OKEECHOBEE — During its Dec. 5 Okeechobee City Council meeting, the council recognized the achievements of three local youths.

Alyssa Cortez and Emily Hilderbrand are members of several 4-H clubs and recently had the opportunity to represent the State of Florida in the Eastern National horse judging competition. The team consisted of four members, two of them from Okeechobee. They competed in Louisville, Ky and came in seventh overall.

Lila Bishop is president of the Osceola Middle School chapter’s FFA club. She also competed in a national competition, this one the National Middle School Agri-Science Fair, where she took third place in the Animal System Division.

Paula Daniel, who is the local 4-H agent, spoke to the council and said, “We’ve got a good group of kids here.” She explained that in Okeechobee, the population is less than 40,000, but last year there were 744 youth enrolled in 4-H, ranking Okeechobee #1 in reaching the highest percentage of youth.