Providing youth with the ability to enhance and develop communication skills is long tradition in the Morgan County 4-H Program.  The development of communications skills is one of the preeminent skills necessary to grow as an individual, a community member and a leader. Communication skills gained by these youth will then carry on throughout their educational and workforce endeavors.  Using age appropriate activities selected from the approved Kentucky 4-H Communications & Expressive Arts Curriculum, educators can maximize the ability of youth to develop their writing, reading and personal communication capacities.  This in turn creates a solid foundation for positive youth development (Jones, K. R. 2006)

Morgan County 4-H Demonstrations are held in the fall and 4-H Speeches in the spring for every 4^th-7^th grader in the Morgan County School System.  The 4-H Agent supplies each participant with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service How to do a Demonstration, and Speak Up publication and utilizes a worksheet along with a game to get youth engaged in the planning process.  The participants then work at home and in class to prepare their speech.   Each classroom has a blue ribbon winner demonstrator/speaker to send on to the county contest.  

This year nearly 650 students 4^th-7^th grade planned and presented a 4-H Demonstration and a 4-H speech. Over 60 youth advanced to the county contest.  Of those eleven students qualified to attend District 4-H Communication Day and of those seven went onto the State 4-H Communication Event.  All of those in attendance this year received a blue ribbon and Morgan County had one State Champion.