4-Hers go to annual Cottonboll competition

Local youth got a chance to head out of town in recent days and take part in an annual competition all about understanding one of the state’s leading cash crops: cotton.

Polk County 4-H had 10 junior and senior members compete at the annual District Cottonboll and Consumer Judging Jamboree in Cartersville.

The Polk 4-H senior team placed sixth, with Lashenia King placing seventh overall and the rest of team placed in the top 20 individually. The junior team place in the tenth spot.

Team members this year included senior 4-Hers Joseph Croker, Makenzie Droege, Lashenia King, Dakota Peterson, Shawna Rocha, Ezekiel Smith and Minnes Smith. Junior members were Summer Gonzalez and Edward McAlister.

Annually students compete with other 4-H programs around the region and later on the state level in the Cottonboll and Consumer Judging contests to help promote the growth and use of cotton in Georgia. Along with understanding cotton as a agricultural commodity, students have to also learn about how cotton is promoted in communities, how consumers use good judgment and reason when making purchases of goods and services, along with other aspects of consumer behavior that involve lifestyle, culture, climate and more.

The junior team prepared a poster that promotes cotton and used that poster in presenting a 30 second cotton commercial, and the senior group prepared and presented a 90 second Public Service Announcement (PSA) about cotton.

Students on both levels spent time in six training classes to learn about various uses of cotton and consumer goods, including breakfast cereals, blue jeans, venue tents and of course the reason for the competition, cotton.

The teams were coached by 4-H Program Assistant Dora Williams and Adult volunteer Shannon Williams Ridgeway.