2020 Holiday To Go Menu and Meal Bundles

Rock Eagle 4-H Center is excited to offer our annual holiday to go menu.  New this year are meal bundles that serve 2, 4, and 10 people.  Each bundle may be customized based on your selection of entrees, sides, desserts, and beverages.

Menu options are available at:

2020 Take Out Menu

Holiday Meal Bundles

Thanksgiving Order Deadlines

The last day for placing an order will be Wednesday, November 18th by 4:00PM.

Pick-up times will be available until 3:00PM on Tuesday, November 24th.

Christmas Order Deadlines

 The last day for placing an order will be Wednesday, December 16th by 4:00PM.

Pick-up times will be available until 3:00PM on Tuesday, December 22nd.

To place an order please contact the dining hall at: 706-484-2384.

National Beekeeping Contest Winner

Venya Gunjal, Cobb County 4-H’er, has placed third in the National 4-H Beekeeping Essay Competition! Twenty-two states were represented in the national contest.

In addition to a $250.00 cash prize, her essay will be published in ABF Quarterly, the magazine of the American Beekeeping Federation and she will also receive a hard-cover copy of the acclaimed book The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild by Dr. Thomas D. Seeley, Professor, Cornell University.

Click the link below to read Venya’s winning essay:
http://preservationofhoneybees.org/essays/2020-essays

The Georgia 4-H Beekeeping Essay Competition is graciously sponsored by the Georgia Beekeepers Association; the national competition is sponsored by the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees.

2019 State Council Announcements

Georgia 4-H Youth, Alumni, Volunteers and Leaders Honored at State Council

More than 500 Georgia 4-H 8th-12th grade youth members gathered for the annual State 4-H Council Meeting at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia. This year’s “Rooted in the Classics” theme focused on the original purpose of State Council and civic engagement. During this constitutional meeting, 4-H youth vote on proposed amendments to the 4-H constitution, elect Georgia 4-H state officers, participate in competitions and enjoy fun and games.

Serving as a Georgia 4-H state officer is one of the highest offices a 4-H youth member can hold. The delegates vote for five statewide representatives, with the top two vote-getters serving as president and vice president. After the top five are determined, the delegates vote again for representatives for their districts. The 2019-2020 state board representatives are:

Arham Shah, Emanuel County, President
Deontavious Kitchens, Stewart County, Vice President
Taylor Wells, Clinch County, State Representative
Kimberly Rios, Emanuel County, State Representative
Madison Clemente, Paulding County, State Representative
Sarah Isaac, Stephens County, Northeast District Representative
Hope Steward, Spalding County, Northwest District Representative
Ty Poole, Washington County, Southeast District Representative
Douglas Hopkins, Thomas County, Southwest District Representative

No amendments were brought forward or voted on this year. Youth participated in a variety of workshops on preparedness, democracy and high learning. Youth prepared for the hurricane season by creating emergency plans and starting their home preparedness kits under the supervision of MyPI Georgia instructors and AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) summer associates. On Saturday, 13 adult leaders graduated as certified forestry judging coaches.

The State Council meeting includes a citizenship ceremony, during which all 4-H’ers who are turning 18 take the pledge remain engaged voters throughout their lives. Randy Nuckolls led the ceremony this year.

State 4-H Leader and Director of 4-H Arch Smith honored his pledge to get “slimed” after all 159 Georgia counties participated in $4 for 4-H giving day, raising more than $35,000. Chattooga County had the most donors and Fulton County raised the most money for their county.

All 4-H’ers participated in the Iron Clover Competition. The Iron Clover Award is given to the district that excels in basketball, softball, volleyball and musical chairs tournaments and other activities. This year, new competitions were introduced including giant Jenga, extreme tic-tac-toe and the Great Canoe Race. The Northeast District won the 2019 Iron Clover for the second year in a row, excelling in ultimate Frisbee, basketball, volleyball, watermelon eating and the Great Canoe Race.

At this year’s Master Club Banquet, Smith was proud to announce that African American 4-H’ers who won state honors in project work during segregation will now be recognized as Master 4-H’ers and the Master 4-H Club has extended membership to those individuals. Several former Newton County 4-H members who won state honors at Dublin 4-H Center from 1951-1964 were recognized. Lottie Johnson, who began her career as an Extension Agent in 1955 during segregation, was named an Honorary Master 4-H Member for her service to 4-H youth from 1955 until her retirement in 1986. The University of Georgia 4-H program plans to recognize the work of the Black Extension 4-H Program during segregation with historical plaques at the site of the Dublin 4-H Center, which was closed in 1968. The banquet also recognized youth that Mastered in the past year as well.

