(09/02/22) LAKE CHARLES, La. — Dozens of the state’s 4-H agents gathered last week to help each other navigate the seas of youth development at the 2022 Louisiana Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals Annual Convention.

The event, held at the L ’Auberge Casino Resort from Monday, Aug. 22 through Thursday, Aug. 25, presented agents the opportunity to engage in professional development, leadership and student engagement trainings. The theme for this year’s convention was “Set Sail: Learning to Navigate the Seas of Youth Development.”

Carrie Lane, Calcasieu Parish 4-H agent, served on the convention planning committee. She said the committee’s goal was to offer engaging networking opportunities for the state’s youth development professionals.

“We wanted to offer a professional — and fun — experience,” Lane said. “We really wanted to offer a place where everyone could come in, network and get comfortable with each other again. We haven’t seen each other in a while, especially with the storms and COVID. We wanted to offer the best of what Lake Charles has to offer.”

Educational tours for participants included stops at the Port of Lake Charles and Calcasieu Ship Channel, the McNeese State University Center for Advancement of Meat Production and Processing, the Bayou Spirits Rum Distillery, the Southwest Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory and the SOWELA Technical Community College.

Ashley Powell, Northeast Region 4-H coordinator, said the networking opportunities and camaraderie make the annual convention a rewarding experience.

“It’s not just a great professional development opportunity because we get to bring in some people from the outside, but we also get to learn from each other as agents share,” Powell said. “For me, one of the biggest things is getting to spend time with each other all in one facility. We are literally spread all across the state. We don’t often get that opportunity to all come together.”

Trey Newsome, Madison Parish 4-H Youth Development agent, said he made the 220-mile trip from Tallulah because the convention offers opportunities to learn from his colleagues.

“For me this is not only an opportunity to get to know my co-workers, but more importantly you get the chance to see how your co-workers are programming around the state,” Newsome said. “You get to see things that you may be able to apply in your parish. It always presents a great opportunity to put names with faces and names with programs as well. Our parishes are similar in a lot of different ways. Those things that fit our parish complement other parishes.”

The timing of the annual convention is no accident. Late August provides one final opportunity for the state’s youth development professionals to gather before they begin filling their schedules with 4-H meetings, project workshops, educational trips, achievement days and, next summer, 4-H summer camp at Camp Grant Walker. Newsome said the only chance for the state’s 4-H agents to convene is at the convention.

“This is pretty much it,” Newsome said. “This is right when the school year starts. After this, we don’t slow down until next July after camp is over.”

The association elected new officers to lead the group of youth development professionals. The newly elected officers include president Brittany Zaunbrecher, Cameron Parish; president-elect Megan Sarver, Acadia Parish; vice president Claire Zak, AgCenter state office; secretary Camille Brady, Ascension Parish; treasurer, Xavier Bell, St. John the Baptist Parish; and reporter Olivia Picard, St. Tammany Parish.

The 2023 Louisiana Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals Annual Convention will be hosted by the AgCenter’s Northwest Region in Natchitoches next summer.

A group of 4-H agents participates in a team-building exercise at the 2022 Louisiana Association of Youth Development Professionals Annual Convention held in Lake Charles on August 24. The event provided networking, program development and leadership opportunities for the state’s 4-H agents. Photo by Derek Albert/LSU AgCenter