I thank you for the opportunity to meet with you during the fall District Meetings. This provided me a chance to meet with you face to face and to hear your comments, suggestions, and ideas for the important work that we do. As we begin the new year, it is important that each of us take inventory of our priorities, set some meaningful and achievable goals for our work, and strive to seek a difference in the lives of the boys and girls and adult volunteers in our respective units. I sincerely believe that 4-H has the greatest program opportunities for our citizens and that we should make sure to address the needs and interests of our clientele. In doing so, we need to be close to the customer in listening and addressing their needs. I challenge each of you to make the best better for the 4-H members and leaders in your unit.
With this letter, I welcome all new 4-H agents, program assistants, and state staff. Our new 4-H specialists are: Ms. Kathleen Jamison, Curriculum and Learning Process; Mr. Barry Garst, Staff Development and Camping; and Mr. Joe Hunnings, Leadership, Technology, and International Programming . Please know that our staff is willing and ready to assist in building quality 4-H programming. Best wishes in your work.
(Bob Meadows)
Planning for another exciting State Congress is well underway. There will be competition, dances, Olympic games, opportunity for community service, and some new educational workshop opportunities. Information packets will be mailed mid-February. Registrations are due to District Events Coordinators by May 4. Cost remains at $120. Encourage your senior 4-H members to plan to participate in this exciting event here on Va Tech Campus.
(Dorothy Freeman)
(Bob Meadows)
Workshops, conference participation, creation of media kit for use by 4-H agents, networking with other instructional technology and more will provide these 4-H agents with the necessary skills to effectively use technology as a teaching tool. Feb 16 is deadline for application. Email hunnings@vt.edu for application. See attachment for more details.
(Joe Hunnings)
Program participants have an opportunity to tour the State Capitol Building, as well as visit with Legislators, House/Senate Representatives and Pages. This experience will enhance 4-Her's knowledge of governmental procedures and emphasize the importance of their involvement. We will have two orientation sessions in 2001. The first orientation session will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the second orientation will begin at 10:45 a.m. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Rudolph Powell or Tracy Downey at (804) 524-5964.
2000 National Congress was a wonderful experience for over 2000 4-H Youth. Encourage your senior 4-H members to submit a 4-H Resume to be considered for 2001 National Congress, once again to be held in Atlanta for four exciting days and nights.
Resumes should be sent to Billie Cline, State 4-H Office, 107 Hutcheson Hall, Blacksburg, VA. For more information http://www.ext.vt.edu/vce/specialty/4h/programs.html
(Billie Cline)
Designed to be a learning experience for the advanced as well as the novice and beginner 4-H members. The contest will consist of a quiz, meats judging, and meat identification. For more information email cnansel@vt.edu
(Carol Nansel)
A statewide CHARACTER COUNTS! Train-the Trainer program will be held at Smith Mountain Lake 4H Educational Center. The 4H Leadership/Personal Development Curriculum Component Committee is providing leadership for this event.
Each Extension District is invited to send two teams for training. Each team should consist of 6 adults. While Extension Agents, Technicians and Program Assistants may be a part of teams, the majority of each trainer team should be made up of volunteers. Team members must be from the same District, but do not have to be from the same Unit. The 4H Leadership/Personal Development Curriculum Committee will give final approval of team members selected for training.
The cost per participant for the three-day training is only $30. This covers the cost of meals, snacks, lodging and training curriculum materials. Team members are responsible for their own transportation to and from the training event.
In addition, participating team members are expected to contribute to the development of the CHARACTER COUNTS! program in their area by committing to conduct a minimum of four training programs in the year following the Train-the-Trainer program. Team members are also expected to assist in collecting information to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
If you are interested in applying, submit an application form (available from your local 4H Extension personnel) and send to:
Dr. Bob Meadows, Associate Director, 4H,
107 Hutcheson Hall, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
(Joe Hunnings)
The Spring Conference of the 4-H Adult Leaders Association is an excellent staff development opportunity for all 4-H volunteers and agents. The event will be conducted at the Richmond Hotel and Conference Center, Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia. The schedule and a registration form can be found at http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/volunteers.html#
(Bob Meadows)
Applications for the 4-H/Japanese Travel & Hosting opportunities, check with your Local Extension Office for more information and forms.
