Meet Spartanburg County’s New 4-H Agent

February 15, 2023

Laura Haddon
4-H Agent

Hello! My name is Laura Haddon, and I am the new Spartanburg County Clemson Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Agent. I am new to Spartanburg County but have been with Clemson Extension for three years as the 4-H Agent in Cherokee County. I am looking forward to becoming a part of the Spartanburg community and continuing to grow the 4-H program here.

Currently, Spartanburg 4-H has a partnership with the Kids’ Club of the Upstate (formerly the Boys and Girls Club). 4-H provides Healthy Habits programs at five Kids’ Club sites. Over 150 youth have pledged their “health to better living” and are learning how to take healthy steps for their futures. Their favorite part is making a tasty but healthy recipe at the end of each lesson.

As spring approaches, the 4-H calendar is filling up with events and requests for school programs. One of the most popular 4-H school enrichment programs is “Hatching Out with 4-H”. “Hatching Out with 4-H” is an embryology project that allows teachers and students to observe the life cycle of chickens from egg to chick. Each class that registers will receive 18 fertilized eggs and the use of an incubator. During the incubation time, students learn the parts of an egg, how to candle an egg and the development stages of the chicken embryo from lessons provided by 4-H. At the project’s conclusion, the students have the joy of witnessing chicks pop out of the eggs that they have been patiently watching for 21 days. For Spring 2023, we have 37 classrooms and approximately 700 students registered to participate in this hands-on program.

A new opportunity this spring is our Peach Country 4-H Livestock Show. We are partnering with Cherokee County 4-H to host this event at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds on March 24^th and 25^th. Friday night will be the Market Hog Show and on Saturday we will have youth exhibiting beef cattle and rabbits. Spartanburg and Cherokee 4-H Programs appreciate the Piedmont Interstate Fair Board allowing us to use their livestock barns at no cost. This gift enables us to put more money into providing the best possible experience and quality to prizes to our young competitors. Please come enjoy the show and support our youth! Admission is free!

As you can see, Spartanburg 4-H is busy “making the best better” in our community! If you would like to sponsor one of our programs, become a volunteer, or enroll a child (ages 5 to 18) in a 4-H program please feel free to reach out to Laura Haddon by email at lhaddon@clemson.edu or by phone, (864) 594-0424.

Interesting facts about 4-H Agent, Laura Haddon.