Page 24 - The ALEC Gazette-2018

4-H/ALEC Department Head Richard Clark addresses attendees at the 71st Annual Tennessee 4-H Congress.
71st 4-H Congress Creates Growth in ALEC
by McKenzie Hanson
The 71st Annual Tennessee 4-H Congress kicked off March 18, giving Tennessee high school 4-H students four full days of firsthand, legislative experiences. The event is organized by 4-H staff in the Department of 4-H Youth Development and Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications at the University of Tennessee.
The annual Tennessee 4-H congress is a citizenship experience for students, educating them on topics of civic engagement, such as state government, service to others and the election process.
This year, congress attendees participated in events at a conference center in Murfreesboro, took educational classes at Tennessee State University in Nashville, and sat in the seats of the House of
Representatives and Senate Chambers at the Tennessee state Capitol.
The 4-H staff worked all year in preparing for the event. Justin Crowe, an Extension specialist, said that once congress is over, plans for the next begin almost immediately. Along with the logistics of securing a location and lining up the program, he begins prepping the newly elected 4-H congress officers for the following year’s events.
“We have a governor, speaker of the house, and speaker of the senate who begin to write the bills that next year’s congress attendees will discuss and vote upon in the legislature,” Crowe said.
Richard Clark, department head of 4-H/ALEC, primarily served in a leadership and supervisory role during the event.
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