Chevy Chase, MD (February 22, 2017) — National 4-H Council today announced that Samuel Sugarman, 18, of Encinitas, Calif., was selected as winner of the 2017 4-H Youth In Action Award for Agriculture. Sugarman will be nationally recognized for his true leadership through agriculture education and his free Farm Tour Program.
Sugarman created the Farm tour Program to connect youth in his community with animals and nature. Over the past five years, Sugarman led hundreds of farm tours, educating youth about sustainable agriculture, where food comes from, and respect for animals and the earth.
“As a teen leader, I hosted lots of project meetings at my farm and saw how beneficial it was for urban children to interact with the animals,” Sugarman said. “When children grow up disconnected from their food, from animals and from the earth, they miss opportunities to develop qualities of stewardship, compassion, patience, and gratitude.”
Sugarman will receive a $5,000 scholarship for higher education and will serve as spokesperson for 4-H Agriculture programming. He will be officially recognized as the 2017 4-H Youth in Action Pillar Winner for Agriculture at the National 4-H Council Legacy Awards in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, March 21, 2017.
Sugarman is joined is his role as a 2017 4-H Youth in Action Pillar Winner by Amelia Day, Georgia 4-H’er and Citizenship pillar winner; Ava Lonneman, Ohio 4-H’er and STEM pillar winner; and Bryanne Sanchez, California 4-H’er and Healthy living pillar winner.
The 4-H Youth In Action Awards, sponsored in part by Bayer, began in 2010 to recognize 4-H’ers who have overcome challenges and used the knowledge they gained in 4-H to create a lasting impact in their community. This award highlights youth in each of our core areas of Agriculture, Citizenship, Healthy Living and STEM. These four pillars represent the fields in which 4-H youth excel on a national level and align with the mission mandates of National 4-H Council.
To learn more about Youth In Action or to see the other pillar winners from around the country, please visit Youth in Action.
To schedule an interview contact Sue Manglallan, 4-H Educator, ssmanglallan@ucanr.edu 858-822-7773. OR, Suzanne Morikawa, State 4-H Staff, morikawa@ucanr.edu 530-750-1381.
As the nation’s largest youth development organization, 4-H grows confident young people who are empowered for life today and prepared for career tomorrow. 4-H programs empower nearly six million young people across the U.S. through experiences that develop critical life skills. In the U.S., 4-H serves every county and parish through our network of 110 universities and more than 3,000 local offices. Globally, 4-H collaborates with independent programs to empower one million youth in 50 countries.
The research-backed 4-H experience grows young people who are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; two times more likely to make healthier choices; two times more likely to be civically active; and two times more likely to participate in STEM programs. 4-H is led by a unique private-public partnership of universities, federal and local government agencies, foundations and professional associations. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of the Cooperative Extension System and 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Learn more about 4-H at 4-h.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/4-H.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015.
For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
