2024 Endless Mountains Teen Retreat

Ten teens participated in the Endless Mountains Teen Retreat. Teens ranged from ages 13-18 years old and were active 4-H members in Bradford, Columbia, Lackawanna, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, and Wyoming counties. Endless Mountains Teen Retreat took place November 23-24, 2024, at Three Springs Ministries in Morris, Pennsylvania.

Throughout the weekend, teens attended various workshops, made new friendships, and even got to stay in a mansion. The workshops focused on leadership and activity-based programming. Upon arrival, teens got to know one another by finding a person to answer questions about something they had done in 4-H. The questions included finding a State Council member or someone who attended a State 4-H Contest.

All workshops were on a rotational basis, so everyone in attendance got to try new program areas. The first set of workshops on Saturday consisted of archery, baking, and painting. After a delicious dinner, we welcomed State Council members Melody Wright and Sawere Truax, who led the group in an escape room that focused on officer positions. The teens had to work together in teams to solve the puzzles. Following this activity, members got to enjoy free time to play board games, volleyball, and basketball.

Sunday consisted of more rotational workshops, which included public speaking, interviewing, nature journaling, and Stomp Rockets. In public speaking, teens learned how to successfully create and present a presentation or a speech. Teens learned about how to dress and conduct themselves in a future interview. In nature journaling, they used recycled materials to build a journal that they could take along on hikes or camping adventures. Lastly, stomp rockets, teens worked in pairs and designed a rocket out of paper. They then placed the rocket on the launcher and launched it by stomping on a soda bottle. The event concluded with a team building jeopardy game on meal etiquette.

Participants from Lycoming County included:

• Landon Cundiff (On the Fence),
• Peyton Hartman (Back Country Roads),
• Mackenzie Heyler (Pioneer Valley),
• Crickett Robbins (Back Country Roads),
• Katie Shipton (Pioneer Valley),
• Caitlyn Shrodo (Nothin But Dust),
• Ava Sitko (Lycoming County Dairy Judging Club),
• Wade Smith (Nothin But Dust),
• Grace Winter (Keystone Kountry), and
• Rachel Winter (Keystone Kountry).

The 2025 Endless Mountains Teen Retreat event will be held November 21-23.