Brance Barnett recently attended National 4-Congress in Atlanta, Georgia. He flew with 14 other Oklahoma 4-H delegates and 2 adult sponsors.
“National 4-H Congress is a five-day Educational Experience; it is the premiere nation-wide event for 4-Hers to network with others from around the country and Puerto Rico. Delegates engage in leadership, citizenship, and global awareness,” according to the website.
The Atlanta Aquarium was the fieldtrip Brance chose. He said it was great, but the Jenks Aquarium right here in Oklahoma is better! He attended the International Dinner where he experienced foods from around the globe. After the dinner the delegation visited the History Center and learned a few dances from the Victorian era. The employees at the History Center were in period dress.
Piedmont Park got a facelift from the 4-H volunteers and their community service project. Brance and part of the delegation spent a few hours sprucing up the park for future visitors. There were a few different community service projects provided by the 800 national delegates. Atlanta benefitted by those 3200-man hours of service.
Educational workshops are a highlight of the trip. Brance learned about the ins and outs of social media safety by attending.
Brance’s favorite speaker was Chris Boleman who spoke about the importance of 4-H and leadership and how it has affected him and his career. There were many good speakers who had great ideas about overcoming struggles and the importance of community and country.
Oklahoma 4-H provided a few lapel pins for trading. Brance likes to collect the lapel pins from different areas so he took some extras. He met 4-H members from around the country as he tried to get a lapel pin from each state and meet new people. He managed to get most of the different pins and now has new friends in Louisiana, Kansas, and Tennessee. This is Brance’s favorite part of the trip. He is intrigued to learn about 4-H members and what they do in their home state. He has met Andy and Miles, pig farmers from North Carolina and Alan from Tennessee who was the most knowledgeable person about 4-H I have ever met. Brandon and Colby- are his friends who he met in New Mexico at the Senior Leadership Retreat. It is cool to see some of the same people on different trips across the nation. Brance hopes to stay connected with his new friends and the internet makes that so much easier than it used to be