4-H members desiring to travel to Japan make note of the deadline date of March 1 for completed applications to reach State Coordinator, Judy Ann fray. A $200 deposit is required with the application. An early "Outbound Orientation" will be scheduled for outbound 4-H'ers, with the second orientation to be later in the spring. Outbound dates are July 9-August 8. Cost of the entire trip is $2500.
Families applying to HOST Japanese students for one month in the summer (aproximate date July 24-August 20) must be placed by May 25, as arrival plans must be made then for Japanese Delegate travel. Get your application on line, too - and send it to Judy Ann Fray, P.O. Box 263, Madison, VA 22727 -- right away.
Thanks to all those who have already called to begin both application processes.
(Judy Ann Fray)
Check out the coolest site in cyberspace. Play games, learn about living and working in space, and view a cyber webcast on www.Spaceday.com/ Be sure to mark your calendar, because Space Day 2001 launches on May 3!
4-H is an official partner of Space Day. Space Day presents a unique opportunity to work with local educators in the science & technology arena.
(Bob Meadows)
Brochures will be sent to each Unit Office from Kings Dominion. The Coordinator there is Rachel and you may reach her at (804) 876-5561.
The brochures will include pricing and an order form. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me at (804) 524-5964
(Tracy Downing/Rudy Powell)
The kick-off date for National Kids Day is tentatively scheduled for April 11. This is a great opportunity to involve local 4-H programs in a national event. We encourage you to connect with contacts from the other three partners Boys & Girls Clubs of America, KidsPeace and YMCA.
You are encouraged to be fully involved in this national opportunity to focus attention on America's Children. Think how you can integrate Kids Day to existing 4-H programs - fairs, open house, camp.
4-H will promote the event through Clover Corner News and post all materials on Council's 4-H members only website so every county office can secure a copy.
http://www.fourhcouncil.edu/cesweb/
USERNAME: cesuser
PASSWORD: run
(Dorothy Freeman)
BLW offers an opportunity for all persons, to develop skills and confidence in the use of recreation as a vital process in human development. A balanced program of social, physical, mental and spiritual activities is planned. BLW is held at Recreation Unlimited, state of the art recreational facility, 30 miles north of Columbus, Ohio. Cost is $315. Email: bmeadows@vt.edu for more information.
(Bob Meadows)
The event will be held at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds on Thursday May 10, 2001. Contact Phillip J. Clauer, Animal and Poultry Sciences Department, 2250 Litton Reaves Hall, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0306. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
(Phil Clauer)
The National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference Committee has released the following sections of the national manual for the study sections in 2001.
I have copies of the National Avian Bowl manual in my office. If you would like to get a team ready for the state contest please let me know. Also, we are still looking for anyone to help sponsor district qualifying events for 2001. Contact Phillip J. Clauer as soon as possible if you are interested.
(Phil Clauer)
CWF is a leadership program for senior 4-H'ers from across the country. Every summer, thousands of young people stay at the National 4-H Conference Center, near Washington D.C., to participate in this weeklong program. For 38 years, CWF has enriched young people's lives by providing opportunities for tours, special events, meet new friends and develop a community plan of action to be implemented once they return home.
CWF 2000 has been scheduled for July 8-14. Cost for the week ($670.00) includes tuition, lodging, bus transportation and a live play with dinner. Our state delegation will reside at the National 4-H Center, Chevy Chase, Maryland for the week.
Civic clubs are prime sponsors for Virginia's youth, especially local Ruritan organizations. For more details see attachment in this letter or call Tracy Downey, extension secretary at (804) 524-5965.
(Billie Cline)
A group of sheep breeders in the mid-Atlantic region who are very supportive of youth sheep programs make this program available annually. The attached announcement was provided by this group of breeders and is reprinted for your information.
Virginia 4H and FFA members are invited to apply for these awards. Please share this information with appropriate youth and with volunteer leaders working with 4H sheep members.
(Mark Wahlberg)
The event has grown to over 400 projects with over 24,000 volunteers working across the state on environmentally beneficial projects. I want to encourage your 4-H Clubs' participation. They can decide what they want to do to benefit the environment, and then register their project with the Va. Department of Conservation & Recreation.
By registering for the event, a 4-H Club can receive a certificate of appreciation from the Secretary of Natural Resources, John Paul Woodley, Jr. If the registration is received in time, the event will be listed in the calendar of event section of the Richmond Times Dispatch and the Washington Post.