The State and District Board of Directors and Clovers & Co. Alumni Reception, hosted by the Georgia 4-H Foundation on Saturday afternoon, honored 4-H’ers who currently serve or once served on the state or district boards as well as Clovers & Company alumni. Saturday morning, AmeriCorps VISTAs were honored at the volunteer breakfast.

Georgia 4-H empowers youth to become true leaders by developing necessary life skills, positive relationships and community awareness. As the largest youth leadership organization in the state, 4-H reaches more than 175,000 people annually through the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offices and 4-H facilities. For more information, visit georgia4h.org or contact your local Extension office.

Author: Cristina deRevere, stinafig@uga.edu
Source(s): Jeffrey Burke, jburke@uga.edu

Rock Eagle Lake Maintenance

Rock Eagle 4-H Center has lowered the lake levels to begin preparing for the work that will take place over the next few months.  The main goal is to reinforce the spillway of Rock Eagle Lake.  This project will require the water levels of Rock Eagle Lake to be dropped by eight feet. The spillway project is expected to take several months to complete. Starting Thursday, July 11th the Rock Eagle lake and boat ramp will be closed to the public.  Rock Eagle Lake will reopen for public recreational use when the project is complete.

The 110-acre lake at Rock Eagle 4-H Center was completed in 1936.  The lake serves as a tool for Rock Eagle’s education programs and is a popular spot for recreational fishing.  An earthen dam holds back water from five feeder streams to create the lake.  A concrete spillway is located on the southern end of the lake and functions to keeps the lake at a constant depth. In heavy rains, excess water flows overtop the spillway and prevents the lake from flooding its banks.

Water leaving Rock Eagle Lake feeds into Little Glady Creek and flows through the Oconee National Forest. Little Glady Creek converges with Glady Creek and then empties into the Little River and ultimately Lake Sinclair. From Lake Sinclair, the water flows into the Oconee River, the Altamaha River and eventually the Atlantic Ocean. Rock Eagle Lake is located in the Upper Oconee Watershed and the Oconee River Basin.

Updates about the spillway project will be posted on the Rock Eagle 4-H Center’s Facebook page.

National Healthy Living Summit 2019

Georgia 4-H youth participate in national healthy living summit

Georgia 4-H representatives attended the National Youth Summit on Healthy Living hosted by the National 4-H Council on Feb. 15-18, 2019, at the National 4-H Conference Center in Washington, DC.

The National 4-H Council and National 4-H Conference Center partnered with professionals in family consumer sciences and healthy living to address nutrition education, physical fitness, wellness and emotional wellbeing for high school students.

“Being part of the National Youth Summit on Healthy Living was a fantastic experience for our Georgia team,” said Courtney Brown, University of Georgia Extension 4-H Specialist of Healthy Living Programs. “I was impressed before the summit by how these young people are working to help their communities become healthier. Attending the summit gave them the chance to meet other youth with similar interests, be inspired by leaders in several health-related fields, and learn new information, skills and strategies that they can take back to Georgia and share.”

The 4-H’ers participated in hands-on workshops, service projects and health breaks, as well as a guided nighttime tour of the monuments and memorials in Washington, DC. During the summit, the Georgia team created an action plan with the goal of helping their community become healthier.

Brown and Elyse Daniel, Educational Program Specialist, lead two workshops, “Food Bank Recipe Contest: Addressing childhood obesity and hunger through a 4-H contest” and “The Community Food Experience: A hunger/poverty simulation.” Georgia youth assisted in leading both of these workshops.

The six students that attended were selected via an application process from Georgia 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors and Healthy Rocks Actions Leaders: Carlissa Stewart and Caroline Lord, Ben Hill County; Kaleigh Jordan, Johnson County; Kennedy Deveaux and Kayla Faulks, Cobb County; and Tianna Ramey, Habersham County. Two collegiate Georgia 4-H members also participated in the summit. Sophia Rodriguez, 2018 Youth in Action Healthy Living Pillar Award winner, was featured as a speaker and also led workshops on her “Tie Dye for Troops” program. Angel Austin served as a collegiate facilitator for the event and was involved in the planning and leadership.

“I made numerous new friends from different states and even some from my own state,” said Kaleigh Jordan, a senior from Johnson County. “I learned a lot of new and fascinating information about different aspects of healthy living, including the dangers of Juul’s and vapes, adolescent mental illnesses and ways to help spread awareness about some of them, and creative activities to inform younger children of these illnesses and inform them that ‘it’s okay to not be okay.’”

