WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

4-H ONLINE www.mn.4honline.com

Enrollment, event registration, project changes, and family information

WEBSITE https://local.extension.umn.edu

/local/watonwan

CONTACT US Watonwan County Extension

108 8th St South St. James, MN 56081

507-375-1275

SUE CRAIG 4-H Program Coordinator

craig037@umn.edu

MICHELLE KNUDSON County Support Staff mknudson@umn.edu

Food Stand Fun at the Fair

IN THIS ISSUE County Fair Thank You ................................................................................ 1

State Fair Exhibit Project Pick-up ................................................................ 1

Engineering Design Team ........................................................................... 2

Get Ready for the New 4-H Year ................................................................. 2

End of the Year ............................................................................................ 2

Annual Banquet ........................................................................................... 2

Community Service Projects Available ........................................................ 4

Meetings & Trainings ................................................................................... 4

Calendar of Events ...................................................................................... 6

September & October Calendar ............................................................... 7-8

County Fair Thank You I would like to say “THANK YOU” to our awesome county’s 4-H families!

There is no way I can list names of everyone that went the extra mile for

the fair. There are so many of you and I would not want to forget anyone.

During the fair we have those that make sure the Exhibit building looks

awesome, work the 4-H office, help record everything, help with Bingo,

picked up litter, made sure the livestock barns are okay, and the shows

covered.

Do you know that with everyone working together, we can tear down the

arena, pens, and have all the bedding pushed either to the middle of the

barn, or hauled out, and the barns ready to be locked up for the year in

an hour!

Meanwhile, up at the other end of the fairgrounds we have the group

putting away the food stand and exhibit building.

Thank you Michelle for posting all of our champions and other

information on our Facebook page.

State Fair Exhibit Project Pick-up Dates State fair exhibits will be at the office by Wednesday, September 4. Please

pick up your exhibit immediately. After October 1 we will discard any

exhibits not picked up.

September 4-October 1

M-F 9 am - 5 pm

Watonwan County Extension Office Meeting Room

Re-Enrollment September 15 On September 14th at midnight, the 4HOnline rollover to the new 4-H year

happens. All active members will have a status change of inactive until

members log into 4HOnline and reactivate their account September 15.

SEPTEMBER 2019 WATONWAN COUNTY

WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

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Engineering Design Team The awesome team of members; Jacob, Katelyn,

and Keeley Runge, Mark & Sara Quiring, and Lydia

Cavanaugh along with coaches Bill & Kim Crowley

did it again! Their project “How are we going to

stop deforestation and over fishing” with their

hero Paul Bunyun won a purple ribbon at the State

Competition.

We also had a beginner team with Christopher &

Matthew Hagen, Oden Lehman, Josh Klinkner, and

Luella Beckendorf competing. Their coaches were

Jen Hagen and Larry Klinkner.

Thank you to the volunteers that made this

project possible.

Get Ready for the New 4-H Year! 4HOnline is now closed for families to enter new

enrollments or re-enrollments. The reason for

closing 4HOnline is because families who enroll or

re-enroll this time of year are often thinking that

they are enrolling/re-enrolling for the upcoming

year, not the last few weeks of this current 4-H

year.

Youth and Adults start thinking about how you

can make your 4-H Club the best yet!

1. When planning your new club year, don’t forget

to include ways to promote 4-H. You are the

lifeblood of our county program-help us grow!

Let the office know what your plans are and

how we can help!

2. National 4-H week is the first week in October.

Start thinking about a window display to

promote your club. The office has locker

posters available for clubs that would like to

tape them to school lockers.

3. Re-enrollment begins September 15th and we

will be utilizing 4HOnline.com once again.

Clubs, think of ways to get your member re-

enrolled for the new 4-H year in record time! Be

sure and update your project areas and any

contact information.

4. Share the Fun for 2020. Get a head start on

your skit for Share the Fun.

5. What types of Club challenges can you think of

for a goal this year?

End of the 4-H Year To-Do List Time to start thinking about end of year 4-H jobs

for your club.

1. Forms will be sent to the Adult Club Treasurer.

2. Close all financial books by September 30th.

3. Have them audited by someone not on the

checking account.

