The Friday Finish - State Champ - Small Vouchers, Big Smiles - Market Report - Healthy Dishes - Marker Dedication - Fun Baking - Many Hats
- Tim Crawford
- 11 hours ago
- 6 min read
July 17, 2026
4-H State Champion, Again!
Patty Vance, Red Bird Mission School Alumna and Red Bird Christian School Elementary Teacher, goes beyond the expected to give our students opportunities leading to excellence in careers and life after graduation. One of her passions is involving our students in the 4-H Communications Competition because she knows successful people need to be effective communicators. Following is her Facebook post reporting the outcomes at this year’s 4-H Communications State Championships.
Today [Saturday, July 11th] was another unforgettable day for Red Bird Christian School!
We are incredibly proud of our students for their outstanding performances at the Kentucky 4-H State Communications Day Competition.
Finn Smith brought home the State Championship in his division, continuing a tradition of excellence that has become a hallmark of Red Bird. Congratulations, Finn, on this incredible accomplishment!
Jase Smith earned an outstanding Second Place finish in his division, representing our school with confidence and excellence.
Cambree Holland also represented Red Bird beautifully, earning a Blue Ribbon for her demonstration.
This marks three out of the last four years that Red Bird Christian School has brought home a 4-H State Speech or Demonstration Championship. We’ve had kids to place in the top three every year. That is something truly special, and it speaks volumes about the hard work of our students, the support of their families, and the dedication of everyone who invests in teaching effective communication.
At Red Bird, we believe communication is one of the most valuable life skills a student can develop. The ability to speak clearly, organize thoughts, think critically, and communicate with confidence opens doors in every profession and every stage of life. These competitions are about much more than ribbons and trophies. They are preparing young people to become leaders, advocates, and servants in their communities.
Congratulations to Finn, Jase, and Cambree! You have represented Red Bird with excellence, and we couldn’t be more proud. Thank you for carrying on a tradition of communication excellence that continues to make our school shine across the Commonwealth.
Small Vouchers, Big Smiles: Passing Down the Traditions at the Farmers Market
Around here, Farmers Market Fridays are more than just a place to go grab your favorite garden foods. It’s the day we all look forward to, a time when the whole valley comes out to support our local farmers, growers, bakers, and makers. Our folks have been showing up in a big way, and it just melts my heart. If there’s one thing Appalachians know how to do, it’s taking care of our own. We look out for each other, plain and simple, and you can see that kind of love in action the minute you walk onto the market grounds. Our market works hard to make sure everybody gets taken care of, especially when it comes to putting good, wholesome food on the table. Through Kentucky Double Dollars, the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and WIC benefits, families are able to stretch their dollars and bring home more good, homegrown food.
The Big Announcement
Now, we’ve got some big, beautiful news to share! Starting today, Friday, July 17th, the Red Bird Farmers Market has received NEW $10 Family Health Bucks incentives available for seniors and YOUTH!
How special is it that our children can now be included in these traditions we’ve had for generations? Our grandparents and parents stood in gardens, picked beans, traded stories at the store, and bought from neighbors. Now our kids can step into that same stream. Every Farmers Market Friday, we see children walking through the aisles with their parents or grandparents. Now, instead of just watching, they can be part of it. With their very own vouchers, the young'uns can wander the tables, pick out what looks good to them, and pay the farmers with their own two hands.
A Mission for Cucumbers: Our Littlest Shopper
One of our youngest shoppers came to the market bright and early this morning with his mom and brother, voucher in hand and on a mission. He had his heart set on cucumbers. He marched up to the table, picked out the cucumbers he wanted, watched the farmer bag them, and then handed over his voucher with the biggest smile on his face. It was plumb sweet to watch him feel proud of himself. Appalachians are all about family. These new youth and senior incentives pull our family even closer together. When a grandparent and a grandchild can both walk through the market with their own vouchers, make their own choices, and take home food grown by people they know, it keeps our way of life going. Our community has been showing up. Our people are taking care of our people. And with these new $10 farmers market incentives for seniors and youth, we are making sure that everyone—from the oldest to the littlest—can be part of Farmers Market Fridays at Red Bird Mission. Y'all come on out this Friday, support our growers, and let the kids lead the way!
- Kayla Smith, Development Gifts and Media
July 17th Red Bird Farmers Market Report
$410 Family Health Bucks distributed on first day
$250 Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) Kentucky Double Dollars distributed
$30 WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program Kentucky Double Dollars distributed
Many senior adults took home fresh produce using SFMNP benefit cards
Honey and green beans were shoppers’ favorite
$1209 total sales
Healthy Dishes Can Taste Good, Too
Red Bird Grow Appalachia members typically line up at their monthly meeting to pick up raw materials like seed, fertilizer, plants, or canning jars for food production and preservation. On Tuesday evening, they lined up to dish up samples of finished products – cabbage casserole, flavorful carrots and Shoyu chicken on seasoned rice.
Melanie Adams, Red Bird Christian School Guidance Counselor, stepped in to share her education and experience as a food nutritionist with the grower families attending the Red Bird Grow Appalachia meeting. This is not the first year Melanie has shared practical, healthy options of preparing fresh, homegrown vegetables and protein, but she brings a new dish with a new idea each year.
Melanie takes great care to only share dishes that “tastes good” and hands out the recipe for each dish so the dish can be made while the food is coming in fresh from the garden. The focus always is to include options to reduce fats and sugars to make these fresh dishes even healthier. She also shares those “tricks of the trade” that include time saving methods and where to find ingredients that might not be in the pantry or spice rack for most folk.
Historical Marker to Be Dedicated
Since 1949, the Kentucky Historical Society has partnered with community members to install more than 2,400 historical markers across the Commonwealth that share the state's complex and remarkable history. This collaborative process has evolved through the decades, but its fundamental goal has remained the same: to educate Kentuckians about important historical topics near the meaningful sites connected to them.
Patty Vance, a Red Bird Christian School Elementary teacher and President of the Red Bird School Alumni Association, not only teaches and promotes knowing our history, but is a member of the Kentucky Historical Society. The late Fran Woodworth started preparing an application to get a Kentucky Historical Society marker on the original Beverly Campus several years ago, and Patty took up the mantle a couple of years ago after Fran’s passing.
We are pleased to announce that Red Bird Mission’s most recent application for a Kentucky Historical Society marker was accepted, and the marker is now ready for installation and dedication. A KHS representative will join Red Bird Christian School students, staff, Red Bird Mission board members and others wanting to witness the marker unveiling and dedication on August 26th at 1:30 pm on the Beverly Campus.
Fun with Baking
Tate Adams is a Red Bird Mission volunteer that works at bringing joy to any place he’s working for the day. On Thursday, there was a lot of fun conversation at Red Bird Mission’s DeWall Senior Center on the Beverly Campus as Tate shared his recipes and techniques for baking fresh bread and cinnamon rolls. Tate leads some special topics to engage men at the Senior Center, but both men and women were participating for the baking workshop. Tate said they had so much fun, he’ll do another cooking workshop next month, too.
Many Hats
Red Bird staff are called upon to wear a different hat some days to carry out the mission here. Candace caught Executive Director Jamie Collett putting on a different hat today – cashier at The Cardinal Café. Thank you, Jamie, and thank you to all that step up when there’s a gap to fill.
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