The Clover Connection
Catawba County Center: September/ October, 2026
4-H Leadership Council to Host Fall Open House
Join us on Saturday, September 12th for 4-H Fall Open House!
Drop in anytime between 10:00am and 12:00pm to interact with club leaders and members who are ready to showcase their clubs with fun, hands-on activities.
Catawba Cooperative Extension is privileged to be home to fourteen 4-H clubs all run by dedicated adult and teen volunteers.
Come see what 4-H is all about!
Shooting Sports: Fastest Growing 4-H Club in NC
On August 15th 4-H Shooting Sports clubs from around the area gathered at Millstone 4-H Camp for the Central Region 4-H Shooting Sports Tournament. The turn-out was a record breaking 423 participants!
It was a hot, hot day but Catawba County’s Top Shots Shooting Sports club came to show off their skills. The events included Shotgun, Small Bore Rifle, Air Rifle, Air Pistol, Archery- Compound, Archery- Recurve, and Muzzleloading.
Their results were impressive!
Congratulations to the following members who have made it to States!
- Jr. Shotgun - Tucker Barnes, Jacob Lowery
- Jr. Muzzleloading - Tucker Barnes, Caleb Dean, Tate Caldwell, Jacob Lowery
- Jr. Archery recurve - Caleb Dean, Jacob Lowery, Noah Townsend
- Jr. Archery Team - The Lost Arrows (Tate Caldwell, Connor Mirovsky, Benjamin Townsend)
- Sr. Muzzleloading - Dayton Lackey, Hunter Sherman, Maxton Sigmon
- Sr. Rifle Open - Hunter Sherman
- Sr. Rifle telescopic- Dayton Lackey
- Sr. Archery recurve - Ethan Cox, Hunter Sherman, Maxton Sigmon, Dayton Lackey
We are proud of all of you!
4-H Juntos In-School Clubs Resume
Our 4-H Juntos is quite active in the summer, with Juntos Academy in Raleigh, 4-H Congress, and volunteer opportunities. However, the school year is when Juntos really shines. Yulibeth Yanez-Chavez, our Juntos Coordinator, splits her time across the Extension Office, St. Stephens High School, Challenger Early College and Arndt Middle School.
Each school has dedicated club time when Yulibeth provides students with resources to ensure high school graduation, increase college access and other secondary education options. Once a month, the 3 clubs join together with their parents for Juntos Family Night. These times are a great way to help parents navigate their child’s post-graduation opportunities.
Club Spotlight
Clover Explorers
The Clover Explorers 4-H Club is for 5-12 year olds and they enjoy mixing it up with hands-on activities, crafts, field trips, and service projects. Over the last school year, they explored an alpaca farm and fed them pumpkins, dug for gems at a gem mine, and delivered Valentines cards to a retirement home.
Evie, a club member, says her favorite part of the club is going on field trips. She added, “I loved making my own kite and getting to fly it at the park with my friends!”
The group is looking forward to continue their adventures this school year with leader Lisa Ortiz, on the 3rd Friday of the month at 1:00pm!
Happening Around 4-H
Update: Move postponed until December 2026
NC Cooperative Extension Catawba County Center has called the old Catawba Hospital home for decades. It is a unique office and meeting space with lots of windows and quaint layouts. However, as time goes on the building gets older and harder to maintain.
Over the last several years, Catawba County Government has been planning an updated site for Extension and the four other departments housed here. The time has nearly come to move to our new location.
Our expected move time is early October, and we are headed to the old CVCC East Campus building. We will have new offices and meeting rooms as well as access to larger shared meeting spaces and our own demo kitchen!
We are looking forward to hosting many workshop, clubs, classes, and events in our new space. We can hardly wait to get settled in and to welcome you over to see us!
Important Dates
County Fair: September 2-7, 2026 Good Luck to all the 4-H’ers who are showing animals, submitting entries, and setting up fair booths! Come enjoy the Fair.
4-H Library LEGO Robotics at St Stephens Branch Library: Wednesdays, September 30th to November 4th from 4:30-5:45pm, prior registration required.
Move to New Location: early October, 2026
Project Book Workshop & Veterans’ Day Outreach: Wednesday, November 11th, 10am-3pm
Questions? Contact Dana at dmflorez@ncsu.edu
