In 2019, Robertson County surpassed their camping record by taking 59 total people to camp. This was a huge deal for us, and we were very proud of accomplishing such a large number for a county our size. Going into the 2022 camping season, we had the goal of taking 2 girls cabins and 2 boys cabins. This would be about 60 people total, and would be great for us, especially coming off of the 2021 COVID year. 

I began camp promotion heavily in the school system in January. I put together a PowerPoint presentation that went over 4-H Camp as a whole. Programs, classes, meals, friends, experiences, and so much more. I then printed a hand out for each child to take home to their parents in order to let them know that 4-H Camp Applications would be opening soon. I visited grades 3-6, which involved around 150 youth. I also advertised frequently on social media (Facebook and Instagram) in order to get the word out. 

Our 4-H Council and Extension District Board are extremely supportive of the camping program in the county. Our district board has covered 40% of the camp costs since I have been an employee at Robertson County, and our 4-H Council provides scholarships, incentives, and fundraisers for camp. This year, when our council met, they decided to sell chocolate bars. This decision was made due to several factors, but they were all very confident that they would go over well. 

The way the chocolate bars worked, was for every box of 60 that they sold, they could get $30 taken off their camp fee. By the time it was all said and done, the youth of Robertson County had sold over 120 boxes of chocolate bars. This was over 7,200 chocolate bars! There were several youth who paid for their entire camp fee by selling chocolate bars. Some of those kids were even first year campers, or ones that their parents said would not be able to go without the financial help the chocolate bars provided. 

By the time it was all said and done, Robertson County ended up taking a total of.....75 people to 4-H Camp! This was indeed another record breaking year! We took 3 girls cabins and 2 boys cabins, with a total of 65 campers, 5 teens, and 5 adults. The ethnicity breakdown of participants were: 72 Caucasian, 1 African American, 1 Hispanic, and 1 Asian. The gender breakdown was: 46 female and 29 male. 

The success of our camping program is largely do to the support of our 4-H Council and our Extension District Board for their financial assistance. Knowing that we are able to impact that many youth in the county over the course of the camp week, truly is incredible. There are several youth who look forward to 4-H Camp each year, because it is where they get to learn new things, express themselves, and grow their independence. The growth of our camping program is just one way that I hope to see our entire program grow in the coming year and years to come.