FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2019

County 4-H members attend State Small Animal Symposium

FREEHOLD, NJ – Three Monmouth County 4-H members recently attended the State 4-H Small Animal Educational Symposium held in Clayton, Gloucester County.

“The State 4-H Small Animal Educational Symposium is an annual event, now in its sixth year, that offers 4-H’ers an opportunity to advance their knowledge and skills in topics related to poultry, reptiles, small animals, cavy and rabbits. In addition, the event provides a venue to meet 4-H members from around the State,” said Jeannette Rea Keywood, liaison to New Jersey 4-H Youth Development Program Small Animal Project Advisory Council.

The Monmouth County 4-H members joined nearly 75 4-H participants representing 13 counties. The County participants were Salvatore and Vincenzo Montecalvo, from Marlboro, and Isabella Schwank, from Spring Lake.

“We are excited that 4-H members from Monmouth County had an opportunity to take part in this valuable educational experience and we look forward to them sharing what they learned with 4-H’ers in our County,” said Matthew Newman, Monmouth County 4-H Agent.

The State 4-H Small Animal Educational Symposium, hosted by the Small Animal Project Advisory Council, provided an opportunity for 4-H members, volunteers and parents to participate in a variety of educational and competitive events. Activities and events held at the symposium included: 4-H Rabbit Hopping Exhibition and the 4-H Small Animal Project Art Show. Workshop topics included rabbit management, tattooing, diseases, showmanship, conditioning, breeds and more.

“On behalf of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, I would like to commend Salvatore, Vincenzo, Isabella and the rest of the 4-H members throughout New Jersey for dedicating their time to learning new information at the Educational Symposium,” said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. “Programs, such as this Educational Symposium, accurately reflect the purpose of the 4-H organization: Engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development.”

The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of Rutgers, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station - Cooperative Extension. 4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades K-13 (one year out of high school), on an age-appropriate basis, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, marital status, domestic partnership status, military service, veteran status and any other category protected by law.

For more information about the Monmouth County 4-H Program, call the 4-H office at 732-431-7260 or visit the New Jersey 4-H website at http://nj4h.rutgers.edu

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