Texas AgriLife Extension Agents Tommy and Wendy Neyland and Intern
Matthew Townsend departed Centerville with twelve eager 4-H members, to
attend the District VIII 4-H Leadership Lab at the Texas 4-H Center in
Brownwood, TX. The three day conference provides members of 4-H with
many skills in areas ranging from Public Speaking and Teamwork to
Dancing and Canoeing. Overall, the purpose of the conference is to
promote further Service, Thought, Loyalty, and Health in the lives of
120 4-H youth leaders from across Central Texas.
The Lab started at two pm with opening ceremonies and a brief
explanation of the camp facilities and its rules. The memberss began
their journey through the eventful weekend by meeting each other through
several Leadership Challenges given by Keynote Speaker Clint Hopping, a
student of Texas A&M University and former state officer of the Texas
FFA Association. Afterward, the district officers began teaching their
sessions to the members. Current district officers from Leon County are
Will Mchaffey, Christy Cockrell, and Justin Pistone. Each of these
individuals teamed up with other members of the officer team and
presented their curriculum to the members attending. Both Wednesday and
Thursday nights were filled with a three hour themed dance. The first
dance was an “Before Centennial” Dance and the second was
“Unfolding The Future”Dance. At the end of each day, the district
officers would wrap up with a Vespers program, a time of thought and
reflection. Then, students headed back to their cabins for “lights
out” and sleep.
On Thursday afternoon, several Leon County memberss ran for
district office, and Leon County 4-H faired very well. Will Mchaffey
WILL serve as the new District VIII President; Christy Cockrell followed
as the new Second Vice-President, and Ryan McCarty is now the Distict
Treasurer. These members are to be commended because never before has
Leon County collected the President’s position on the district
council; Leon County 4-H also snatched the next available position in
Cockrell as Second Vice-President. Finally, the county brought a new
face to the officer positions in McCarty. These students campaigned
during camp and gave speeches in front of over one hundred people, a
task that frightens even the most elegant of speakers. If you should see
these leaders, congratulate them for their accomplishments.
At the Lab Banquet, awards were given to members who were: Most
Spirited, Best Dancing Male and Female, Most Outgoing, and Best Costume.
Travis Powers of Leon County 4-H brought home Best Dancing Male, and
Jana Richmond of Leon County 4-H took Most Spirited camper. Also at the
banquet, a retiring address was given by Leon County’s Justin Pistone;
Pistone was Delegate At-Large for the Texas State 4-H Council. His
address was filled with encouraging words of wisdom for the younger
members, and he ended with a quote; “When Life shuts a door, open a
window!” Justin served the Texas 4-H over the last year, and will be
dearly missed by those he impacted through his service.
Other members from Leon County 4-H who attended and contributed to the
District VIII Leadership Lab were: Amy Terry of Buffalo, Brooke Whitmore
of Marquez, Estefani Castro of Oakwood, Kelcey Cockrell of Oakwood,
Reagan Robertson of Normangee, and Taylor McGill of Buffalo.
PICTURE CAPTION
FRONT ROW
Amy Terry, Estefe Castro, Jana Richmond
seconf Row
Wendy Neyland, Christy Cockrell, Reagan Robertson, Brooke Whitemire,
Kelcey Cockrell
Third Row
Tommy Neyland, Travis Powers, Justin Pistone, Taylor Mcgill, Will
Mahaffey, Ryan McCarty, Matthew Townsend
Tommy Neyland, CEA-Ag
Texas Agrilife Extension Service
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