Attached are three documents that describe the program. If you have specific questions, please call Ms. Bonnie Phillips, who is the state coordinator for Operation Spruce Up, at 804-786-5056.
(Randy Shank)
The Virginia 4-H program experienced another milestone for the summer 4-H camping program at the six 4-H educational centers. For the first time, we exceeded 16,000 campers for the summer 4-H camping program. Actually, a total of 16,184 participants were involved in the summer 4-H camps. Congratulations on a job well done.
The 2000 camping numbers for the six 4-H educational centers are:
Airfield 4-H Educational Center -- 2,258 campers
Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center -- 2,913 campers
Jamestown 4-H Educational Center -- 2,005 campers
Northern VA 4-H Educational Center -- 2,932 campers
Smith Mt. Lake 4-H Educational Center -- 3,886 campers
Southwest VA 4-H Educational Center -- 2,190 campers
For the most recent year, the Virginia 4-H program involved 30,209 participants in 351 separate 4-H overnight and day camping sessions. This clearly provided excellent opportunities for youth and adults working with these youth. Thanks for your efforts. The 4-H educational centers are working hard in preparing for the 2001 4-H camping season.
(Bob Meadows)
Attached is a copy of the 2000 4-H statistical profile. It reflects an increase of 13,000 4-H members. Volunteers remain constant at 16,293. There was a 13% increase in the number of 4-H members located in suburbs and cities. Cloverbuds increased by 10% while the preteen (age 9-11) enrollment declined by the same percentage. Review Enrollment statistics http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/about.html#stats
During the 2000 4-H year, the most popular 4-H projects included a wide range of interests among our youth. A total of [number of projects selected] projects were selected by our membership with the following topics being the most popular:
| CHARACTER COUNTS! | 41,100 |
| Poultry | 18,539 |
| Aquatic Science | 16,539 |
| Citizenship | 16,616 |
| Public Speaking | 13,100 |
| Horticulture | 12,785 |
| Forestry | 12,000 |
| Wildlife | 11,000 |
| Strong Families/Competent Kids | 11,000 |
| 4-H EFNEP (Nutrition/Health) | 10,990 |
| Food/Nutrition | 10,500 |
| Electricity | 10,191 |
| Plant and Soil Science | 8,200 |
(Billie Cline)
Within the next few weeks, we will be working cooperatively with the respective units to prepare annual 4-H Profile Sheets. This will be a one-page overview of each unit's 4-H program and will include the following:
The design of the Profile Sheet is to assist you to promote your local 4-H program, to provide a one-page overview of what is in your unit, and to help you track your program each year. This will be done annually, and most of the data will come from your ES-237 report. More information will be forth coming in preparing for this promotional piece.
(Bob Meadows)
Able to Serve Grant, Youth Service America
$3,000 grant to fund a project for National Youth Service Day 2001 (April 20-21) and beyond. http://www.servenet.org/ Deadline is February 9, 2001.
Real Networks Foundation Grant
Priorities for funding are given to projects using the Internet in innovative ways to achieve project goals http://www.realnetworks.com/company/giving/ Deadlines for applications is August 1, 2001.
Colgate-Palmolive Grants
Cash grants up to $2,000 for the most creative and best-executed service projects running between March 1, 2000 and March 1, 2001 . http://www.colgate.com/cp/corp.class/colgate_cares/youthForAmer.jsp
Dollar General Grants
Dollar General's Literacy and Youth Development Initiative supports mentoring, youth self-esteem, education and youth-literacy programs in 25 Midwest and Southern states where its stores are located. An online application is available at http://www.dollargeneral.com/DG_Community_Initiatives/cguide/dg_contributions.htm
General Motors Scholarships
The Chevrolet division of General motors has teamed up with figure skater Michelle Kwan to present the Chevrolet/Michelle Kwan R.E.W.A.R.D.S. scholarship program, an annual award recognizing outstanding female high school athletes. Scholarships up to $5,000 are available. Additional information, including applications, are available at http://www.chevrolet.com/rewards/
Home Depot Grant
Home Deport is committed to giving back to the communities where its associates and customers live and work. Home Depot focuses its efforts on affordable housing, at-risk youth, the environment and disaster preparedness and relief. For more information and to apply for a grant visit www.homedepot.com.