For more information on Georgia 4-H and the Healthy Living Program, visit https://georgia4h.org.

Author: Cristina deRevere, stinafig@uga.edu
Source(s): Courtney Brown, courtms@uga.edu; Elyse Daniel, elyse.daniel@uga.edu

 

Georgia 2019 LifeSmarts Championship

Georgia LifeSmarts Championship quizzes Georgia 4-H youth on consumer literacy skills

Last week, eight Georgia 4-H Junior Varsity and Varsity teams competed at the 2019 Georgia LifeSmarts Championship on Feb. 18, 2019, at the Georgia Agricenter Miller Murphy Howard Building in Perry, GA.

LifeSmarts, a National Consumers League program, is celebrating 25 years of empowering middle and high school students across the United States to develop consumer literacy skills needed to succeed in today’s marketplace.

“LifeSmarts teaches students critical thinking skills and expands their knowledge on real-world issues to prepare them for life after high school,” said Brittani Lee, Georgia 4-H County Extension Agent and Georgia LifeSmarts Co-coordinator. “The life skills that LifeSmarts students gain through the program will aid them in being well-rounded, knowledgeable and prepared adults in tomorrow’s world. Not only are they preparing for the future, but they are having fun too.”

The competition quizzes the participants on five categories: Personal Finance, Consumer Rights and Responsibilities, Technology, Health and Safety, and the Environment. The student teams, under the guidance of an adult coach, participated in an online qualifying competition series. The highest-scoring four Junior Varsity and Varsity teams were invited to compete in the state championship.

“This year, we had sixteen varsity teams and eight junior varsity teams competing online for a chance at the championship,” said Courtney Still Brown, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension 4-H Specialist of Healthy Living Programs and Georgia LifeSmarts Co-coordinator. “It is really encouraging to see these students at the championship understanding and explaining concepts such as budgeting, consumer rights, online safety and much more. They certainly have a head start on how to navigate the complex consumer issues that we face today.”

 

 

 

The Oconee County team won the Junior Varsity championship. The Floyd County team placed second, followed by Johnson and Columbia County teams.

The Bartow County team won the Varsity championship. The Oconee County team placed second, followed by Gwinnett and Chattooga County teams.

The Bartow County Varsity Team will represent Georgia in the National LifeSmarts Championship, in hopes of being the national champions in April in Orlando, FL. Additional Georgia teams may win the chance to compete at the National Championship as well through a wildcard bid process.

 

For more information on Georgia 4-H and the Georgia LifeSmarts Program, visit https://georgia4h.org.

Author: Cristina deRevere, stinafig@uga.edu
Source: Courtney Still Brown, courtms@uga.edu; Brittani Lee, bkelley@uga.edu

 

 

 

 

Rock Eagle Road Closure

Rock Eagle Road Closure Map

Beginning Monday, August 5, 2019 portions of Rock Eagle Road between Hwy 441 and Union Chapel Road will be closed due to lake maintenance. The closure will remain in effect for several weeks.

Please make plans to enter the 4-H Center from Union Chapel road, north of the Hwy 441 entrance.

State 4-H Leader Arch Smith shares his thoughts on the Rock Eagle Chapel.

February 15, 2019

Arch Smith II
State 4-H Leader and Director of 4-H
University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Cooperative Extension

Dear friends,

After a week of reflection concerning the Rock Eagle Chapel, I thought it appropriate to share my thoughts.

Let me begin by letting the many friends and alumni of the University of Georgia 4-H program know that we are grateful for your outpouring of concern and support over the past week. The Chapel is one of the symbolic icons of Rock Eagle 4-H Center. We are thankful that the building was vacant and appreciate the quick response from the Putnam County Fire Department and University officials who are assisting us in the clean-up and remediation of the site.

The Chapel will be repaired. We hope to save the stone walls of the structure and a couple of the windows but will seek the guidance of an engineer for a final determination. The Rock Eagle staff have located the original 1953 blueprints containing detailed information, including the variety of woods used, which will allow a reconstruction as close to the original as possible.

There are insurance funds available, but additional funds will be needed. It will take several weeks to complete the assessment for funding needs and a reopening date. Many 4-H friends and donors have already contributed to the renovation fund. We will continue to provide updates on the progress.

Since 1904, Georgia 4-H has been providing safe learning environments that allow children to develop life skills enabling them to become contributing citizens wherever they reside. This was an emotional event for Georgia 4-H, but only a small stumbling block to the resilient 4-H community. We will live up to the 4-H motto and continue “To Make The Best Better.”

Thank you,
Arch