For the safety of our clients and staff, the Unicoi County Extension Office will be open by appointment only until further notice. Extension staff are still working and can be reached by phone or e-mail. Please dial (423) 735-1637 for immediate assistance.
Our Current Staff emails:
Chris Mackey-cmackey@utk.edu
Tracy Pate-tpate6@utk.edu
4-Her’s Have Strong Summer Success at State (Say that four times fast)
While many events have been altered or cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, that certainly hasn’t stopped many of our Unicoi County 4-H members from competing in various events this summer! The Unicoi County GPS/GIS Team brought home their 7th State Championship in the TN State 4-H GPS Contest. Students utilize various GPS technology to create maps and data bases to help improve their communities. This year’s award-winning project mapped the sidewalks through the town of Erwin as a means to bring attention to areas where sidewalk conditions could be improved for residence and visitors. This year’s team members include: Eli Caldwell, Elisabeth Casey, Christiana Gilbert, Josh Gilbert, Isabella Laws, Matthew Laws, Ben Merritt, Haley Russel, Alaina Satterly, and Nickoli Stump. Members of the state winning team have the opportunity to attend the Esri Conference every year in California. Unfortunately, this year’s conference was not held in person, however senior members Elisabeth Casey, Christiana Gilbert, and Ben Merritt were able to attend virtually and represent TN on the National Youth GIS/GPS Team.
The Unicoi County 4-H Livestock Judging Team has also been extremely busy this summer. Livestock Judging tests students knowledge about animal production, evaluation, and selection. Members are given a minimum of 6 classes of livestock (beef cattle, swine, sheep/goats) to evaluate and rank based on given criteria. Certain classes are required for members to answer questions or present Oral Reasons to a panel of judges defending their placings for each class. Unicoi County competed at the TN 4-H Eastern Region Livestock Judging Contest on the UT Campus and brought home 2nd High Senior Team Overall with team members John Hilemon II and Tate Kerns placing as the 5th and 8th High Individuals Overall in the contest, respectively. Other team members include Connor Brackins, Levi Carver, and Matthew Laws. Junior member Isabella Laws was the only Junior Member to represent Unicoi County and has a very strong final score. The senior team had a mere two week turnaround to prepare for the state contest. To our knowledge, this is the first time EVER a team from Unicoi has advanced to the state contest. Out of a possible teams, Unicoi had a strong finish and placed 8th Overall at the State contest. Additional awards include 6th High Team in Swine, 7th in Oral Reasons, 8th in Beef, 8th in Sheep/Goats with Tate Kerns recognized at the 4th High Individual in Sheep/Goats. State Team members include: Connor Brackins, John Hilemon II, Tate Kerns, and Matthew Laws.
We are extremely proud of our 4-her’s for their determination and dedication to our program. Despite the drastic changes, our youth have risen to the occasion and pushed on full force. If you are interested in learning more about 4-H or are in search of ways to volunteer, contact Chris Mackey in the UT Extension Office at 735-1637 or email cmackey@utk.edu. Program announcements and timely educational resources can also be found on the local UT Extension Facebook page at facebook.com/unicoiextension.