The 2018 Colorado State Fair concluded earlier this month on Labor Day.
Each year, many local 4-H members enter projects, participate in contests and compete in livestock, horse and shooting sports competitions at the fairgrounds in Pueblo.
Once again, our La Plata County 4-H youths represented our area well. The state fair is a great experience for our members to advance their project-based skills on a larger level. We congratulate all our youths and appreciate all our parents, leaders and coaches who made the trip to Pueblo this year.
Today, I would like to highlight members who did exceptionally well by entering a variety of 4-H exhibits. Project exhibits at the state fair qualify through receiving a champion placement at their local county fair. These exhibits are then entered and judged against project entries from counties all over the state of Colorado.
Bennett Esterday received a first-place champion ribbon for his junior-level gardening project. Eli Armanderez earned sixth place in senior photography and seventh overall in model rocketry. Vaughn Lee placed third in his junior leathercraft project. Larissa Gallegos got fourth for her senior scrapbooking exhibit. Elias Lopez received a fourth-place ribbon for his Sketch Crossroads intermediate art project. Rylee Pearson earned a sixth-place finish for the wooden archery bow she entered in the woodworking project.
In the very popular cake decorating exhibits, La Plata County shined. Payton Martinez received a sixth-place finish for her junior cake decorating project. Raymond Davis got a fourth overall for his intermediate cake. And finally, Audrey Roderick is the state champion for her cake, which was a dalmatian dog on a brown and green cake.
La Plata County 4-H also performed well in the Heritage Arts categories. Delilah Peine received a ninth-place ribbon for her junior quilting project. Katherine McCourt got fifth place for her senior quilting project. Sydney Flores is the intermediate first-place champion for her knitting project. She made a wonderful scarf.
Other great projects include: Nathan Greer receiving a Reserve Grand Champion Award for his junior electricity project. John Carpenter earned fifth-place finishes for his senior electricity and advanced model rocketry exhibits. Trinity Strohl got eighth place for her .22 rifle intermediate project. Lanston Howard was the champion for his .22 pistol junior exhibit. Kylie Zufelt was the first-place champion in the archery junior stand-alone category.
McKenzie Albright of the Animas Valley 4-H Club did remarkably well at the state fair. Not only did she receive a fifth-place finish for her junior scrapbooking project, she also competed in two contests in Pueblo. McKenzie received the Reserved Champion Award in the Creative Cooks Competition. She is also the junior individual demonstration contest champion. These contests take commitment and hard work to be successful. Well done, McKenzie.
In her last year, Oakley Felker of the Rocky Mountain Rough Riders 4-H Club also did extremely well at the state fair. She received third place for her senior leathercraft project. Her cowgirl boots were beautiful, and she also sold them at the La Plata County Fair auction. However, her greatest accomplishment at the state fair was her clothing construction project. Oakley received a Reserve Champion ribbon for her senior upcycle-your-style entry. She made a unique prom dress. Great work, Oakley.
As you can see, 4-H offers a variety of projects youths can learn to master. 4-H also offers many educational opportunities and experiences for lifelong growth. We will be starting new enrollment for the 2018-19 4-H year next month. For more information about how to enroll your child or become an adult volunteer, contact me.
Greg Felsen is the La Plata County 4-H youth development agent. Reach him at gregory.felsen@co.laplata.co.us or 382-6463.
Greg Felsen
