Students earn 4-H honors

Elizabeth Mintz, daughter of Ray and Cheryl Mintz of Leland, and Justin Simmons, son of Cleve and Sybil Simmons of Supply, were inducted into the N.C. 4-H State Honor Club on July 18 during the tapping ceremony at N.C. 4-H State Congress. Both are involved and active in the Brunswick County program.
Mintz, who has been in 4-H for six years, is currently the president of the Rowdy Farms 4-H Livestock Club and a member of the Silver Spurs 4-H Horse Club, serving as president for the past five years. She has served on the county poultry judging team for the past three years and attended N.C. State University Poultry Science Summer Institute. She has also worked and shown at local and district 4-H horse shows, attended 4-H Horsemanship, raised and shown animals at the Cape Fear Fair & Expo, district 4-H livestock shows, and the N.C. State Fair (rabbits, dairy goats, turkeys, and beef cattle). She even served as a mentor to other youth and allowed them to show her animals for fairs and competitions.
Mintz has been a member of the County Council and participated in events such as Relay for Life, gave presentations, assisted with summer programs for younger youth, participated in numerous county fundraisers, community service projects, participated in county fashion revues, favorite foods fairs, national 4-H week events, essay, poster and photo contests. She assisted with the Cape Fear Wildlife Expo, district Farm Safety Day, co-chair of the county 4-H centennial committee, attended N.C. 4-H State Congress as a Brunswick County delegate for five years.
An active member of her church youth group, Mintz recently graduated from Faith Christian Academy and plans to attend Brunswick Community College in the fall and later transfer to N.C. State University to pursue an agricultural degree. She has been accepted to the N.C. Beef Institute Summer Tour.
Simmons, who has been in 4-H for 13 years, was the 2010 county council president, 2009-2010 southeast district vice president and was previously a member of the Big Macedonia 4-H Club. He ran for the state 4-H president’s office in 2010, losing by a small margin, and was elected state vice president during this session of Congress. He has served on the county horticulture judging team for the past three years and attended the National 4-H Horticulture Contest three times, as well as serving as a regional director for the National Junior Horticulture Association in 2010 and 2011.
Attending the 2010 Youth Summit at the County Commissioners’ Association Convention, Simmons participated in Relay for Life, gave presentations, assisted with summer programs for younger youth, participated in numerous county fundraisers and community service projects, and participated in talent shows (county, district, state levels), favorite foods fairs and national 4-H week events. He also attended the N.C. State University Poultry Science Summer Institute, raised and showed animals at the Cape Fear Fair & Expo, served on the county WHEP (Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program) team, Envirothon team and the Forestry Judging team.
In addition, Simmons attended N.C. State 4-H Citizenship Focus and State Council Conference for three years, attended N.C. 4-H State Congress as a Brunswick County delegate for six years, served two years as the Brunswick Waccamaw Youth Association President and as the National Institute on Cooperative Education Youth Leader and served as the state secretary for the N.C. Youth Grange program. An active member of his church youth group, he plans to attend Brunswick Community College in the fall.
To learn more about Brunswick County 4-H and how to participate in activities like these, contact Blair Green, 4-H extension agent, at blair_wooten@ncsu.edu or Angie Lawrence, 4-H program assistant, at angie_lawrence@ncsu.edu. Call the Cooperative Extension office at 253-2610 or visit its website at http://brunswickco4h.shutterfly.com/ or blog at http://brunswick4h.wordpress.com.