigail Hickman, Maryann Johnson, Josh McPherson, Bryson Parsain and Noah Wellington.

Of the eight teens, five of them were on the SE District Champion Food Challenge Team (Awarded on March 8 in New Kent), which placed third in the Virginia State Food Challenge, and are now eligible to compete at the National Food Challenge in Texas on Oct. 3. They are looking into fundraising opportunities to see if their dream of competing at the national level is a possibility.

Food Challenge Team Members were Abigail Hickman, Maryann Johnson, Katie Atkinson, Kole Atkinson, and Noah Wellington.

Abigail Hickman said, “I loved competing with such an amazing team and I am so proud of all that we have accomplished!”

Popular highlights with the teens included the dance at Lane Stadium — where the Hokies play football — guest speaker Hoan Do of the popular TV show America Ninja Warrior, and the Issues Forum. This was a course in Civil Discourse training, which helped them learn ways to become engaged in their community in positive ways and how they can contribute to solving global issues. They also enjoyed mingling with the over 500 4-Her’s and volunteers from all over the state. It is a chance to see 4-H on a large scale, meet Cabinet members, State Officers, and the 4-H State Administration that works hard for them at Virginia Tech on a daily basis. They also enjoyed the aspect of living in Tech’s dorms and eating in the dining hall. It really gave them a sense of what being in college feels like.

Noah Wellington sums it up best when he stated that his favorite part of Congress was, “Getting to know people from all around Virginia and creating friendships that could possibly last a lifetime!”