CLEARFIELD – As part of her senior project for Harmony Area High School, Brianna Beck daughter of Brian & Kerri Beck of Cherry Tree, wanted to incorporate her involvement in 4-H and find a way to give back to the program. Working with the 4-H Extension Educator for Clearfield County, the idea for the first ever Clearfield County 4-H & FFA Royalty Contest was born. 10 nominations were received and voting was done through monetary donations collected at a display in the cattle barns. From July 31 through Aug. 4, over $200.00 was collected to benefit financial scholarships for local 4-H & FFA youth.
During the Annual Clearfield County Fair 4-H & FFA Awards Ceremony, on the evening of Aug. 4 the winners of each age category were revealed. In the 15 to 21 age category for current 4-H & FFA members, Alyssa Reams of Osceola Mills was named the winner. Alyssa is currently a member of the Clearfield County 4-H Beef Club. Other nominees in this category included Scott Breon of Clearfield, Victoria Garner of LaJose, Steven Kumm of Clearfield, Shannen Patton of Brockway. In the 22 to 35 year old age category for 4-H & FFA alumni, Lynnette Derrick of Clearfield was named the winner. Lynnette is an alumnus of FFA. Another nominee in that age group was Samantha Reynolds of Fallentimber. In the 36 & older age category for 4-H & FFA alumni, Alden Beck of Cherry Tree was named the winner. Alden is an alumnus of 4-H. Other nominees in this category included Howard “Gene” Sager, Jr. of Clearfield and Alison Logan of Grampian. The winner in each category received a crown, flowers, gift card, and t-shirt.
On Aug. 5, 19 4-H & FFA members took part in the fourth Annual Clearfield County 4-H & FFA Master Showman Contest to see who showcased the best animal skills while showing a steer, dairy cow, lamb, goat, pig, & horse. This event is sponsored each year by the Clearfield County 4-H Teen Council. To qualify in this event, each youth had to win an age division of an animal showmanship contest held during the week of the Clearfield County Fair.
In the junior division for youth ages 8 to 11 years of age, Ryan Lazauskas of Woodland and member of the Clearfield County 4-H Beef Club received the honor of being named the master showman with a score of 81 out of a possible 100 points. Other junior division participants included Alexis Lichvarcik of DuBois – second place, Austin Fairman of DuBois – third place, Sydney Turner of Philipsburg – fourth place, Molly Wise of Brockway – fifth place, and Lauren Turner of Philipsburg – sixth place. In the intermediate division for youth ages 12 to 14 years of age, Amanda Pennington of Westover and member of the Harmony 4-H Club was named master showman with a score of 80 out of a possible 100 points. Other intermediate division participants included Tyson Stone of Winburne – second place, Reuben Hicks of DuBois – third place (tie), Lance Stone of Winburne – third place (tie), Emily Andrulonis of DuBois – fourth place, and Ben Junod of Mahaffey – fifth place. In the senior division for youth ages 15 to 21 years of age, Eric Michaels of Curwensville and member of the Clearfield FFA Chapter received the honor of being named the master showman with a score of 89.5 out of a possible 100 points. Other senior division participants included Ben Kline of Clearfield – second place, Jordan Fairman of DuBois – third place, Chelsey Hughes of LaJose – fourth place, Chelsea Folmar of Luthersburg – fifth place (tie), Tyler Hicks of DuBois – fifth place (tie), and Devon Turner of Philipsburg – sixth place.
All master showman division winners received a Montana Silversmith belt buckle valued at $150.00. All participants will receive a certificate and a t-shirt. Judges for the contest included Dan Smeal of Houtzdale (steer), Dan Park of Brookville (dairy cattle), Mindy Irvine of West Sunbury (swine), Jann Zimmerman of DuBois (lamb), Mary Martz of Centre Hall (goats), and Carlene Pearce-Houston of Kylertown & Chele Stuber of Morrisdale (horse).
The Clearfield County 4-H Teen Council would like to thank their wonderful sponsors for allowing this contest to be possible. 4-Star Sponsors include Dave Gallaher, Jr., Wise Eyes Optical of Clearfield, O’Bryon Eye Associates of DuBois, Linda Weis – Agent, State Farm Insurance, & Zimmerman-McCoy Construction. 2-Star Sponsors include At Home Realty Associates, Inc. of DuBois, Curwensville Feed Store, K & M Beef Production, Inc., Little Pine Resources, & Dewaine & Melvina Kephart.
4-H is a non-formal youth development educational program of Penn State Extension for all youth between the ages of 8 and 19, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, or veteran status. For additional information on the 4-H program, contact Jana Lynne Davidson at Penn State Extension in Clearfield County at 814-765-7878 Ext. 3.
