Warren County celebrates National 4-H Week with proclamation and bridge lighting honoring youth leadership

WARREN COUNTY, N.J. — Warren County is celebrating National 4-H Week, recognizing the nation’s largest youth development organization and its positive impact on young people and their communities.

The Warren County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed Oct. 5–11 as “4-H Week in Warren County” during its Sept. 24 meeting. A group of 4-H members and leaders attended the meeting, joined by several puppies from the 4-H Puppy Power Seeing Eye Club, who are training to become Seeing Eye dogs.

“It’s so important to the youth of our county,” said Commissioner Director Jason J. Sarnoski of the 4-H program, which Warren County 4-H Agent Alayne Torretta said has close to 200 members.

Commissioner James R. Kern III added that the organization helps young people build important skills that serve them throughout life. “They’re our future leaders,” Kern said, noting that 4-H members go on to succeed in farming, teaching, entrepreneurship, and many other fields.

“Thank you all so much for your support, because this wouldn’t happen without you,” Torretta told the commissioners.

To mark the occasion, the Northampton Street Toll-Supported Bridge over the Delaware River — better known as the Free Bridge, connecting Phillipsburg and Easton, Pennsylvania — was illuminated green in honor of 4-H Week. Commissioner Lori Ciesla joined local 4-H members along Riverside Way in Phillipsburg to watch the lights turn on.

The county’s recognition reflects 4-H’s enduring role in helping young people develop leadership, citizenship, and life skills through hands-on learning and community involvement.