4-H News
By Anna Burgess Extension Agent

Junior 4-H'ers who went to camp were, back row, CJ Green, Tonya Lane, Johnna Forehand, Callie Dailey and Levi Proctor. Front Row: Madison Allen, Margaret Dickens, LaVonte Lovette, Jessica Herrmann and Krysten Fail.

The past two weeks have been non stop! The first week of July I took 10 junior 4-H'ers to Camp Fortson in Hampton, GA.

The last week Mrs. Elaine and I, along with the wonderful help of volunteer Mr. Jimmy Brannen, took 22 5th & 6th graders to Camp Wahsega way back in the North Georgia Mountains of Dahlonega.

Both camps were wonderful. The counselors were great and the kids stayed rather busy. However, they were two completely different situations.

When we arrived Monday the 2nd at Camp Fortson, the kids couldn't get over how small it was.

We unpacked, moved into the cabins and went to the dining hall for supper and then night rec.

Each day began with on-site activities like Herpetology class, low ropes courses, the climbing wall and the zip line with an offsite trip planned in the evening. Camp staff had some sort of night recreation or swimming planned every evening until around 11:30 with Lights Out at midnight. The days began promptly at 6:00 am so the girls could have plenty of time to "get ready" while at camp. As you can imagine, this made for long days and short nights. On day two, we headed to Six Flags along with the 170 other youth at camp for the majority of the day.

Johnna Forehand pets a friendly snake as Levi Proctor and Callie Dailey look on during Herpetology, a class they took at Fortson 4-H Camp.

We celebrated July 4th at the Atlanta Motor Speedway watching "Thursday Night Thunder." None of us had ever been to Thursday Night Thunder before so it was a treat for all. They had all sorts of cars racing with drivers aging from 6 and up. It was probably one of the best events of the week. After the races, they had an impressive fireworks show to wrap up the 4th.

On Thursday, our adventure was to the Georgia Aquarium. Not many of us had ever been here before either, but we got great responses from all the kids. If you've never been before, it's pretty interesting. The way they have the place designed and decorated is the best part. It's very detailed with tons of animals, from exotic ocean fish to whales to catfish. When we left the aquarium, we went to Stone Mountain. I always forget just how big that thing is and how good the laser/fireworks show is. We finally left Stone Mountain around 12:00.

Friday morning was just breakfast and the closing assembly. Then we headed home. By the time Friday came, the kids were exhausted and no longer noticed they were at a smaller camp. In fact, I heard several of them say that Camp Fortson may be the new favorite

Jenkins County 4-H owes Mrs. Joan Brown a huge thank you for driving us to camp safely.

Next week, I will explain the adventures of Camp Wahsega!