The Laurel County 4-H program has grown tremendously over the last several years to include several school and special interest clubs.  In August of 2020, Laurel County’s 4-H agent left extension to pursue a different profession. Rather than suspend 4-H programs until a new agent could be hired, I assumed responsibility for the program in addition to my regular duties as the horticulture agent. This required me to supervise two 4-H assistants and oversee the 4-H program until late July of 2021, including Laurel County students’ attendance at 4-H Camp.

In preparation for camp, I attended all planning meetings and updates and also supervised all pre-camp tasks such as the marketing campaign, compilation of camper paperwork, securing and vetting volunteers, camper orientation, volunteer training and COVID procedure compliance.  Though our numbers were limited this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, we took fifty very enthusiastic students to camp in July. 

Having the 4-H camp facility located in our county made for a very different drop off and pick up experience because the families bring their campers directly to the camp rather than send them as a group. The COVID restrictions and procedures were sometimes difficult to monitor but, in the interest of the safety of our campers, instructors and volunteers, I remained diligent in overseeing the activities and assuring compliance by all concerned.  To assure that the campers were properly supervised, the other agents in our office also took shifts to oversee the programs.  I supervised the camp from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, the FCS agent attended from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM, and our ANR agent was present from 9:00 PM until 8:00 AM.