Pender County 4-H

08/21/2026

The last week in July, 23 Pender County youth attended 2026 4-H Summer Camp at Betsy Jeff-Penn Educational Center. They enjoyed fishing, swimming, hiking, crafts, wall climbing, high ropes course, goat husbandry, rock climbing, archery, a talent show and much more. Caydence Bourque, a Pender County Teen Council member was a Leader In Training to learn how to be a camp counselor. We will be reserving spots in October for 2027 4-H Summer Camp. Stay tuned for details to come!

08/21/2026

Get your youth together, grab a phone, and get creative! North Carolina Farm Bureau is celebrating National Farm Safety & Health Week with a Safety Video Contest — and your FFA Chapter or 4-H Club could win $500!

This year’s theme is Cancer Prevention in Agriculture.

They are challenging FFA Chapters and 4-H Clubs across North Carolina to create a 30-second, TikTok-style safety video showing how farmers, farm families, and agricultural workers can reduce their risk of cancer.

The deadline to submit videos is September 18, 2026.

08/19/2026

Maritza Mendoza and the rest of the 2026–2027 NC State 4-H Council are officially in action! After a weekend of strategic planning, team building, and sharing fresh ideas, our district and state officers are Beyond Ready to lead and serve 4-H members statewide this year. Big things are on the horizon! ✨

Photo credit belongs to North Carolina 4-H and Maritza Mendoza.

08/12/2026

Three Pender County 4-H youth earned the privilege to attend the 2026 4-H Electric Congress at Appalachian State University this summer. This event provides hands-on learning experiences in science, engineering and math related to electricity. Youth ages 11-18 across the state attend this event and have the experience of staying in a University dorm room. They enjoyed an EV Car Show, participated in a Box Fan Service project, there was an awards banquet and key note speakers. The youth attended an Energy Expo and did an electric kit activity. Attendees went river tubing and visited Grandfather Mountain, had a night of karaoke and an ice-cream social, enjoyed a cookout and went to the Horn In The West Outdoor Drama theater. Thank you Phan Morrow, Southeast District Volunteer Leaders Association President for chaperoning these Pender County youth to this special event. If you are interested in more information about this 4-H program, please contact Traci Spencer at [email protected]

08/10/2026

During the 2026 North Carolina 4-H Congress event in July, Maritza Mendoza was inducted into office as the 2026-2027 Southeast District Reporter. She will join other State 4-H Council members this weekend, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, to begin sharing ideas and planning for her year-long term in office.

08/07/2026

08/06/2026

The Pender County 4-H Mane Event Club has been busy this summer. After competing in the Southeast District 4-H Horse Show, club members competed in the 4-H State Horse Show, received Recreational Riding awards and won awards in the State 4-H Horse Art Show. Here are the results:

2026 Recreational Riding Awards:

Haylie Krause won a BRONZE patch with 50 hours and SILVER patch with 25 hours.
Jocelyn Hughes won a BRONZE patch with 100 hours, a SILVER patch with 50 hours and a GOLD patch with 100 hours.

State 4-H Miniature Class competition:
Haylie Krause: 3rd Place Halter Mares, 2nd Place Miniature Obstacles and 8th Place Miniature Costume Class
Fia Hardin: 2nd Place Miniature Halter Geldings, 6th Place Miniature Obstacle and 9th Place Miniature Costume Class

NC 4-H Horse Program Artistic Expression and Creative Writing:
Jocelynn Hughes: 3rd Place in Creative Writing/Poetry, 3rd Place in Creative Writing/Short Story, 10th Place in Drawing, 9th Place in Painting and 9th Place in Photography
Benjamin Simpson: 1st Place in Drawing and 1st Place in Painting
Congratulations to all these exceptional Pender County 4-H youth!
If you are interested in getting your child involved in the Pender County 4-H Mane Event Horse Club please contact Amber Krause at [email protected]

08/05/2026

Celebrated 2026 graduates at 4-H Congress. Congratulations Jacob Farrow, graduated from Pender Early College in May. Headed to NC State University next week!

08/05/2026

Pender County 4-H/EFNEP 2026 Chopped Challenge

Nutrition educator and founder of "Healthy Families, Healthy Futures", Chef John LaTour, returned again this year to help educate youth in the kitchen. Joined by Pender County EFNEP Educator, Cindy Rivenbark, the youth learned about kitchen safety, knife skills, food preparation, plating, and food presentation. This year, the 12 competitors were divided into three teams: Alimento, Cooking Teens, and The Cookers. Menus included beverages, appetizers, entrees, and desserts; many items were "house-made"! The teams presented to three judges and were scored on taste, plate presentation, team presentation, and use of ingredients. Thank you to our local judges Jennifer Hanson, Elected BOE, Brandy Sellers, owner of Busy B's Cleaning LLC, and Theresa Alcantra, Westside Food Supervisor. Congratulations to Cooking Teens for winning the golden spoon with their Chicken Alfredo with house-made pasta, Garlic bread, lemon cake with blueberry drizzle, and fresh pink lemonade refresher!

08/04/2026

Pender County 4-Hers have been very busy this summer. We will continue to report on the summer events but we want to jump to July 20-24th to highlight this year's 4-H Congress! Eleven Pender County 4-H youth attended this event at NCState University along with over 490 other participants across the state.Youth gathered to attend leadership workshops, take campus tours, stay in the campus dorms, participate in community service projects and experience a cultural event with their counties. They enjoyed keynote speakers, a 4-H Talent Show and a Silent Disco. State 4-H Officers were elected, 2026 high-school graduates were celebrated and the conference ended with a formal Clover Gala Dinner, dance and Candlelight Ceremony at Dorton Arena. Congratulations to Jacob Farrow for being inducted into the honorary 4-H Honors Club with an outstanding record of achievement and service and Maritza Mendoza for being elected and seated as the Southeast District 4-H Reporter. To attend this event next year, teens must be a member of the Pender County 4-H Teen Council and attend a certain number of events to qualify. Contact Traci Spencer at [email protected] for more information.