Effingham County 4-H’ers attended the sixth biennial Georgia Youth Summit, held Sept. 8-9 at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. Participating in the event were Natalyn Harris, Natalie Starling, Sophie Usher, Alex Parrish, Mikayla Neal and group leader Christine Kirkland.

This event was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and coordinated by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension. The Georgia Youth Summit is a leadership conference designed to prepare the next generation of Georgia leaders by providing youth with knowledge, resources, and encouragement to create positive change in their communities.

Teams work together to create awareness of state and local issues, develop youth-adult partnerships, and become active locally in the betterment of the community.

At the summit, the Effingham County team evaluated issues within the community in the areas of safety, education, health, and economic development, and they found creative strategies to address these issues. In their plans from the 2012 Georgia Youth Summit, the team plans to focus on the Rivers Alive initiative.

With a few hours, a hundred or so dedicated folks, and some local boats, 4-H’ers can thank the Savannah River for their summer fun by leaving the river in her beautiful natural state.

For more information on this project, contact the Effingham County Extension Office at 754-8040 or visit the Web site www.ugaextension.com/effingham.