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November 24, 2008
NC youth win big at NJHA
“A long, long time ago, all we knew was an avocado,
but we got better and now we know broccoli from tomato.”
This was the rap that erupted from the creative North Carolina youth delegates, remarking on their plant identification experiences in the Performing Arts category of the 74th National Junior Horticulture Association’s annual convention. Traveling down to Spartanburg, S.C. , 14 youth and five adult leaders from across the state spent five days discovering Southern horticulture and sharing their horticultural knowledge through speeches, presentations, demonstrations, essays, experiments and the Horticulture Judging Contest.
From Ikebana flower arrangements to strawberry- and honey-glazed fruit kebabs, the North Carolina youth articulately showed their skills. Our delegation was a merry bunch of youth, who enjoyed supporting each other with cheers, shouts, the wave and chants, earning them the Most Spirited State Award for the second year in a row. “Our North Carolina delegation is a dynasty!” remarked Michael Costa, a returning delegate, and enthusiastic and witty teen from Camden County.
“Our 4-H teens are inspirational in their genuine interest, dedication and excitement about plants and their desire to share the stories with others." said Liz Driscoll, 4-H youth horticulture Extension specialist.
"They took advantage of every opportunity the convention offered, from meeting new friends from other states, reconnecting with folks from previous years, participating in workshops and immersing themselves in local field trips to Hatcher Gardens, Wofford College campus arboretum, Milliken Arboretum and Clemson University.
Our youth drew high honors in many events and most youth participated in multiple events.
Thanks to hard work and dedication, the North Carolina youth brought home the following awards:
Horticulture Contest, Open Individual Honors
Grand National Champion (1st), Caitlin Davis, Stokes County
2nd Place: Dakota Starr, Wake County
Horticulture Contest, 4-H Team
5th place, Emily Mercer, Justin Simmons, Bryan Evans, Victoria Harman, all of Brunswick County
Horticulture Contest, 4-H Individual Awards
5th Overall: Emily Mercer, Brunswick County
Horticulture Contest, Open Team
Grand National Champions (1st Place), Logan Bland, Michael Costa, Tyler Lannon and Oliver Manzer, Pasquotank County (also the highest scoring team out of any category)
Demonstration, Artistic Arrangement Grand National Winner
Caitlin Davis, Stokes County
Demonstration, Horticultural Use
Grand National Winner, Charity Haskins, Hoke County
Illustrated Talk
Grand National Winner, Timothy Sherwood, Camden County
Demonstration, Production
Grand National Winner, Timothy Sherwood, Camden County
Prepared Speech
National Winner, Tyler Lannon, Camden County
Extemporaneous Speech
National Winner, Michael Costa, Camden County
National Winner, Timothy Sherwood, Camden County
Horticulture Essay Contest
National Winner, Dakota Starr, Wake County
Performing Arts
National Winner, Pasquotank/Camden County team -- Oliver Manzer, Timothy Sherwood, Tyler Lannon, Michael Costa, Logan Bland
State Spirit Award
North Carolina (second year in a row)
Horticulture Connections
1st place North Carolina Team -- Caitlin Davis, Stokes County; Dakota Starr, Wake County, Kait Neeland, Currituck County; and Justin Simmons, Brunswick County
NJHA Young America Project Winners
The NJHA Young America Program is designed to stimulate an interest in horticulture with youth ages 5-14 through the completion of gardening projects. We had a number of youth in North Carolina that were awarded for their achievements.
Gardening (5-8 years), Grand National Winner: Carter Mills, Wake County; National Winner; Nazeeha Aman, Wake County
Gardening (9 – 11 years), National Winners, Ishaq Ibrahim, Winston Beck, Charley Maynard, all of Wake County
Gardening (12-14 years), Grand National Winner: Michael Hoxie, Wake County; National Winners: Hunter Starr and Lillian Beck, both of Wake County
Plant Propagation (5-8 years), National Winner, Nazeeha Aman, Wake County
Plant Propagation (12-14 years), National Winner, Ismail Ibrahim, Wake County
Experimental Horticulture (5-8 years), National Winner, Idris Ibrahim, Wake County
Experimental Horticulture (12-14 years), Grand National Champion, Gabriel Hoxie, Wake County
Environmental Awareness (5-8 years), National Winner, Asiyah Ibrahim, Wake County
Environmental Awareness (12-14 years), Grand National Champion, Mary Silliman Ibrahim, Wake County; National Winners, Adrian Rodriquez and Nayeem Hossain, both of Wake County
NJHA Garden Poster Contest
(5-7 years), 1st place, Zachary Peterson, Sampson County; 2nd place, Vernae Boyd, Sampson County; 3rd place, Nazeeha Aman, Wake County
(8-10 years), 2nd place, Alexis Kirby, Sampson County; 3rd place, Angel Coleman, Sampson County
(11-14 years) 2nd place, Joseph Johnson, Sampson County
Posted by Natalie at November 24, 2008 10:16 AM