Graham County 4-H Would like to invite you to the: “Graham County Tri-County

Fair” Steer Clipping and

Showmanship Clinic(2 Day Clinic)

Date: April 4th & 5thTime: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Graham County Fairgrounds527 E. Armory RoadSafford, AZ 85546

Instruction will be step by step on eachpart of the body. Josh and Casey willstart the clinic on the proper way to

wash your steer, work his hair and blowit out. They will then clip a part of thebody and watch as you clip the samepart of the body. They will give you

pointers and instruction to improve yourclipping skills. They will instruct the

proper way to fit a steer for show, whatadhesives and grooming products are

for, how and why you use them. Theywill also show you how to remove theseproducts after a show. Josh and Casey

will teach you in the proper way to showyour steer. They will give you tips andanswer all your questions.Parents are

welcome to watch.

We will take the first 25 steerentries. Registration deadline is

March 16, 2009. If you have anyquestions, call Ty Foster at (928)428-2611 or Jackie Smith at (928)

348-7576.

4-H NewsMarch 2009

AnimalNutrition

Clinics(Beef, Swine,Lamb, and Horse)Date: April 4thTime: TBA

ReminderProject clubs willbegin meeting

soon.

Remember tocome to

Community clubmeetings tomeet yourcompleter

requirements!

Next Meeting:March 17th6:00 p.m.

Extension Bldg.

Sarah HopkinsAmeriCorps VISTA

Born and reared in the Mountain State ofWest Virginia, Sarah Hopkins has arrivedin Graham County, Arizona to assist withthe development and growth of the 4-Hprogram. Sarah is serving as anAmeriCorps VISTA volunteer untilFebruary 2010. AmeriCorps is oftenreferred to as the domestic Peace Corps, itis a period of volunteer service within thecountry. As a VISTA, which stands forVolunteers In Service To America, Sarah'sprimary goal is to alleviate poverty andstrengthen the community. She intends toaccomplish this by developing long-termrelationships, programs, events, andactivities that will benefit the communityand continue for years to come. Ms.Hopkins has an agricultural and FFAbackground. Let's welcome her and workwith her to make our Graham County 4-Hprogram the best it can be!!!

HappyBirthday!

Jonathan Herbert Kalee Willey

Summer Skinner*NEW ARRIVAL: Peyton Foster*

Something toCelebrate!

The Graham County Livestock Judging Teams ended 2008 with a bang!On December 31st, 2008, two senior and one junior team competed at the Arizona National Livestock

Judging Contest in Phoenix. The competition consisted of 3 beef classes, 2 swine, 2 lamb and 2reasons classes. Of the 9 classes, 450 points were possible per individual. The team score is

comprised of the top three individual scores on a team.Teams and points are as follows:

4-H Senior Team #1 - 1246

Chase Ward - 412

JC McDonald - 410

Kaitlyn Myers - 420

Matt Herrington - 414

4-H Senior Team #2 - 1216

Casey Harguess - 392

Jennifer Sherlock - 410

Kelli Porter - 409

Matt Baker - 397

4-H Junior Team - 1088

Alicia Smith - 357

Brian Stewart - 362

Clay Stewart - 301

Riley Fite - 369

[Emily Porter was an alternate judger for the Senior Teams]

For their 3rd consecutive year, Graham County 4-H Senior Team #1 will compete at a livestockjudging competition in Louisville, Kentucky as the Arizona champions. The competition will be held

in November of 2009.

Graham County 4-H Senior Team #1

3rd Overall Team

1st Arizona High Point Team

2nd Top Team Beef Score

4th Top Team Swine Score

5th Top Team Reasons Score

Graham County 4-H Senior Team #1Pictured from left to right: Chase Ward, Matt Herrington,

Kaitlyn Myers, and JC McDonald

Congratulate Kaitlyn

Myers for placing 7th

place Overall

Individual and 2nd

place Top IndividualSwine Score! Way to

go Kaitlyn!

Graham County 4-H Senior Team #2

5th Overall Team

4th Top Team Beef Score

Graham County 4-H Senior Team #2Pictured from left to right: Jennifer

Sherlock, Kelli Porter, CaseyHarguess, and Matt Baker

Graham County 4-H Junior Team4th Overall Team

1st Top Team Swine Score

3rd Top Team Reasons Score

Graham County 4-H Junior TeamPictured from left to right: Clay Stewart, Alicia Smith,

Brian Stewart, and Riley Fite

Alicia Smith received 4thplace Top Individual SwineScore and 3rd place TopIndividual Reasons Score.

