Union County, TN – On March 27th, the Union County Extension Office welcomed community members to its Open House event, showcasing the many programs and resources available to local residents. The event provided an opportunity for guests to learn more about Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and other valuable extension services.

Allyson Hanna has done her hometown proud by bringing home a state-level win from the Tennessee 4-H Round-Up and All-Star Conference. The 16-year-old homeschooler is a junior this year, and she won her division with a Senior Level 1 consumer education project on the Consumer Bill of Rights.

Hanna has been active in 4-H since she was in the fifth grade, and she credits the program with helping her grow as a leader and a team player.

The Union County 4-H Hog Club headed to the state competition last weekend, a truckload of middle schoolers, high schoolers, and the hogs they spent the fall and winter raising. The Hog Club has been going strong since 2014, teaching students valuable skills from animal care to public speaking.

Folks like to complain about “kids these days” with their heads in their phones all the time, but would you believe that the impetus for starting the Hog Club was a teenager? Union County’s UT Extension Agent Shannon DeWitt said it started as a little bit of a love story.