CJ Lee 
CJ Lee bleeds Georgia 4-H green! CJ grew up as an active Glynn County 4-H member and chose to give back to the local program as soon as he graduated from High School. In the past 20 years, CJ has been a devoted volunteer in the Glynn County 4-H program. He has served on the 4-H Advisory Council where he has advocated for the importance of raising funds to help send kids to 4-H Camp. Every year CJ has given up his one week of vacation leave to serve as an adult chaperone with Glynn County to 4-H camps across the state. He enthusiastically encourages campers by dressing up in costumes to increase camper spirit! He also mentors younger 4-H’ers by helping them prepare for project achievement and practice for a variety of 4-H competitions. He attends Senior 4-H after-school meetings and assists Glynn County 4-H staff wherever they need help! For the past 20 years, Glynn County has seen CJ Lee as the living epitome of the 4-H Pledge. 

John Jones has been a certified volunteer for Pulaski 4-H for 20 years. He has helped with almost every aspect of Pulaski County 4-H programming, bleeds green, and is a true supporter of 4-H! His love of 4-H is infectious, and he advocates for it everywhere he goes so much you would never guess that he didn’t grow up in 4-H. He is now also experiencing 4-H not only as a lifetime volunteer but as a parent of a 4-Her and is more involved in activities and events that she wants to experience. John has been the volunteer of the year for Pulaski County, won GAE4-HYDP SWD & State Volunteer of the Year for 2023, has been elected twice by his peers as the Pulaski County 4-H Leader Association President, and has been selected to be a Georgia 4-H Honorary Master 4-H’er.

Billy is a Columbia County 4-Hlegend and has been serving as a volunteer for 22 years. He has transported hundreds of students back-and-forth to 4-H events all over the state as the dedicated bus driver. Billy has served as a chaperone for summer camp at all 5 4-Hcenters, as well as Fall Forum, Junior Conference, DPA, and countless county events. His service has spanned the tenure of three 4-H agents. Youth who have experienced his guidance have gone on to become camp counselors, environmental educators, 4-H agents, and state staff members. He is now mentoring the children of those who were his original 4-H’ers.

Shannon McBride is the winner of the 2021 Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer Award. Congratulations, Shannon!

Danny is currently the leader of the Morgan County 4-H archery program which excels each year at both indoor and outdoor state matches. Danny has coached several Georgia State 4-H Championship Teams and traveled numerous times to represent the state of Georgia at the National 4-H Shooting Sports competition where his teams consistently finish in the top ten and, most often in the top five teams in the nation. Danny is constantly coaching kids and helping them to understand their equipment, methodology and mental attitude toward the sport of target archery. He has made training videos for 4-H to promote the program and help archers and parents understand more about the expectations of the program. Danny has a basement full of equipment where he spends hours of his personal time setting up bows and arrows for the kids on his archery team. He has coached several archers who achieved podium status at national archery events outside of 4-H as well. Danny serves on the Project SAFE Archery Advisory Committee and has been instrumental in implementing positive changes in the Georgia 4-H Archery program. He has the respect of other certified coaches. Coaches contact him directly for advice on leading local clubs and county programs.

Melvina Carlan has been involved with Pickens County 4-H for over 50 years! From her involvement as a 4-H youth to her adult volunteer work, her service and impact have spanned generations of young people! With kindness and grace, she has served as coach for Forestry Judging, Poultry Judging, and Cotton Boll and Consumer Judging teams over the years. She also mentors youth in civic engagement and 4-H Project Achievement. Pickens County 4-H Clubs find her an invaluable asset to their clubs and appreciate the legacy she has made on young people throughout the years.

