UNION COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER December 2017 WHAT S INSIDE: Enrollment in 4-H Online Club Meeting Dates Club Officer Training Record Books New Volunteer Training Annual Volunteer Training 4 Meeting Rule Calendar of Events Dec. 2 Nov. 7 Dec. 10 Dec. 14 Dec. 14 Dec. 25-26 Jan 1 Union County Extension Kysa Downing County Youth and Outreach Coordinator kdowning@iastate.edu Sandy Seals Office Assistant sseals@iastate.edu New Volunteer Training, Cedar Rapid from 9-noon Friends of 4-H meeting, 7-8:30 PM, Extension Office Beef weigh-in, 1-4 PM, Creston Livestock Sale Barn Creston Clover Kids, 4-5 PM, Trinity Lutheran Church Fairboard Meeting, 7 PM, cookshack at the fairgrounds Holiday! Office closed Like Union County Extension on Facebook at www.facebook.com/unioncounty4hia Another source for important information! Annual volunteer online training opens on 4honline Extension Council Dan Waigand-Chair Larry Bailey Vice Chair Shiloh Gennaro Secretary Randy Ehm Treasurer Jennifer Foglesong Mark Ide Jerry Hartman Ronda Driskill Jean Weishaar Jan 3 Jan 8 Jan 9 New Volunteer Training, Page County Extension from 6-9 PM Extension council meeting 5:30 PM Friends of 4-H, 7 PM 811 N. Sumner 811 N. Sumner Ave. Creston, Ave. Creston, IA 50801 IA 50801 641-782-8426 641-782-8426 8:00-4:30 8:00-4:30 PM, M-F PM, Mon.-Fri.
December Club Meetings 3 Mile Sharp Shooters: Sunday, Dec. 17 @ 3 PM, Afton Shooting Range Highland Highlights: Sunday, Dec. 10 @ 2 pm, SWCC Ag Site Horse and Riders: Monday, Dec. 11 @7 PM, Travis Hometown Insurance Pleasant Valley Explorers: Sunday, Dec. 10 @ 5 pm, Afton Community Center New Hope Boosters: Sunday, Dec. 10 @ 5 PM, 3 Mile Lake Shelter House-Afton, 5 pm Sand Creek Pioneers: Sunday, Dec. 3 @ 6 pm, Arispe Methodist Church (No Clover Kids) Wiggles and Wags: Dec. 18 @ 7 PM, Union County Extension Office Douglas Boosters: Sunday, Dec. 3 @ 5 pm, Cromwell Church, Cromwell Lincoln United: Thursday, Dec. 14 @ 6 pm, GRMC Medical Arts Plaza Conference Room Union County Achievers: Sunday, Dec. 3 @ 1:00 pm, Union County Extension Office Youth Council: Sunday, Dec. 17 @ 6 pm Friends of 4-H: Tuesday, January 9 @ 7 pm, Union County Extension Office 4-H Re-Enrollment FINAL MONTH TO RE-ENROLL It is that time of year to re-enroll in 4-H Online! This is a simple process and needs to be done by Nov. 1st. The fee to be in 4-H for the year is $15.00. NEW!! Online payment is now an option! A reminder that if you are in more than one club then there is only one fee of $15.00, pay the fee to your primary club. Clover Kids do not pay a fee. Leaders and volunteers, you need to re-enroll as well. Re-enrollment is all on-line this year with no paperwork involved: 1. Sign into your account on 4-H Online: https://iowa.4honline.com/ 2. Click on Edit beside the member s name that needs to re-enroll 3. Read through all of your info and make any or updates such as phone numbers or email address **Please type in an email address that someone in your family checks regularly! 4. Click Submit Enrollment 5. Your status will now say Pending 6. The office will receive an email from 4-H Online letting them know that you submitted your re-enrollment and they will make you Active. Do not hesitate to give the office a call at 641-782-8426 or to stop into the office if you need help re-enrolling! MISSION STATEMENT 4-H EMPOWERS YOUTH TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WORKING AND LEARNING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CARING ADULTS
Volunteer News New Volunteer Training Volunteers in their first year of service will complete a 3-hour face-to-face New Volunteer Training. Trainings are held at various locations across the state. One nearby training will be held on Saturday, December 2 in Cedar Rapids at the Linn County Extension Office from 9am to 12pm. To register for this session or for a complete list of sessions, visit www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/volunteertraining December 2 Questions? Contact Kysa Downing at kdowning@iastate.edu or call 641-782-8426 Annual Volunteer Training Returning 4-H Volunteers must complete follow-up training, known as Annual Volunteer Training, each 4-H year. Training will be offered online to those who have not already completed the training that was held November 6th. Training will begin January 1st on 4HOnline and be open for approximately 1 month. This is a requirement in order to stay a volunteer but does not pertain to 1st year volunteers. January 1 Please e-mail Kysa Downing at kdowning@iastate.edu if you have further questions. New Volunteer Training Volunteers in their first year of service will complete a 3-hour face-to-face New Volunteer Training. Trainings are held at various locations across the state. Another nearby training will be held on Wednesday, January 3rd in Clarinda at the Page County Extension Office from 6PM-9PM. To register for this session or for a complete list of sessions, visit www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/volunteertraining Questions? Contact Kysa Downing at kdowning@iastate.edu January 3
4 Club Meeting Rule! 4-Hers are REQUIRED to attend at least four, regular 4-H meetings in a year in order to participate in county and/or state fair. Members are welcome to attend the 4-H meeting of any club throughout the year if you can not make it to your own. Things that do not count as meetings: Friday night dog practices Friday night horse practices FSQA trainings Fair clean up CWF Trip! 9th-12th Grade 4-Hers CITIZENSHIP WASHINGTON FOCUS JUNE 15-23, 2018 Registration Information http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/cwf. Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) is a 4-H leadership program for high school youth, grades 9-12, from across the country. Every summer nearly 1,500 young people stay at the National 4-H Conference Center near Washington, D.C., to participate in this week long program. What does it mean to be a good citizen or a leader? Are you being a strong civic leader for your community, country, and world? Explore these topics at Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF). CWF is more than just another DC field trip. 4-H ers learn essential civic leadership skills and leave with the tools that will allow them to bring about real change in their communities. The week consists of workshops, speakers, committee work, field trips and social events! Deadline to register is Wednesday January 10, 2018. Trip cost is $1,700. This pays for all lodging, travel, tours and a majority of your meals. Friends of 4-H can help to offset the costs.
