SALEM — Like many 4-H members, Mackenna Meek, 15, daughter of Ken and Janet Meek of Salem, misses the 4-H meetings and the comraderie of friends.

Mackenna is a freshman at South Range High School and has been in 4-H for the past 10 years.

“I decided to join because my mom and sister were in (4-H clubs),” she said. “They helped me make my decision.”

Mackenna is a member of the 3Ds 4-H Club of Mahoning County where she takes on a variety of projects. This year, she is doing a sewing project, a scrapbooking project and a woodworking project.

“My sewing project is about going to stores and making an outfit for the lowest price possible,” she said. “My scrapbooking project is about teaching how to put pictures in an album and make them look beautiful.”

Her woodworking project involves learning things about wood when making something out of wood.

The stay-at-home directive has given Mackenna time to work on her projects. In prior years, she has earned several county awards and has been to the Ohio State Fair once with a project. She said the extra time to work on them has given her a jump-ahead for the judging in July, which is still up in the air.

“I don’t like the idea of having a virtual judging, then the normal judging, but if we have to do it then I won’t mind it, but I really prefer not to,” she said.

She said her 4-H club has held group chats and held a virtual meeting just to see how everyone was doing regarding their projects.

“I do miss my 4-H club and friends,” Mackenna said. “It has been hard not seeing them, but it’s for the best right now.”