(11/23/16) BATON ROUGE, La. – Every year 4-H’ers from across the state submit records of their personal achievements and participation and look forward to the Louisiana 4-H educational awards trip to south Louisiana.

“This year, 20 4-H members in the seventh and eighth grades with outstanding achievement portfolios attended the Louisiana 4-H educational awards trip held from Nov. 20 to 22,” said LSU AgCenter youth development instructor and events coordinator Tanya Giroir.

Winners are invited to explore the New Orleans and Baton Rouge area by taking tours and eating local cuisine, Giroir said.

During the tour of New Orleans, Entergy New Orleans Corporation provided lunch at Café Reconcile, a restaurant that houses a program for at-risk youth.

“The 4-H’ers learned about this training that helps at-risk youth enter the hospitality and restaurant industries,” she said.

The 4-H’ers also had the opportunity to tour the Mercedes Benz Superdome and the Smoothie King Arena.

Winners took a trip back in time at the National World War II Museum as they toured exhibits, walked along the Road to Tokyo and Berlin, listened to a gunner’s story as he manned the airplane turrets and experienced the Tom Hanks production of “Beyond All Boundaries.”

In Baton Rouge, they were treated to a jambalaya dinner by DEMCO, toured the LSU Rural Life Museum to discover the experiences and lifestyles of old Louisiana while viewing artifacts and architecture in an outdoor rural landscape.

“Also in Baton Rouge, the group visited the LSU Tiger Stadium museum to hear its history and to stand on the sidelines where over 100,000 fans pack Death Valley for Saturday night football,” Giroir said.

This year the seventh- and eighth-grade Achievement Award winners who attended the trip were Caleb Arnould and Celine Auzenne, Vermilion Parish; Hannah Godchaux and Kinslei Scroggs, Ascension Parish; John Guillory and Cole Laborde, Avoyelles Parish; Hayden Burnett, Beauregard Parish; Kyle Jonnier, Jefferson Davis Parish; Hannah LeBlanc, Acadia Parish; Brittany Myers, Caddo Parish; John Garrett Patrick, Concordia Parish; Saige Pellerin, Iberia Parish; Karvan Powell, East Carroll Parish; Gavyn Stevens, Iberia Parish; Jayce Turner, Bossier Parish; and Anna Camille VandeVen, Tensas Parish.

This year’s trip sponsors included the LSU AgCenter, the LSU Rural Life Museum, DEMCO Dixie Electric Membership Corp., Entergy New Orleans, the LSU Athletic Department, the Louisiana 4‑H Foundation and the 4‑H state office.

Adult leaders on the trip included extension 4-H agents Betsy Crigler, Tensas Parish; Megan Robnett, St. Landry Parish; Mark Carriere, Pointe Coupee Parish; and Ken Guidry, St. James Parish.

The trip concluded with an awards luncheon at The Club at LSU Square on the Baton Rouge campus.

Winners of the 2016 Louisiana 4-H educational awards trip to Baton Rouge and New Orleans included the following: First row, Hayden Burnett, Beauregard Parish; Kinslei Scroggs, Ascension Parish; Celine Auzenne, Vermilion Parish; and Saige Pellerin, Iberia Parish. Second row, Karvan Powell, East Carroll Parish; Caleb Arnold, Vermilion Parish; and John Guillory, Avoyelles Parish. Third row, Hannah Godchaux, Ascension Parish; Gavyn Stevens, Iberia Parish; and Hannah LeBlanc, Acadia Parish. Fourth row, John Garrett Patrick, Concordia Parish; Cole Laborde, Avoyelles Parish; and Kyle Jonnier, Jefferson Davis Parish. (Photo by Johnny Morgan, LSU AgCenter)