Milam County 4-Hers honored at annual banquet

By MIcah Holcombe

Milam County AgriLife Extension Agent

The 2017 Milam County 4-H Banquet was held on Sunday, Sept. 10, at the Gause Full Gospel Church in Gause.  

The afternoon program gave recognition to businesses and individuals for supporting the 4-H program and to 4-Hers achieving success in their projects and contests.

The most recognized and highest award for 4-H is the Gold Star Award. This award was presented to two desiring 4-H members. Caitlin Garcia and Neeraj Bhakta received this award for 2017. 

Garcia is the daughter of Eric and Rebecca Garcia. Caitlin has been a member of the Thorndale 4-H Club for the past 10 years. Her main projects include leadership, goats, share the fun, and baked goods. 

Bhakta is the son of Neal and Yamini Bhakta. Neeraj has been a member of the Cameron 4-H Club for the past nine years. His main projects include plant and soil science, healthy lifestyles, consumer education, clothing and textiles, and leadership. 

Sponsors for this award are U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, Cameron Chamber of Commerce, Milam County Farm Bureau and Ideal Poultry.

The I Dare You Award was presented to three outstanding 4-Hers.  The award is offered as recognition of excellence in character and well-balanced personal development as well as a demonstration of leadership.  Sponsors for the award were Phil and Debbie Konarik. 

Receiving this award for 2017 were Jacob Barron of the Thorndale 4-H Club, the son of Jeff and Cheryl Barron; Heath Hollas of the Cameron 4-H Club, the son of Gery and Theresa Hollas; Rebecca Kostroun of the Cameron 4-H Club, the daughter of Richard and Sara Kostroun; and Abbigail Miller of the Gause 4-H Club, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Miller.

The Silver Star award is for 4-Hers ages 11-13. A recordbook is required to apply for this award. These awards are sponsored by Marek Burns Laywell Funeral Home of Cameron.   

Receiving this award were Colby Barton of the Cameron 4-H Club, the son of Jason and Monica Barton; Colby Green of the Cameron 4-H Club, the son of Dennis and Misty Green; J.W. Hollas of the Cameron 4-H Club, the son of Gery and Theresa Hollas; and Grant Widner of the Thorndale 4-H Club, the son of Kevin and Cindy Widner.

County Judge Dave Barkemeyer was sponsor for the Bronze Star awards. This award is for 4-Hers 8-10 years of age.  Receiving this award was Harleigh Barrett of the Thorndale 4-H Club, the daughter of Kelley and Anita Barrett; Camryn Green of the Cameron 4-H Club, the daughter of Dennis and Misty Green; and Mason Leifeste of the Cameron 4-H Club, the son of Alan and Samantha Leifeste.

District Judge John Youngblood and District Attorney Bill Torrey sponsored the County Achievement awards. The Clover award is for beginner members between the ages of 5-8. 4-Hers receiving this award were Luke Holcombe of the Cameron 4-H, Shawn Leifeste of the Cameron 4-H, and Cheyenne Stevenson of the Thorndale 4-H. 

The Honor Roll award is for Junior members between the ages of 8-10. 4-Hers receiving this award were Harleigh Barrett of the Thorndale 4-H, Corley Callahan of the Cameron 4-H, Camryn Green of the Cameron 4-H, Robert Miller of the Gause 4-H, Aiyanna Stevenson of the Thorndale 4-H, and Macie Vaculin of the Cameron 4-H. 

The All Star award winners are intermediate members ages 11-13. 4-Hers receiving this award were Wylie Barrett of the Thorndale 4-H, Colby Barton of the Cameron 4-H, Connor Barton of the Cameron 4-H,  Kincaid Callahan of the Cameron 4-H, J.W. Hollas of the Cameron 4-H, Gabriel Ramthun of the Rockdale 4-H, Sydney Vaculin of the Cameron 4-H, and Grant Widner of the Thorndale 4-H. 

The Letterman award is for senior members 14-18 year of age. 4-Hers receiving this award were Jacob Barron of the Thorndale 4-H, Chandler Barton of the Cameron 4-H,  Neeraj Bhakta of the Cameron 4-H,  Heath Hollas of the Cameron 4-H, Rebecca Kostroun of the Cameron 4-H, Abbigail Miller of the Gause 4-H, and Scott Widner of the Thorndale 4-H.

