Honey Brake Makes Historic $1 Million Pledge to Louisiana 4-H
by Olivia McClure, LSU AgCenter
BATON ROUGE, La. – Honey Brake, a hunting lodge in Jonesville, Louisiana, has pledged $1 million to Louisiana 4-H to permanently fund educational trips and camps.
Honey Brake representatives Tack Robinson and Drew Keeth visited the LSU campus on Sept. 28 to sign an agreement for the largest donation from a single donor in the history of the Louisiana 4-H program.
Honey Brake hosted the Louisiana 4-H annual Guns and Gumbo fundraiser several months ago, stepping up to the plate after the original event site became inaccessible due to high Mississippi River levels.
“Louisiana 4-H serves over 200,000 youth annually, and Honey Brake breathed new life into our biggest fundraising event,” said Paul Coreil, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor emeritus and chair of the Guns and Gumbo committee. “Now they’re making history again with this pledge.”
Honey Brake has also hosted 2016 4-H Junior Leader and the Southern Regional 4-H Development meetings.
“Honey Brake is committed to youth and to wildlife habitat conservation, and 4-H shares our passions,” said Keeth, who is Honey Brake CEO. “These young leaders have servants’ hearts, and we just want to help.”
“The Honey Brake pledge is key to expanding and nurturing our youth through camping and education opportunities that surpass our expectations,” said Bill Richardson, LSU vice president for agriculture.
“Louisiana has one of the best 4-H programs in the country,” said Mark Tassin, LSU AgCenter associate vice president for 4-H Youth Development. “I am proud to have been involved with 4-H all my life, and I am thankful for the heart that Honey Brake shows for our youth and our environment.”
4-H is the youth development and outreach program of the nation’s land-grant universities and is operated across Louisiana by the LSU AgCenter. It is designed to help young people develop knowledge, skills and abilities that will benefit them, their families and their communities throughout their lives.
Louisiana 4-H Foundation executive director Patrick Tuck said plans for other new partnerships are in the works, including shooting sports competitions and training camps, youth wetlands education programs, wildlife photography and outdoor skills television shows.
Honey Brake, located on 20,000 acres near Larto Lake in Catahoula Parish, is one of the largest wetlands restoration projects in the U.S. It provides several outdoor recreation opportunities, such as waterfowl and deer hunting, fishing, sporting clays and tours for bird watchers.
“The outdoor skills industry is now aligned with Louisiana 4-H in previously unimaginable ways,” Tuck said. “This announcement embodies a boundless spirit for 4-H youth development and environmental conservation.”