4. Financial reports and Charters will be due at

the Extension Office by November 1st for the

fiscal year October 1, 2018 to September 30,

2019.

5. All youth officers and adults listed in your

financial reports or Charters need to be

enrolled for the new 4-H year in 4HOnline.

Annual Banquet Speedway Builders, Nifty Thrifty 4-H clubs, and

Independents invite you to the 84th 4-H

Recognition and Award Banquet.

Sunday, October 27

4:00 p.m.

St. James VFW

Program starts at 4 p.m. with supper following

This year’s theme is “Deal a Winning Hand with 4-

H”. This important event will be held at the St.

James VFW so mark your calendar and watch for

your invitation in the mail. October 21 RSVP’s due

to office

All award applications and nomination forms will

be in your club packet. You can also find them

online.

Club of the Year

Every club does great work! Please take the time to

fill out this club point system application.

Youth Member Participation Form

Members please complete this form so we know

which activities you participated in.

Key Award (Completed 10th grade)

This is a ONCE IN A LIFETIME award.

First you must meet the 3 below requirements for

this award.

1. Must have completed your sophomore year in high school.

2. Be a 4-H Member for at least five years.

3. Have at least three years of active 4-H Youth leadership, as defined below.

Your leadership experience must meet seven of

these nine requirements:

1. During the past three years, you must have attended at least nine meetings for youth and/or adult leaders and shared the information with your club. They can be county leader, federation or council meetings, cluster or district youth leader meetings, demonstration workshops, etc. You cannot count a county fair, Share-the-Fun, or demonstration contest.

WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

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2. You must have been a leader in your local club in at least three of these four ways:

a. Worked closely with at least two younger 4-H members.

b. Led six or more 4-H related activities such as club tours, picnics, or Share the Fun.

c. Served as youth project leaders in all or part of a 4-H project.

d. Led a community service project on conservation of natural resources, self- protection issues, etc.

3. You must have held two club or county 4-H offices (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, or reporter.)

4. You must have served on countywide committees or helped at countywide events at least six times during the past three years.

5. You must have completed work in at least three project areas other than youth leadership.

6. You must have entered exhibits in 4-H competition for at least four years, showing evidence of quality work by earning some blue ribbons. You must show evidence of exhibits in youth leadership.

7. You must have served as a county and/or state 4-H Ambassador for two years.

8. You must have participated for a total of two years in three special 4-H learning experiences, such as judging contests, Share-the-Fun, communications programs, 4-H camps, Leadership Conferences, Project Focus, or Community Pride.

9. You must have acquainted others with 4-H by giving talks to non-4-H groups, appearing on radio or TV programs, writing news articles, or recruiting new members or leaders.

Yvonne Williams Adult and Youth Leader

Award

This is a ONCE IN A LIFETIME award.

An award has been established in memory of

Yvonne Williams, a Peppy Pepper 4-H Leader and

Watonwan County 4-H Volunteer.

One outstanding adult leader and youth leader will

be recognized annually at the 4-H Banquet.

Members, parents, or adult volunteers may

nominate any 4-H Adult or Youth leaders for this

award.

Youth Leader Award (Grades 7 and older)

This award may be awarded to any 4-H member

7th grade and older and who plays a key role in

their club or county leadership roles.

Youth may apply annually for this award. The first

year you will receive a 4-H varsity letter and a 4-H

pin the following years.

Youth must apply for this award on their own

behalf.

Tween Award

This award may be awarded to any 4-H member

3rd to 6th grade who is an active member of the

Tween Club. Youth must apply for this award on

their own behalf.

Clover Award (4-H Year 1, 2, 3, or 4)

This is a one-time award and not to be mistaken

as a 'Cloverbud' only award.

The Clover Award is a special award for 4-H

members who have completed their 1st through

4th year of 4-H. Members must meet all minimum

requirements and have participated in at least 3

activities.

To be eligible for this award, 4-H’ers must meet

the following Minimum Requirements.

1. Completed their 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th year of 4-H in

the year applied.

2. Attended at least five club meetings and/or

Cloverbud meetings.

3. Exhibited at least two projects at the County

Fair.

4. Completed a Participation Record.

5. A 4-H’er must also have participated in at least

three of the following activities during the year

of application.

