As outlined in the county plan of work, the Bullitt County Cooperative Extension Service supports improving communication skills of youth and adults in Bullitt County. The Bullitt County Cooperative Extension Service’s 4-H Youth Development program provides communications education through 4-H school enrichment, school clubs, and other areas of programming to establish or enhance necessary communication skills that develop college and career ready youth in Kentucky. 

Strong writing, reading and presentation skills present youth with the dexterity of being good communicators as well as allowing them to form receptive relationships with peers and adults. When young people are confident and capable in presenting their thoughts and feelings they are more likely to accept roles of responsibility in their communities and enhance their contribution to society. This development of internal and external assets, as researched by the Search Institutes “The 40 Developmental Assets” helps to develop youth into competent, caring and contributing adults. (Jones, K.R. 2006)

Bullitt County 4-H provided 6 hours of communications education to three new, virtual school clubs in 2021 and offered workshops for county youth outside of school clubs. Youth participated in classroom speeches that they wrote and performed for the classes. Youth were invited to the county-level communications contest for an opportunity to present their prepared speech and/or demonstration. High school teens also participated in a series of career readiness workshops, which resulted in 5 participants in the communications contest for the mock job interview category in 2021, which had zero participants in the previous year. Sixty-five youth participated in classroom-level speeches in 2021, where there was also no participation in the previous year. The Bullitt County 4-H Communications Contest (county-level) competition grew from 3 participants in 2020 to 21 participants in 2021 in speech, demonstration, and mock job interview categories. 

Five county level communications contest participants won their category and were invited to the district level communications contest, where three won their categories and will progress to the state level competition to be held in July 2021.