Spectrum - Volume 19 Issue 06 October 3, 1996 - Sgro on campus next week to make 4-H proclamation

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Sgro on campus next week to make 4-H proclamation

Spectrum Volume 19 Issue 06 - October 3, 1996

Virginia Governor George Allen has declared October 6-12 4-H Week and to mark the occasion, Secretary of Education Beverly Sgro will present the official proclamation in a ceremony, Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m. in front of Burruss Hall.

President Paul Torgersen, along with Lorenza Lyons of Virginia State University, who is administrator of the 1890 Virginia Cooperative Extension program and dean of the School of Agriculture, Science, and Technology, will welcome the group and accept the proclamation.

The celebration will include a flag raising by members of the Virginia Tech Collegiate 4-H Club, an organization of Tech students who volunteer to help the 4-H program.

Also taking part in the ceremony will be Elizabeth A. McClanahan, an attorney with PennStuart of Abingdon, who was named Outstanding 4-H Alumnus this year. McClanahan also is chairperson of the State Council on Higher Education for Virginia. Along with those participating in the ceremony will be many distinguished guests.

4-H is the youth program of Virginia Cooperative Extension. Many of Virginia's nearly 120,000 4-H'ers will participate in celebrations noting the 4 H's-head, heart, hands, and health. The national theme of 4-H Week is "More Than You Ever Imagined."

4-H clubs exist in almost all the communities of the state, offering to all youngsters the chance to learn, by doing, a wide variety of skills. 4-H programs include science and technology, citizenship, leadership and personal development, plant and soil sciences, environmental education/natural resources, animal sciences, communications/expressive art, family and consumer sciences, health, nutrition and wellness, jobs, careers, and economic education.

"4-H gives youngsters the chance to enjoy the excitement of learning new things in ways that are fun," said John Dooley, Virginia Cooperative Extension associate director for 4-H and Family and Consumer Sciences.

"The mission of all the 4-H experiences is to assist youth, and adults working with those youth, to gain additional knowledge, life skills, and attitudes that will further their development as self-directing, contributing, and productive members of society," said Dooley.

4-H clubs in Virginia are organized and led by more than 12,000 volunteers, adult and teenagers, who devote an estimated 220 hours annually to give the youngsters the educational experiences. Members range in age from five to 19.