About Us
Located on the banks of beautiful Airfield Lake in Sussex County, near Wakefield, Virginia, the secluded 218 acre natural setting is only a short drive from Richmond, Williamsburg and Tidewater, Virginia, where you can "get away" without having to "go away".
About Airfield 4-H Center
The center is located near Wakefield, Virginia, on Airfield Lake. The lake is 105 acres in size and the Center property has more than one mile of shoreland. When the roads were widened and surfaced at the 4-H Center, Union Camp Corporation donated an additional seven acres of land, bringing the present number of acres to 218.
The Airfield site was chosen because of its size, central location in what was then the Southeast Extension District and ease of accessibility by auto. The center is situated 50 miles from Richmond, 50 miles from Norfolk, and 60 miles from Virginia Beach.
The property consists of a dining/administration building four conference buildings, three executive sleeping lodges, four conference sleeping lodges, a health lodge, an amphitheater, a swimming pool, an athletic field, four livestock barns, two horseshow rings, a storage/maintenance building, a 4-H resource-storage building, three tennis courts, a campfire circle, a nature trail, and a wildlife zoo.
The dining/lodging facilities include 43 executive lodge rooms, which are comparable to first-class hotel rooms, 12-conference lodge room, and 14 dorm-style rooms. During the 4-H Camping summer season, the 12 conference lodge rooms are converted to dorm-style rooms to accommodate 4-H'ers, brining 4-H camp capacity to 208 campers.
Airfield serves youth of 4-H age in the Tidewater service area of 15 counties and cities and traditionally has nine weeks of summer camping. Financial support to employ and lodge college instructors has been made possible by grants received from regional foundations.
Additionally in the summer, the Center also hosts special weeklong camps such as Muscular Dystrophy Camp and other use agencies functions.
Corporate, educational, organizational, and state agencies make up the majority of adult utilization of the 4-H Center. Additionally, family reunions, church retreats, parties, and wedding represent business revenue for the Center. In recent years, the Center has become an active site for Elderhostel programs during the non-summer seasons.
The Board of Directors of Airfield plays an active and involved role, meeting monthly and participating in the growth, development, and maintenance of the Center. Expanded improvements, educational emphasis, and a commitment to youth as well as to adult clients are the major concerns of this board, as well as being able to generate revenue to meet these expenses. The future is bright for Airfield because of the commitment and concern for the citizens of the Commonwealth. The Board is committed to the mission of the Center, which is:
- Be of service to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia
- Further promote the purposes of 4-H and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service
- Enhance quality programming in the creative and performing arts, agriculture, home economics, leadership, environmental science, community resource development, health and safety, and other fields
- Serve as a unique resource for business, industry, civic, and community organizations.
- Foster a development of the educational, recreational, and fellowship aspects of life for both youth and adult