Help with 4-H Promotion Fruit/Puffin/McCone Sales

General Fair set up County Presentation Day Club Fundraiser Livestock Barn set up

Club Share-the-Fun Act Project Meeting Help with Fair Bingo Day Camp Road Ditches

Work in 4-H Food Stand 4-H Camp (Regional or Voss Park) Club Family Event State Fair Participant

Project Bowl Team Club Educational Activity 4-H Adventures County youth leader meeting Club Officer

Shooting Sports Youth Leader lock-in Assist with Club Community Service Project Attend Federation meeting

Tween Event Sewing Club County Demonstration Day Club Meeting Demonstration or

WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

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Project Talk

I Dare You Award Nomination (Grades 12 or 13)

This is a ONCE IN A LIFETIME award.

This award takes its name from the book ‘I Dare

You!’ written by William H. Danforth, founder of

the Ralston Purina Company in St. Louis.

Danforth dared young people to achieve their

highest potential and to influence others through

their lives of service. He stresses the balance of

life; mental, physical, social and spiritual

development as the backbone of leadership.

In Watonwan County, the ‘I DARE YOU!’ leadership

award is given to two outstanding youth leaders

that are either in 12th or 13th grade.

Nomination from club leaders or other adult

volunteers is required.

Club Officer Recognition Nomination

Club Leaders should submit a list of their officers

that are members in good standing, and using

your best judgement has fulfilled their duties as

an officer of your club.

Each officer you recognize will receive a

“Certificate of Recognition” and Special Ribbon at

the annual awards banquet.

Achievement Award (Grades 3+)

Achievement Awards (disc) are presented in

project area listed on the application. This award

recognizes the 4-H’er who has done outstanding

work in that project. You will pick 1 or 2 project

areas where you think you have excelled this year.

Third & Fourth Generation 4-H Families

Current 4-H members whose parent/guardian(s),

grandparent(s), and/or great-grandparent(s) were

4-H members (in any county/state) can be

recognized as a 3rd and/or 4th generation 4-H

family!

Golden Award Nominations

4-H Members and families can nominate another

4-H member/volunteer for this award.

Perhaps someone went above and beyond what

was expected or someone that has always been

available when called upon. You may also

nominate someone for an 'incident' that was too

funny not to share.

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES Sewing Velcro on Vests Watonwan Emergency Management has hunting

style vests to use for events or disaster that can be

worn to identify staff or volunteers.

Sue also purchased signage to identify the vests

for different positions.

What is needed is to have Velcro strips stitched on

the vests to attach signage/name plates. Julie from

Emergency management has the Velcro strips.

Straight stitch sewing will be on top and bottom of

the Velcro to the vest. There are 50 vests and she

would like them completed by the end of May

2020.

Please contact the office if your club would like to

do some or all the vests for a club project.

Multi-Cultural Fiesta Clean-up There is a Multicultural Fiesta on Saturday,

September 14 and they are looking for some clean

up help from 9:30-10:30 pm. It starts at 4 pm,

come and enjoy the day, and stay to help clean up.

They are paying $100 to whichever group signs up

first. Contact Sue- craig037@umn.edu if interested.

September 14

9:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

Downtown St. James

$100 per Club

Butterfield & St. James Community Party Helpers Members needed to set-up, run, and tear-down

games for the Community party. Contact Sue if

you can volunteer your time. Watch for further

details.

Butterfield Community Party - October 24

St. James Community Party-October 28

MEETINGS & TRAININGS Livestock Meeting To all families that are interested in showing

livestock in the coming year, or want to share

comments about 2018-2019 year.

Discuss County fair, State fair, and plans for the

new 4-H year.

Sunday, September 15

7:30 p.m.

WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

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Watonwan County Extension Office

Banquet Committee Meeting Speedway Builders, Nifty Thrifty, and

Independents will be hosting the 2019 Banquet.

Sunday, September 22

6:00 p.m.

Watonwan County Extension Office

Budget Meeting Advisory board and Federation Officers please

RSVP to the office 375-1275 or craig037@umn.edu.

Sunday, September 22

6:30 p.m.

Watonwan County Extension Office

If there is a vacancy for your Club for the advisory

board representative please consider volunteering

for the position. Duties are to attend 5 Federation

meetings per year.

