Alamance County’s leaders literally talked turkey this week as they saluted a rising star from the county’s 4-H program as she prepares to set off for a statewide convention later this month.
As a “voice delegate” to this year’s conference of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, Lexie Hester was invited to address her own county’s governing board during its latest regularly-scheduled meeting on Monday. Hester used this opportunity to brief the commissioners on the virtues of the county’s 4-H program, which was ultimately responsible for selecting her to attend the conference as a youth representative.
“I think it’s one of the best things I’ve gotten involved,” she told the commissioners. “I’ve been in it since the fifth grade…and with 4-H, I’ve learned a lot of responsibilities and things that I think I’ll carry through the rest of my life.”
Yet, it was Hester’s interest in raising turkeys that really seemed to prick the ears of the five-member board of commissioners.
In response to a barrage of questions from the board, Hester noted that she has raised some champion gobblers over the years – including one that earned a second place ribbon at the state fair. Hester also acknowledged that she has grown quite attached to these birds– so much so that it has spoiled her enjoyment of one particularly popular Thanksgiving tradition.
“I don’t eat the turkeys,” she told the commissioners, “but my family says they’re amazing.”