Erica Wiley

DATE: 8/17/06

CONTACT: Susie Groomes, 864-656-3848; sgrms@clemson.edu

WRITER: Diane Palmer, 864-656-4741; spalmer@clemson.edu

Hampton County 4-H’er to serve on national 4-H conference planning committee

CLEMSON -- Erica Wiley, a 4-H’er from Hampton County , has been selected to serve as a member of the 2007 National 4-H Conference Planning Committee.

Sponsored by the National 4-H Headquarters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the upcoming Conference is March 24-29, 2007 .

Known as the “Secretary’s Conference,” National 4-H Conference is the premiere national event for gathering and sharing the youth voice in the 4-H Youth Development Program. This is a working conference in which youth and adults – at the invitation of the Secretary of Agriculture – assist in the development of recommendations to help guide 4-H Youth Development Programs nationally and in their communities.

The goals of conference include:

• Sharing the recommendations that emerge from the Conference with the Secretary of Agriculture, national Extension Program Leaders, and others who determine 4-H programs;
• Educating Conference Delegates about the work of USDA and the Cooperative Extension System – the home of the National 4-H Headquarters and 4-H Youth Development Program; and
• Offering a rich and meaningful experience for the Delegates.

The Planning Committee commits to help achieve these goals and by serving as role models for the conference delegates. Planning Committee members serve as advisors and leaders for the Conference. They are essential to planning and implementation of the National 4-H Conference. Erica will be joining other youth and adult members of the Planning Committee in September to identify the conference theme and make recommendations for the conference program.

Wiley has served on the South Carolina State 4-H Teen Council as a member of the Board of Directors, State Secretary, and State Vice President. She was a state winner in the Citizenship Project in 2004 and attended National 4-H Congress in Atlanta . She was one of three South Carolina 4-H’ers that traveled to Coasta Rica to take school supplies as part of the International 4-H Community Service Project. She also achieved the highest honor bestowed to a South Carolina 4-H’er by winning the South Carolina Presidential Tray in 2005. She also attended National 4-H Conference in March 2006 as a youth delegate.

Wiley is a 2006 graduate of Patrick Henry Academy in Estill and will be attending Charleston Southern University this fall. She is the daughter of Kim Wiley of Estill.

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