The Troy Exchange Club has a long history of providing support to the young people of the Troy community.

The club recognizes the importance of character development as an aid to the prevention of child abuse.

“We recognize that the more self-confidence young people have and the greater their self-esteem, the less likely they are to be victims of child abuse,” said Florence Mitchell, Exchange Club member and director of the Department of Human Resources.

“As a club, we also recognize the important role that our local 4-H clubs play in character development.

“The 4-H clubs provide the tools that are needed for young people to become good leaders and dedicated community servants. It is an outstanding program and the Troy Exchange Club wanted to show its support of the local 4-H program with a donation to assist with the expenses of the 4-H’ers who will be attending National 4-H Congress in November.”

Mitchell presented a check in the amount of $400 to Tammy Powell, Pike County 4-H coordinator. Four hundred dollars is the amount that the county 4-H program must commit in order for each 4-H’er to attend the National 4-H Congress.

“The Troy Exchange Club has a record of strong support of young people,” Powell said. “The club recognizes an outstanding leader with its annual Youth of the Year award.

“This award recognizes leadership in different areas. Our young people are our future, and we appreciate Troy Exchange Club’s support of our 4-H program and thank them for their generous contribution to our clubs.”

Ten Pike County 4-H’ers will attend the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta the week after Thanksgiving. Three of those delegates have been selected.

“Amelia Spradley, our state beef award winner, and Megan Davis and Candace Harvey, our 4-H leadership award winners have been selected to attend the National 4-H Congress,” Powell said.

“Amelia and Candace are serving on the state 4-H Council and Megan is very involved in the state equine program. The other delegates will be determined by a 4-H project application process.”

Powell said the 4-H project applications give a detailed account of the hard work that has gone into 4-H projects and how those projects have benefited the club member.