FOREST HILL W.Va. (Hinton News) – Summers County 4-H held its annual camp June 9-13, at Camp Summers in Forest Hill. With a crowd of enthusiastic campers and beautiful weather, it was a great week. This year’s theme was A Walk on the Wild Side, and campers learned about various ecosystems.
On Tuesday, Cloverbuds came to 4-H Camp for the day. Cloverbuds are 5-8-year-olds who are interested in seeing what 4-H camp is all about. While there, they made crafts, toured the camp, sang songs, and enjoyed a pizza party.
This year, tribes were full of 4-H spirit. They were enthusiastic and hard-working throughout the whole week. The Seneca tribe won the Spirit Stick for the week for their outstanding energy, teamwork, tribal duty performance, and enthusiasm. During the week, the tribes compete for points based on cleaning, sports, swimming, sportsmanship, bed checks, songs, skits, and teamwork. All of the tribes did a great job.
The chiefs and sags for the 2025 4-H Camp were:
Cherokee:
Chief: Alyssa Niday
1st Sag: Greyson Gumm
2nd Sag: Fayrin Mitchum
Delaware:
Chief: Caylee Mitchum
1st Sag: Dylan Galloway
2nd Sag: Brailyn Cook
Mingo:
Chief: Ayden Gardner
1st Sag: Colsen Elkins
2nd Sag: Ralph Romanello
Seneca:
Chief: Tyler Niday
Chief: Alana Harrison
Sag: Drew Mansfield
The chiefs and sags are responsible for leading their tribe and setting a good example. All of the chiefs and sags worked hard and did a great job during camp.
Each H of 4-H represents something important. The Head H is for clearer thinking and making good decisions. The Heart H is for loyalty and caring. The Hand H stands for helping others, while the Health H is for better living.
Many well-deserved awards were given during camp. The winners were: Health H: Ayden Gardner and Brynne Wykle, Hands H: Gretchen Foster, Heart H: Dylan Galloway, and Head H: Alana Harrison.
The Mary Grace Surbaugh Return Scholarship was awarded to Lieschen Kula, and the Bob Baber Return Scholarship went to Grayden Deaton. The Outstanding First Year Male Camper was Parker Buckland, and the Outstanding First Year Female Camper was McKinley Tabor.
The Camper of Character Scholarship was awarded to Isiah Farmer, and the Trey Bennett Memorial Scholarship went to Ralph Romanello.
State 4-H Camp Scholarships were awarded to Logan Osborne, Megan Richmond, Landon Lester, Canyon Persinger, Alana Harrison, and Natasha Naik. Finally, for embodying head, heart, hands and health, the Spirit of Camp was awarded to Tyler Niday.
Thank you to all of the campers, counselors, chiefs and sags who made 2025 4-H camp such a big success. 4-H wishes to thank the following businesses, individuals, and organizations for contributions to camp: Big Four, City National Bank, Communities in Schools, Dairy Queen, Gear Up, First Community Bank, Fox Photographics, Hinton Area Foundation, Hinton Floral, Hinton Helping Hands 4-H Club, Hinton Hope Foundation, Hinton Kiwanis Club, Amy L. Mann, REACHH, The Ritz Theatre – Cinema & Performing Arts, Safe and Sound, Sears Septic, Service Club, State Farm – Regina Gwinn Eckle, Summers County 4-H Leaders’ Association, Summers County ARH Hospital, Summers County Board of Education, Summers County Commission, Twin State Salon Supply Inc., United Way of Southern WV, Ziegler and Ziegler, and many individuals.