Each 4-H club honored a Top Leader and Top Supporter. Club Top Leaders Gifts were sponsored by Steve Young. Winners were: Cameron 4-H Club - Theresa Hollas; Rockdale 4-H Club - Kelly Pickel; Shooting Sports 4-H Club - Tiny and Susan Dean, Keely and Larry Reisner, and Don Junek; Thorndale 4-H Club - Jerome Buchanan, Cameron 4-H Club - Circle S BBQ; Gause 4-H Club - Coats Crocery, Jess Miller, Welding Service, and Gause ISD; Rockdale 4-H Club - New Salem Extension Education Association; Shooting Sports 4-H Club - New Salem Extension Education Association; and Thorndale 4-H Club - M&G Designs.

Milam County 4-Hers that have placed first at a state contest received a jacket for this achievement.  This award can only be received one time in their 4-H career. Six 4-Hers received this award at the 4-H Banquet. First-time state winners included: John Hanke - Budget Host Inn and Suites, Mason Leifeste - Bradley Plumbing, Garrett Reed - Rodenbeck Farm and Ranch and Thorndale Meat Market, Kaylee Veit - Kelly Foster, US Olympic Shooting Team member Cody Webb - Buckholts State Bank, and Grant Widner - Buddy and Marilyn Johnson.

Repeat first place state contest winners were also recognized at the banquet.    

County Recordbook awards were presented by Club Managers and County Commissioners Richard “Opey” Watkins, Donald Shuffield, and Jeff Muegge. Citizens National Bank and Anderle Lumber Company sponsored the 4-H recordbook pins. 

4-Hers receiving awards: Cameron 4-H Club - Chandler Barton, Colby Barton, Connor Barton, Neeraj Bhakta, Camryn Green, Colby Green, Luke Holcombe, Heath Hollas, JW Hollas, Rebecca Kostroun, Mason Leifeste, Shawn Leifeste, John Hanke, and Sydney Vaculin; Gause 4-H Club - Abbigail Miller and Robert Miller; Rockdale 4-H Club - Patrick Dean; Thorndale 4-H Club - Harleigh Barrett, Wylie Barrett, Jacob Barron, Garrett Bernstein, Caitlin Garcia, Jacob Pedroza, Gabriel Ramthun, Aiyanna Stevenson, Cheyenne Stevenson, Grant Widner, Scott Widner.

Milam County 4-Hers are involved in many projects and contests throughout the year. Here is a listing of what 4-H has to offer in Milam County. Ag Product ID, Calf Scramble , 4-H Camp and workshops,  Consumer Decision Making, District Leadership Lab, Food Show, Healthy Lifestyles, Horse Judging, Livestock Judging, Poultry Judging,  Local and Major Livestock Shows, Photography, Plant ID and Range Evaluation, State Roundup Contests, Scholarship, Shooting Sports Contests, State Brigades.

The Mr. and Miss for Milam County 4-H were given to Kevin Junek and Corley Callahn of the Cameron 4-H Club, and Gabriel Ramthun and Natalie Garcia of the Thorndale 4-H Club were named Prince and Princess 4-H. Steve Young was the sponsor of these plaques. Other candidates recognized were Troy Montoya and Hannah Bakken of the Milano 4-H Club, Cameron Cooper and Kendall Lee of the Gause 4-H Club and Jack Luckey and Julie Bartsch of the Rockdale 4-H Club. Fundraising for this next year’s contest will be a raffle, which will be held Oct. 1 through March 1, 2017. Tickets will be drawn at the MCJLS in March. Items include $500 gift cards as well as a party bar ice chest filled with items. The new representatives and their parents are in charge of fundraising for their Club!

2018 Graduating High School Seniors were recognized. Graduating senior awards were sponsored by Cameron Cleaners and Circle S BBQ. Seniors honored were Caitlin Garcia of the Thorndale 4-H, Chandler Barton of the Cameron 4-H Club, Patrick Dean of the Cameron 4-H Club, and Neeraj Bhakta of the Cameron 4-H Club. 