Kris Khlifi has been an essential part of the Georgia 4-H program for 25 years. Kris first started working with the 4-H program through her two sons who were active in the 4-H program. Before she was with Columbia County 4-H, Kris was an avid volunteer in McIntosh County under Mr. Greg Hickey. In 2006, Kris came to Columbia County and hasn’t left since. Kris annually attends Cloverleaf DPA, Junior/Senior DPA, summer camp, Fall Forum, Junior Conference, State Council, pop tab pick-up, officer’s training, and 4-H Fun Night. She has also annually attended and presented at the Southern Region Volunteer Leader Forum. Kris was even a 4-H program assistant for some time. Though Kris is no longer an official staff member at the 4-H office, she is still in the office several times a week helping to enter enrollment forms, answer phone calls, picking up supplies, baking cupcakes for club meetings, organizing and printing materials… the list goes on. Kris is also one of our very important in-school club leaders. With over 100 club meetings each month, volunteers like Kris are essential to making sure we are able to stay in each and every school. Her classes continually lead in pop tab collection, Salvation Army donations, and fundraising efforts. Kris has also started a new (and very successful) 25 member 4-H Craft Club this year. Kris is always thinking outside of the box to ‘make the best better’ for the Columbia County 4-H program.

As a Pickens County volunteer, Traci has served as the Cotton Boll and Consumer Judging coach and Poultry Judging coach, but her greatest contributions have been in serving as a Project Achievement mentor and Overnight Chaperone for 27 years! Her work has resulted in 7 Master 4-H’ers as well as numerous Cloverleaf award winners. She has accompanied youth to over 20 camps and competitive events. Well known for her strong work ethic, positive attitude, teamwork mentality, leadership and diligence, Traci has served as an awesome advocate for 4-H! She has presented on 4-H’s behalf at local civic groups, participated in radio spots, and was featured as a speaker on the 4-H Showcase television program. Her many characteristics and dedication to 4-H and youth have impacted many to become successful in the classroom and at Georgia 4-H.

As an active and significant volunteer in Grady County for over six decades, Mrs. Child’s service amounts to over 57,000 hours – the equivalent to approximately 27 years of full-time employment or $540,000! The total time, talent, and travel contributions of Mrs. Childs are estimated at over $700,000! Her voluntary service spans both Georgia and Florida 4-H where her service to Georgia 4-H totals 56 years, but her total service to 4-H spans 68 years! She annually chaperones her county’s delegation to State 4-H Council, 4-H Summer Camps, District Project Achievement, and more! She makes a concerted effort to give all youth individualized attention as they build independence and mastery in Georgia 4-H Project Achievement. She even hosts 4-H’ers in her home to mentor youth and prepare them for project competition. In November of 2014, she coached seven 4th – 6th graders in rural Georgia to a first place project win at their area competitions. Mrs. Childs’ highest recognitions include: Volunteer Leader of the Year in Florida in 1963, Outstanding Service to Georgia 4-H Clubs by the Georgia Volunteer Leaders Association in 1976-77, Grady County Farm Family of the Year in 1979 and 1984, Georgia Master 4-H’er of the Year in 1987 and 2000, Grady County Volunteer Leader M.O. Prince Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2005, and Southern Region Leader Forum Volunteer recognition for 34 years. Mrs. Childs has served as a positive role model for thousands of 4-H’ers, and continues to mentor youth annually on their project competitions. Approximately forty youth have gained Georgia 4-H’s top honor of Master 4-H’er under her leadership and two have earned national wins. In 2014, all youth under her leadership gained top honors! Mrs. Childs is innovative and strives to be a positive influence on all youth in need. This dedication is best shown by her ability to coach youth across county lines and assist in fundraising to allow all youth the opportunity to afford out of county experiences. Annually, Mrs. Childs and her 4-H’ers sell thousands of dollars’ worth of Vidalia Onions to raise funds for youth to attend 4-H Summer Camp. Not only has she consistently made significant impacts on the youth in her community and areas surrounding, but her work was also instrumental in building the Georgia 4-H Volunteer Leadership Association in the late 1960’s where she has served in every elected office of the association and is highly regarded by her colleagues. In addition, she remains available to assist her local county agent to meet the needs of the youth in the area.