Adam Bracewell is a 15 year old who has always
been taught at home. He has been involved in 4-H since the age of eight. That's
when Samson, a lab mix puppy joined the family. Adam wanted to train him, and
4-H looked like a great place for an eight year old to do that. Since that time
the "Homegrown 4-H club" and especially the 4-H Dog Project have been a big
part of his life. Adam and Samson have competed in the Florida State Fair every
year since he was eight. In addition, they have shown in the Polk County
Youth Fair and numerous other shows. Although they regularly
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show in Showmanship, Obedience, Team, Brace and
Rally. Adam's favorite place at a dog show is in the Agility ring.
Adam
and Samson have often won "High Point" awards and have quite a collection of
ribbons and trophies. |
In 2002 he won the
"Junior Youth Champion" at the Florida State Fair. That was the only year that
he participated in every category of the Champion Youth Program. He plans to
compete again in the Champion Youth award in the 2007 State Fair.
In
addition to competing, Adam has been involved in community service. Adam enjoys
taking Samson to nursing homes to visit the residents and to a school for
mentally handicapped adults to visit the students. Adam allows the students to
feel like they are training a dog by having them give treats and commands and
they are delighted when the dog obeys. Of course while they give the verbal
command, he stands behind them giving hand signals to insure their success.
Adam has also participated in an Agility demonstration at an elementary school.
Two or three times his dog training class has been invited to give Agility
demonstrations at the State Fair. |
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They really enjoyed talking to the public about training their
dogs and the 4-H Dog Project. Adam has participated in many other community
service activities both through 4-H and other organizations. Other 4-H projects
that Adam has been involved in include Archery, Rocketry, Astronomy and Marine
Science. Most of Adam's 4-H activities have been just for fun but he has
participated in state level competitions in Marine Science and Archery.
In
addition to 4-H, Adam can frequently be found on the basketball court. He's
also a member of Royal Rangers, a scouting program and is very close to earning
The Gold Medal of Achievement. This is comparable to the Boy Scout's 'Eagle
Scout' award and has taken years of work. Many of his Ranger requirements have
been met through participating in 4-H projects. Adam plans to stay active in
4-H dog competitions as long as he is able. He would like to eventually show in
AKC and USDAA. He also plans to continue playing basketball through college
where he will study engineering, specializing in robotics. Adam says "If that
doesn't work out there's always the NBA to fall back on."
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