This year we have some very important state leaders and winners with us that we wanted to highlight. We would like to recognize Neeraj Bhakta for his state leadership this year. He represented Milam County on the State Technology team and this year he has been elected and will represent Milam County on the State 4-H Council. Congratulations Neeraj on your accomplishments! 

Milam County 4-H is also proud to have a 1st place state recordbook winner, Patrick Dean. Recordbooks are a huge undertaking and placing first is an amazing accomplishment. Patrick Dean also represented Milam County on the state shooting sports team. The Texas Shooting Sports team competed at the National level and won first place. 

We would like to congratulate Alexis Magre, Hannah Hux, and Julia Harwell for winning first place at the Texas 4-H Roundup in the Consumer Contest. They will be representing Milam County at Nationals in January! Thank you to Cameron Farm and Ranch Company for sponsoring these awards. 

The 2017-2018 4-H County Council Officers and Club Managers/Project Leaders were recognized.  County Council Officer Pins and Club and Project Leader Gifts were sponsored by Classic Bank and EBCO General Contractors. 

Leading the Milam County 4-H will be officers:  Chairman Neeraj Bhakta, First Vice Abbigail Miller, Delegate at Large Heath Hollas, Vice Chairman 4-H Promotion Patrick Dean, Vice Chairman Community Service Scott Widner, Vice Chairman Summer Activities Sydney Vaculin, Secretary Grant Widner, Treasurer Jacob Barron, and Parliamentarian Gabriel Ramthun.

The Milam County 4-H County Council Officers demonstrate leadership skills. They will provide leadership to younger 4-H members and be leaders in the Milam County 4-H program. They will be leading workshops and assisting County Extension Agents at their programs throughout the year. These are our leaders of tomorrow!

The following Club Managers and Project Leaders were recognized at the Banquet:

Club Managers: Cameron - Choya Vaculin and Cassie Callahan; Gause - Kelly Lee-Cooper and Elizabeth Miller; Milano - Catrina Steinbecker; Rockdale - Paul and Rebecca Luckey and Sharon McDaniel; Thorndale - Cheryl Barron and Kassie Tyroch; Shooting Sports - Brian and Diane Preusse and Keely Reisner; Milam County 4-H Financial Advisor -Theresa Hollas; Ag Product ID - Cindy Widner; Plant Identification Project Group - Irby McWilliams; Consumer  Education Project Group - Micah Holcombe and Gail Hollas; Horse Judging  Project Group - Cassie Callahan and Monica Barton; Healthy Lifestyles Project Group - Kelly Cooper and Elizabeth Miller; 4-H FCS Coalition - Micah Holcombe, Elizabeth Miller, Darleen Tucker

Thank you to the following sponsors who helped make our 4-H Banquet a success: Anderle Lumber Company, Bradley Plumbing, Buckholts State Bank, Buddy and Marilyn Johnson, Budget Host Inns & Suites, Cameron Chamber of Commerce, Cameron Cleaners & Circle S BBQ, Cameron Farm and Ranch Company, Citizens National Bank, Classic Bank, District Attorney- Bill Torrey, County Judge, Dave Barkemeyer, District Judge, John Youngblood, EBCO General Contractor, Hay King, Ideal Poultry, Kelly Foster, USA Olympic Shooting Team, Marek-Burns-Laywell Funeral Home - Cameron, Milam County Farm Bureau, Milam County Livestock Auction, Phil and Debbie Konarik; U.S. Representative Bill Flores; Rodenbeck Farm and Ranch and Thorndale Meat Market; Steve Young; and Tractor Supply- Rockdale

We really want to say thank you to all of our supporters of the 4-H program and Banquet sponsors! It really means a lot to all the 4-H families to have such great support in our communities and Milam County! Thank you! We also want to thank Gause Full Gospel for a wonderful facility and for Elizabeth Miller, 4-H leader, who helped make this facility a success. Thank you to all the leaders who helped make it a success! 

For more information about Milam County 4-H, please call the Milam County Extension Office at 254-697-7045 or email Micah Holcombe, FCS Agent, at mlholcombe@ag.tamu.edu or Floyd Ingram, Ag Agent, at Floyd.Ingram@ag.tamu.edu.