Seventeen local 4-H members received excellent marks at the 2014 4-H County Public Presentations. The presentations were hosted by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Program of Monmouth County at the county’s agricultural building in Freehold Township in April.
The students who qualified to move on to the state competition are Joshua Antures of Tinton Falls; Sarah Bond of Marlboro; Jamie Bresnaheua and Kymora Clarke of Freehold; Jillian Haliskoe of Middletown; Lexi Heon of Monmouth Beach; Jack Li of Ocean Township; Nick Nichol of Howell; Cole Raymond of Middletown; Linette Reeman of Middletown; Kristen Sequeira of Ocean Township; Erica Todd and Joshua Todd of Jackson; Taylor Toris of Hazlet; and McKayla Tyrrell, Andrew Valdes and Alona Zunger of Freehold.
Thirty-two 4-H members representing more than 15 clubs participated in the county competition, giving oral presentations on a variety of subject areas from “The Effects of Deforestation” to “What You Should Know Before the Vet Arrives,” according to a press release.
To qualify for the county presentations, each participant had to be a registered 4-H member in grades kindergarten through 13 and have made a presentation at the club level.
The following 4-H members, listed by town, were recognized for their accomplishments: Aubrey Chesna, Zahra Clarke, Shawn Hill, Brandon Kayser and Alyssa Marks of Freehold; Daisy Brown of Hightstown; Daniel Moore and Rachel Moore of Manalapan; Emily Bennett, Caitlin Lanigan, Colleen McLoughlin and Heather Grace McLoughlin of Middletown; Angelo Kayser-Browne of North Brunswick; Carla Rios of Middletown; and Ethan Balczarek of Tinton Falls.
“I have seen the positive impact these presentations have had on my two daughters,” volunteer judge Isabel Shaw said. “They gained strong self-confidence and the ability to speak comfortably with individuals and large groups. It has served them well in their college and professional careers.”
The volunteer judges were Stella Almeida, Debra Almeida, John Connors, Sue Fertig, Evelyn Gaffney, Joan Lynch, Bob Nicholas, Hope Raymond, Sarah Sakowski, Isabel Shaw, Ellen Simonetti and JoAnna Tumminello.
The event provides an opportunity for 4- H members to compete on the county level with other members from a variety of clubs. The presentations were judged by teams of 4-H volunteers, alumni, educators and Master Gardeners, as audience members watched.
Each participant received an excellent, very good, good or Cloverbud ribbon, according to the press release.