Corn, boxes, and the Guadalupe builds leadership for Leon County 4-H

Leon County 4-H Council members preparing corn for the Fresh Food for Families program at the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin. Contributed photo Sixteen youth and 4 adults can now tell you how a river, corn, boxes, and a gold vault are all part of a 3-day trip in and around the State Capital. The Leon County 4-H Council traveled to New Braunfels and Austin, July 19-20, 2010, for the annual Council Leadership Retreat. While on the trip down to the river, County Extension Agents Tommy and Wendy Neyland, Program Assistant Cayla Christianson, and Intern Wade Elliot had a surprise stop in store for the group!

As the Leon County 4-H Council arrived at the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin, Council members were excited to lend a helping hand. Almost 1 in 5 people in Central Texas are at risk of experiencing hunger. The food bank in Austin sends out over a million pounds of food every week. They have many food dealers who give them special deals on food in order to send to 21 counties in Texas. This community service stop began building boxes for the Summer Food Service Program. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally funded program that provides free meals to children ages 18 and under during the summer, when National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program meals are not available. SFSP ensures children have the nutrition they need so that they are ready learn when school starts in the fall. After the 4-H Council members made many boxes assembly line style, they moved on to a staging room, which quickly earned the name of “the corn room” from Council members. There, Council members sorted and bagged ears of corn to be put into boxes to be shipped out in the Fresh Food for Families program. Each person had a different job. Whether it was bagging, weighing, tying, or packing the corn, each one was equally as important. After cleaning up, Council members toured the entire food bank. Once the tour was finished, the Leon County 4-Hers were back on the road again to head to the river!

Leon County 4-H Council was hosted by Texas Representative Jim Dunnam’s office at the State Capital on July 21, 2010. Pictured are TJ Tadlock, Taylor McGill, Andy Johnson, James Knippa, Shayla Roddey, Kastan Martin, Taylor Biddle, David Roach, Sara Ewing, Reagan Robertson, Caleb Wright, Layne Wilson, Cayla Christianson, Tyler Spillman, Cassie Ferguson, Jacob Rodell, Leana Gore, Wendy Neyland, Wade Elliot, and Tommy Neyland. Contributed photo Once at the river, teams were formed to cook the different meals during the stay at the river. Also that night the Council met around the campfire and questioned how to help make their 4-H program better. The next day the group hit the river on rafts for teambuilding activities led by experienced guides from Rockin’ R River Rides. During the trip down the river the guide had many games to incorporate leadership, teamwork, and communication. It was a blast to see each team work together to get through the games and the rapids! The river experience was wrapped up with discussion about the experiences had on the river and how Council members could go back and make their 4-H clubs better.

The trip concluded with a stop at the State Capital! The Leon County 4-H Council and 4-H members from Robertson and Falls counties all received a behind the scenes tour of the Speaker of the House quarters, the gold vault, and many other areas of the Capital which are not open to just anyone. Texas House Representative Jim Dunnam’s staffer Russell Devorsky led the tour. Once our tour was finished Leon County 4-H members visited the office of Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples. There, Deputy Commissioner Drew DeBerry spoke to the group about the recent activities of the Department of Agriculture.

This trip was a huge success to get Leon County 4-H Council members away from their hometowns and think outside the box to find ways to make things better in the Leon County 4-H program. Council members also saw many different areas of the Capital and behind-the-stage processes. As the community gives to the youth, the 4-H members gave a little back by participating at the Capital Area Food Bank. The Council had a blast and is looking forward to making another trip next year!