By JANE BANGLEY

By JANE BANGLEY

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From September 8 to 16, Florence Vickers spent from six to eight hours a day on a bus with 40 other people traveling to five states, and she loved it.

“It was an enthusiasm building experience because of the sharing,” Vickers said. The trip was made by Vickers, Rappahannock County 4-H Extension Agent, and 40 other Virginia 4-H volunteers, extension agents, and state staff in order to see other 4-H programs in action.

“It was an in-service training trip designed to help in volunteer development, to allow us to share and learn from what others are doing, to compare programs, and to give us ideas on what we can do to increase involvement and improve our programs,” Vickers said.

The trip began at Virginia Tech, and the group travelled to Ohio for its first look at other 4-H programs. “We went to Ohio State University where they gave us an overview of the program, and instructed us on how they utilize volunteers, how they develop literature, and how they conduct their state competitions,” said Vickers.

The group also went to Camp Palmer in Ohio to learn how that 4-H camp is operated differently during the spring and fall. “They actually take classes from schools for a week to the camp where the youth have their regular subjects taught in a camp setting along with the fun things to do,” Vickers said. “The school districts pay for it, and the kids get to actually do the things they have been talking and learning about in the classroom.”

Michigan was the second state the group visited. “We visited several extension units in Michigan, and at one we were told about a 4-H sports program,” Vickers said. “Besides actually playing a sport like basketball, the youth do studies and reports on how the sport helps their health and other aspects of the sport.”

The group also visited the Kettunen 4-H Center in Michigan. “They