Donald W. Reynolds Foundations Grants
Supports art museums, children and youth, higher education and medical research. Go to http://www.dwreynolds.org/
The Nestle Very Best in Youth Program Donations
Thirty young people who have made reading a priority will be acknowledged by Nestle with a $1,000 donation given to the winner's charity of choice. http://www.nestleusa.com/youth/guidelines.asp
Flower Bulb Grants for Schools
Educators interested in using flower bulbs to enrich learning and beautify school or community grounds are invited to apply for the Mail-order Gardening Associationšs "Kids Growing with Dutch Bulbs" award. 100,000 flower bulbs are given to 500 schools. Call 800-538-7476 ext 205 for more information.
Free Teacher Newsletter (Horticulture)
A free copy of "Growing Idea" newsletter with many project tested ideas from composting with worms to raising butterfly gardens can be obtained by emailing: inquiries@kidsgardening.com.
(Dorothy Freeman)
Sex Has Consequences
That simple message is the underlying theme of a nationwide, teen-targeted advertising campaign. The Public Service Announcements were created to reach teens in familiar language, peer-to-peer, and in an eye-catching and innovative way. For more information on the campaign, or to order materials, go to www.teenpregnancy.org
Who's Who Among American High School Students
Do you want to know what teens think? Who's Who Among American High School Students has asked them this and more. Call them whenever you need data about what teens think and how they behave. Visit their database at http://www.eci-whoswho.com/highschool/annualsurveys/database.shtml Or call them at 1(847) 295-6650.
Connect For Kids Weekly Highlights
A First Step to Protecting Teens--How can we tell which teens need help navigating the tricky terrain of adolescence? A new report warns that the ways we often sort teens into groups - race, income, and family structure - actually aren't much help. Connect for Kids' Jan Richter says there's a clear lesson to be learned. http://www.connectforkids.org/
State of the World's Children
This year's annual UNICEF report highlights the importance of early childhood and the vulnerabilities of children from birth to age three.
Learn what parents, nations and the international community can, and must, do to protect infants' rights to survival, growth and development. http://www.unicef.org/sowc01/
Getting a Jump on Good Health
Obesity rates are rising at the same time as physical education classes are falling victim to budget cuts. This article from the Harvard Graduate School of Education takes a look at "new" physical education programs that can help kids keep fit. http://www.edletter.org/current/
Self-Study Guide for Youth Support Programs
How young people spend their out-of-school time is a longstanding concern. This Chapin Hall guide can help you determine how your program is serving young people's healthy development, how you could improve it and how it measures up to several critical indicators of program quality. http://www.chapin.uchicago.edu/ProjectsGuide/NewPublication.html
Campaign Offers Redesigned Web Site for Adults
The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is pleased to announce the official re-launch of TheAntiDrug.com (www.theantidrug.com), a web-site dedicated to providing information on substance abuse to parents and other adult caregivers.
Aimed at parents and other adults, the site provides access to science-based drug prevention information, news and studies, helpful articles, and perspectives of teens themselves. Adults can also read responses from experts on hard-to-answer questions and find out how they can become more involved in the lives of the young people around them.
TheAntiDrug.com is also available in five other languages - Spanish, Cambodian, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. To view any of these sites, go to http://www.theantidrug.com/ and click on one of the language links at the top of the page.
As part of the re-launch, Oxygen Media, an Internet and cable company providing specialized programming for women, contributed parent-related content for the new site and also will feature drug prevention content on its own web-site http://www.momsonline.com/
(Dorothy Freeman)
On November 12, 2000, Eleven 4-H'ers represented Virginia in five contest areas at the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Poultry Judging Team placed 3rd high team overall, 1st in the Market Poultry Division, 4th in the Market Eggs Division and 7th in the Production Hens and Oral Reasons Division.
Team members also placed well. Laura Galante, of Fairfax County, placed 4th high individual overall, 5th in the Production Hen and Oral Reasons Division, and 2nd in the Market Poultry Division. Monica Ganley, of Fairfax County, 6th in the Market Eggs Division and 12th high individual overall. Beth Geiger, of Charlotte County, placed 8th in the Market Eggs Division and 13th high individual overall. Charlotte Hansen, of Fairfax County, was the fourth team member. Mrs. Julie Galante of Fairfax County served as coach for the judging team.