Beef Weigh-in Sunday, December 10 from 1-4 PM @ the CRESTON SALE BARN NEW! Payment options online through 4-H Online! You may now pay with a credit card through 4-H Online, which allows you to have more options! Also, on behalf of our Extension Council, the yearly 4-H fee per member is now $15.00 rather than the full $30.00! Extension Council will be taking care of half of every 4-Her s yearly fee. This decreased fee goes into effect beginning September 1st, 2017 Be sure to thank a council member for their work and dedication to the 4-H program! State Recognition Opportunities Available NOW Get more involved in 4-H and expand your horizons! If you are a ninth through twelfth grader, there are many opportunities available to you for recognition awards or to represent Iowa in upcoming conferences on the state and national level! National 4-H Conference(9-11 grade)-travel to Washington D.C. and discuss issues of concern for youth and 4-H ers from across the United States! National 4-H Congress(10-11 grade)-travel to Atlanta, Georgia to experience 4-H program differences nationwide. Make the most of this 5 day trip! State 4-H Council(10-11 grade)-be an ambassador for Iowa and create friendships that will last a lifetime through this yearlong experience! Iowa SESS Ambassador(9-11 grade)-represent your shooting sports program by applying for (SESS) or Shooting Sports Ambassador! Develop Leadership and PR skills. State 4-H Project Awards(9-12 grade)-be recognized for the projects you exhibit every year at county fair! Now take what you have learned and compete at the state level! The deadline for applications is February 1 at 11:59. I can help you apply for these awards! Please contact me by Jan 1, 2018 so we can get to work on your applications! Kysa Downing, kdowning@iastate.edu or by phone.
Senior 4-H Scholarships Iowa 4-H Foundation Scholarship Opportunities * 2018 Scholarship Applications are now available and open!* Designed to encourage Iowa 4-H members to continue their education beyond high school, our current scholarship program offers over 90 scholarships worth more than $90,000. Scholarships range in value from $500 to $10,000. Check out these opportunities with the below link! https://www.iowa4hfoundation.org/index.cfm?nodeid=31466&audienceid=1 Local 4-H Scholarship Opportunities Below is a link to the extension website where you will find Union County 4-H and FFA scholarships. They are now open! https://www.extension.iastate.edu/union/4h Tips for filling out scholarships Small scholarships add up. Apply for them! College textbooks are more expensive than you think! Every little bit counts. Fill them out completely. Meet the maximum word-count. Details, Details, Details! Write a thank you letter within 1 month of receiving the scholarship! It matters! If you need help, ask! It is a lot of work, but in the end it will be worth it! Don t get discouraged! County Fair 2018 July 19-25, 2018 The fair and it begins on Thursday and ends with the livestock sale on Wednesday. A new schedule of events will be coming soon! Like the FaceBook page here: https://www.facebook.com/unionfair/
REMINDER CASH YOUR COUNTY FAIR PREMIUM CHECKS! SPIN Events There have been many questions regarding the continued implementation of SPIN. YES, I will continue SPIN! No, not this year. SPIN is set to restart in January of 2018. I will send an email with all the information when I have specific dates planned. Thanks for your patience!-kysa Downing Union County Award Ceremony Union County 4-H Youth Council has been working to put together the awards ceremony! It is set for the first part of January 2018. A definite date will be determined at the next youth council meeting. More details are to come. Lego League Teams Union County Extension and outreach would like to personally congratulate Lego League Teams on the successful year! Hard work pays off and we hope you had a fun learning experience to go along with it! We look forward to seeing you all compete again next year. Thanks to the volunteers and family members who helped along the way as well. Equine Extravaganza 2018 Equine Extravaganza is set for March 23-25 at Ellsworth Community College. Gather a team and compete in a variety of events including, but not limited to quizbowl, hippology, a barrels and poles clinic, judging, and much more! Check out this link below for more information or contact us! https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/equineextravaganza