Fieldon Rustlers Jen Hagen Golden Gleaners Salome Sargent Nelson Wide Awake Jackie Nielsen Nifty Thrifty Kayla McGuire Riverdale Rockets Lori Pietsch Rosendale Skippers Michelle Knudson Speedway Builders Deb Saunders

Federation Meeting Sunday, September 22

7:30 p.m.

Watonwan County Extension Office

Agenda:

1. All clubs please make sure you are represented

2. Review Budgets

3. Banquet plans

4. Club packets for award applications and nominations

5. Vote on 2nd Youth Representative for Extension Committee.

6. Installation of officers for 2019-2020

President Seth Pierson

Vice President Emily Grote

Secretary Sara Quiring

Treasurer (Sr.) Jacob Runge

Treasurer (Jr.) Mark Quiring

Youth Representatives Cooper Crawford

Shooting Sports Instructor Training To run a county or multi-county shooting sports

and wildlife program, instructors must be

certified by Minnesota 4-H. Leader certification

trainings are designed to cover the essential

knowledge and rules to become a certified 4-H

county instructor.

The Minnesota 4-H Shooting Sports and Wildlife

program development committee recommends

that leaders attend the certification training every

five years.

The training is designed for adults and youth (9th

grade and up) that lead or would like to lead

training in shooting sports or wildlife. Classes will

be offered in the disciplines of coordinator,

archery, rifle/pistol, shotgun, muzzle loading, and

wildlife. This training meets the 4-H project

leaders' requirements for certification and re-

certification. Although range time is on the

schedule, the majority of the training is classroom

work to become an effective instructor, not to

practice your own shooting skills.

Watonwan 4-H will pay for your training if you are

interested in starting a Shooting Sports Club.

Minnesota 4-H SS&W & ATV Leader Certification

training dates:

October 5th Crookston, MN 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. or

October 5th Graceville MN which is 20 miles north of

Ortonville. 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Please contact Sue at craig037@umn.edu if you are

interested. You will also need to complete a

Volunteer Application which includes a

background check and Safety with Minors training

you can complete online. You must complete the

Volunteer process by SEPTEMBER 13th

Fall Leader Training Mark your calendars and start recruiting youth

leaders and adults to represent your club.

Monday, November 25

6:00 p.m.

Place TBD

Federation Meeting Monday, November 25

Following Fall Leader Training

Place TBD

WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS SEPTEMBER

September 2 Office Closed (Labor Day)

September 4 State Fair Exhibit Pick-Up

September 7-9 State Shoot

September 13 Farm Safety Day

September 12-15 State Horse

September 15 Enroll for the new 4-H year

September 15 Livestock Meeting

September 22 Banquet Meeting

September 22 Budget Meeting

September 22 Federation Meeting

September 30 End of 4-H Year

OCTOBER October 1 Awards & Recognition Applications

Due

October 1 Last day to pick up State Fair Exhibits

October 4 Shooting Sports Certification Training

October 6-12 National 4-H Week

October 14 Office Closed (Columbus Day)

October 21 Banquet RSVP due

October 24 Butterfield Community Party

October 27 Banquet

October 28 St. James Community Party

NOVEMBER November 1 Charters and Financial Papers Due

November 11 Office Closed (Veterans Day)

November 25 Fall Leader Training

November 25 Federation Meeting

November 28-29 Office Closed (Thanksgiving)

DECEMBER December 24 Closed at Noon (Christmas Eve)

December 25 Closed (Christmas Day)

WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

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SeptemberSUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 OFFICE CLOSED

Pick up State fair projects

State Shoot

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

State Shoot

State Shoot

State Horse

State Horse

Farm Safety Day

State Horse

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 State Horse

Livestock Meeting

State Horse

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Banquet Meeting 6:00 pm Budget Meeting 6:30 pm Federation Meeting 7:30 pm

29 30 End of 4-H Year

WATONWAN COUNTY 4-H NEWSLETTER

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October SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3 4 5 Award &

Recognitions Application due

Last day to pick up State Fair projects

Shooting Sports Certification Training

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 OFFICE CLOSED

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Banquet RSVP Due

Butterfield Community Party

27 28 29 30 31 Banquet 4 pm

St. James Community Party