Congratulations Alicia!

The powerhouses behind our winning teams deserve a round of applause too. Without Mr. Menges, our teams probablywouldn't have made it past Graham County. Also, Mr. Fite deserves a thanks. His help prepared and conditioned these

teams well.

Stealing the SpotlightSafford FFA and Graham County 4-H stole the spotlight at the NCBA (National Cattlemen's Beef Association)

National Judging Contest in Phoenix, AZ on January 30th, 2009. The 3 teams from Graham County judged livestockconsisting of Brahman, Brangus, Balancer, Maine Anjou, Charolais, Hereford and Market cattle. Junior participants wereasked to give 2 sets of oral reasons, while seniors gave 3. For juniors, the total possible points was 600. Seniors couldreceive up to 650 points.

In the junior division, Alicia Smith received 2nd place for her oral reasons score, receiving a backpack for herachievements. Also, in the junior division, individual awards were received by Clay Stewart, 8th, Brian Stewart, 5th, RileyFite, 4th and Alicia Smith, 3rd. Each received a duffle bag.

In the senior division, Chase Ward received 3rd and Matt Herrington 1st in their performance classes. Both weregiven a backpack. In the reasons category, Matt Herrington placed 3rd and Luke Menges placed 2nd, also receiving abackpack. The top individual seniors were Kelli Porter, 10th, JC McDonald, 9th, Chase Ward, 4th, and Matt Herrington,2nd. Matt received $300 for winning 2nd place. Again, duffle bags were given to top individuals. Safford FFA Team #1, consisting of Matt Herrington, Chase Ward, Luke Menges, and Ben Menges, won 2nd placein the senior teams division. Each team member received a plaque and duffle bag.

Written By:Alicia Smith, Graham County Dukes Reporter

Written By:Alicia Smith, Graham County Dukes Reporter

4-H Members RingBell For The

Graham CountySalvation Army

During TheChristmas Holiday

4-H members Dalton Lizarraga,Dakota Lizarraga, Amanda Martin,Emma Merrill and Alicia Smith,along with parent volunteers KelliDonovan, Jeff Leach, VictorLizarraga and Royce and JackieSmith donated 72 ½ hours as bellringers for the Graham CountySalvation Army helping to raise$3,200.00 for families here inGraham County.

Front Row: Kelli Donovan, Dakota Lizarraga, AmandaMartin, Dalton Lizarraga, Alicia Smith, and Emma

Merrill. Back Row: Victor Lizarraga, and Jeff LeachWritten By:Alicia Smith, Graham County Dukes Reporter

New 4-H Officer Elections

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 was the first meeting of the new year for the Graham County Dukes.At the meeting, members voted for new club officers:

Back row from Left to right: Kaitlyn Myers (Treasurer), Jennifer Sherlock (President), Noah Baker (Song and Recreation),Alicia Smith (Reporter), and Matt Baker (Vice President).

Front row: Kalee Willey (Song and Recreation), Amanda Martin (Song and Recreation), Erin Roden (Song and Recreation),Lucy Baker (Song and Recreation) and Emma Merrill (Secretary).

These officers will preside through the year of 2009.Congratulations to our new officers!

If you would like to be a part of this organization, please contact the Graham County ExtensionOffice at 928-428-2611. Bill Brandau County Director:

Written By:Alicia Smith, Graham County Dukes Reporter

President: Jennifer SherlockVice President: Matt BakerSecretary: Emma MerrillTreasurer: Kaitlyn MyersReporter: Alicia SmithSong & Rec: Noah BakerSong & Rec: Kalee WilleySong & Rec: Amanda MartinSong & Rec: Erin RodenSong & Rec: Lucy Baker

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture, James A. Christenson, Director,Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona.The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution.The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities.

Newsletter Created by: Sarah Hopkins

4-H Stages Horse Show for FFA

The 4-Her's rode their horses to provide the FFA a District Horse Judging Contest.The riders performed in a halter, western pleasure, western equitation, englishpleasure, english equitation and hunter hack. Thanks are extended to Mrs. JanLindsey for organizing the contest and Ms. Jennifer Trent for judging the classes.

Graham County 4-H members Emma Merrill, and Alicia Smith helped theSafford FFA onWednesday, February 18th, 2009. They were accompanied byMrs. Ty Foster, Graham County 4-H Coordinator, Sean Hootman, Safford FFA,Jessica Tysoe and Mrs. Jackie Hoisington.

Written By:Alicia Smith, Graham County Dukes Reporter