Jared Shank, of Rockingham County, was 3rd (only 4 points out of 1st) in the highly competitive National 4-H Egg Cookery Presentation Contest. Katherine Sheap, of Rockingham County, was 3rd in the National 4-H Chicken Barbeque Presentation Contest. Whitney Meyerhoeffer, of Rockingham County, was 7th in the National 4-H Turkey Barbeque Presentation Contest. Lena Osborne, a volunteer leader from Rockingham County, served as chaperone and coach for the cookery contestants.
In the National Avian Bowl Contest Virginia was seated 2nd (only .6 points behind the 1st seat) after the quiz and placed 7th after the double elimination Bowl portion of the event. The team members were Howard Taylor, Aaron Martins, Caitlyn McAnulty, and Micah Pugh, all from Rockingham County. The team was co-coached by Kelley Coggsdale and Stephanie Osborne.
I would like to strongly encourage all youth to participate in one of these poultry contests in the future. These activities provide exceptional learning experiences, are a lot of fun and provide excellent awards.
I would also like to thank the Virginia Poultry Federation for sponsoring the Virginia youth for this trip and for helping sponsor the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference.
(Phillip J. Clauer )
For the last several months National 4-H Council has been working to bring clarity to its vision, mission, customers, and strategies. Attached is a letter from Don Floyd, President and CEO, National 4-H Council outlining approved mission and strategies.
(Bob Meadows)
We received 3 entries for the National Poster contest. Unfortunately none of them made it to the finals but were very worthy competition.
Their entries will be posted on the Virginia 4-H website. You may view the national finalists! at: http://www.4hcentennial.org/decade1/poster.asp
(Billie Cline)
Are you interested in learning more about how to incorporate computer technology into your program delivery? If so, you should apply to be one of six 4H Agents that will be selected to participate in an Instructional Technology Training program. This program seeks to provide 4-H Agents with the necessary skills to effectively use technology as a teaching tool.
The IT Training Program will (1) provide six 4-H Extension Agents with the opportunity to attend the Virginia Society for Technology in Education Annual Conference, (2) provide an instructional technology workshop for these six 4H Agents (3) create and make available a digital media creation kit for use by these 4-H Agents, (4) produce a hands-on sample project with volunteers and 4H youth that employs best practices for incorporating instructional technology into the 4-H curriculum.
Participation in the VSTE conference will allow agents to network with other educators involved in instructional technology. This year the conference will be held March 18th 20th in Norfolk. All expenses for the conference will be paid for by the IT project.
The IT Workshop will be held at Virginia Tech on April 2-4. Again, expenses for participation are covered by the IT project. Skills emphasized during the workshop include using technology resources to gather, synthesize, and communicate information; computer ethics; oral history techniques, digital storytelling, digital photography; digital scanner usage and graphic preparation.
The project that will be developed is entitled 4-H: Then and Now. It is an oral history and self-expression project that will provide agents and volunteers with an understanding of best practices for integrating technology into their youth programs. Agents and volunteers will work with youth to use technology resources to gather, synthesize, and communicate information. Students will develop multimedia presentations that tell the story of past 4-H activities and compare or contrast current 4-H activities. Student projects may be presented as a digital photography project, or multimedia essay. Agents involved in the training will be expected to recruit volunteers and 4-H members for the 4-H: Then and Now project. Students will present their projects in a "film festival" event at the 2001 4-H State Congress.
In addition, the Agent, volunteers and 4-H youth participants will be asked to evaluate the IT training program at various stages in the process.
If you are interested in being considered as one of the six Agent participants, send an email to Hunnings@vt.edu or call Joe Hunnings at (540) 231-9410. I will send you a brief application form to complete. The application deadline is February 16.
Virginia 4H and FFA members are invited to apply for these awards. Please share this information with appropriate youth and with volunteer leaders working with 4H sheep members.
Old Gjerpen Farm is pleased to announce the Fourth Annual Youth Conservationist Program (YCP). Breeds participating in the YCP include: Karakul, Coopworth, Leicester Longwool, Scottish Blackface, Tunis, Cotswold, Jacob and Lincoln.
Objectives: The purpose in giving a lamb to an aspiring shepherd is to create an awareness of the importance of preserving heritage breeds and to help others to:
Applicant Requirements: Youth applicants must meet the following requirements.
Schedule for YCP 2001:
Letter from Director
Calendar of Events
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