4-H Archery Team To Compete

By KASEY HALL

The Jasper County 4-H program is excited to field an archery team for the fifth consecutive year, and a record number of 20 4-H’ers in the fifth through eighth grades are already on board and have started attending weekly practices.

The team is already looking forward to its first match at the 4-H State Indoor Archery Challenge on February 22 in Perry. Team members will also have the opportunity to shoot in some area matches before the 4-H state tournament that will be held on May 3 at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center near Eatonton.

The 14 new team members this year include Chloe Garrison, Wesley Powell, Amber Dooley, Beau Bradley, Lorelei Durant, Ethan Johnson, Bailey Jenkins, Matthew Smith, Abby Whittle, Lillian Redd, Haleigh Hammonds, Austin Allen, Dalton Richardson, and Chandler Dunning.

The returning six team members are Claire Taylor, Michael Clendenin, Avery Jacobs, Grayson Bradley, Ansley Atkinson, and Anna Whittle.

The team is under the direction of 4-H volunteer coaches Susann Whittle (head coach), Scott Whittle, Gretchen Pruett, Cheryl Jacobs, Greg Atkinson, Scott Ford, and Liz Caldwell. The entire team, coaches, 4-H Agent, and parents want to express their appreciation to Buddy and David Aldridge for providing them with an indoor facility to hold their practices for their first time.

4-H is a unit of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Cooperative Extension. 4-H provides a forum for hands-on learning experiences and youth development opportunities for young people ages nine to 19.

For more information on 4-H opportunities in Jasper County such as the archery program, call 4-H Agent Kasey Hall at 706-468-6479 or visit the 4-H office on Warren Street.