University of Arkansas Hosts 4-H Centennial Event

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Hundreds of Arkansas 4-H club members will trek to the University of Arkansas for the annual 4-H O-Rama Wednesday, July 23, through Friday, July 25. The theme this year, “Arkansas 4-H Extravaganza: 100 Years in the Making” is in recognition of the centennial celebration of 4-H in Arkansas.

The 4-H O-Rama is Arkansas’s largest state 4-H competitive event. More than 400 club members vie in various activities over the course of two days. The event provides 4-H members the opportunity to exhibit the skills they’ve developed during the year.

Faculty members of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences will help with competitive events, which include technology showcase, entomology collection, veterinary science and pet care, performing arts, gun safety, consumer economics, human development, fashion review, food fair, safety, health, citizenship, public speaking, environmental stewardship, agribusiness public speaking, forestry, ornamental horticulture, crop and seed identification, sport fishing, bait casting and fish identification, animal science and  horse and bicycle riding.

Arkansas 4-H will honor B. Alan Sugg, president of the University of Arkansas System, as a Friend of 4-H during the 62^nd Annual Awards of Excellence banquet. Sugg will receive this honor for his years of dedication to the Arkansas 4-H youth development program.

Community service is an important component of the state 4-H O-Rama. Club members who don’t take part in competitive events can join in service projects that include assembling first-aid kits and care cloths for the American Red Cross, collecting school supplies and assembling turbans for cancer patients.

The Arkansas 4-H O-Rama will conclude with the election of 2008-09 state officers.

For more information about 4-H youth development in Arkansas, visit www.uaex.edu. 4-H is the youth development arm of the Cooperative Extension Service, part of the University of Arkansas System’s Division of Agriculture.