Post on 27-Jun-2020
2016 Enrollment is Complete-‐ Thank You!We want to thank all of our members, family members, and advisors for their assistance in meeting our April 1 deadline for all new and re-‐enrollments for members and advisors. We know that it was a lot of work to get every member and their family to review the enrollment paperwork, and choose and register for projects, and getting your clubs to complete all of the other paperwork (constitutions, charters, etc.). This will help us immensely here in the office as we move forward into our 4-‐H year!
Through the next few weeks we will be auditing all club files to ensure that they are up to date, accurate, and complete. Please keep an eye out for possible emails or mailings regarding your club’s status. If we need additional or updated documentation for anything related to your club, we will let you know as soon as possible.
A few things that we can tell you now:
• All advisors should sign a new “Standards of Behavior” each time the state office updates this document. This is typically part of the re-‐enrollment process, but we do have some “seasoned” volunteers who need a new copy.
• Some of our more seasoned volunteers were around when applications still required Social Security or Driver’s License information, and their files still hold this information. We will be shredding any such documents and will ask those folks to complete update profiles for our records.
• We have a large number of “inactive” members and advisors in our system. Many of you took the time to note for us which of your former volunteers or members are no longer active with your club, but we have some that date from prior to 2015. Thus we will be reaching out to the last club these members or volunteers were tied to for confirmation that they are no longer active so that we can archive their records.
Thank you in advance for your participation in this process as we get all of our files in order!
The Youth HeraldMahoning County 4-H Newsletter April| 2016
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
Enrollment Age ClarificationAs we have been reviewing enrollment paperwork we have found a few potential members who were not eligible due to either their age or grade in school. We wanted to make sure that these eligibility rules are clear, so here is a quick reminder:
• Cloverbud eligibility: begins when a child is enrolled in kindergarten AND is 5 years old by January 1 of the year they wish to enroll
• 4-‐‑H Membership eligibility: begins when a child is enrolled in third grade AND is 8 years old by January 1 of the year they wish to enroll
If a child becomes interested in joining your club and does not meet these guidelines, or missed the April 1 enrollment deadline, they are still welcome to participate in meetings, activities, and events. But they are not allowed to hold office, vote, complete projects, or win awards until they meet the eligibility requirements and enrollment deadline.
In This Issue
• Endowment Grant Due Date• Important Dates for Volunteers• Still Project Judging Dates• Discount Programs for 4-‐Hers• New Cloverbud Activity Book• 2016 Health and Safety Theme• Junior and Cloverbud Camps• Meet the New 4-‐H Educator• Boardman Park Community
Day• Updated Mahoning 4-‐H
Calendar
Endowment Grant Applications Due May 16
OSU Extension- Mahoning County490 South Broad St. Canfield, OH 44406
The Mahoning County 4-‐H Endowment Committee is accepting grant applications for Endowment funds. Grant requests should support 4-‐H membership or activities that will occur during the current 4-‐H year, ending no later than December 31, 2016.
Applications can be dropped off or mailed to Mahoning County Extension Office at the address below. All applications are due by May 16, 2016 at close of business (4:30pm).
Still Project Judging Dates• Friday, June 24: Health and Safety Posters and Creative Writing Projects are due to the Mahoning County Extension Office by close of business (4:30pm)
• Saturday, June 25: Health and Safety Poster judging and Demonstration judging will be held in the Mahoning County Extension Office
• Wednesday, July 13: Project judging for all still (small) projects and all nutrition projects will be held at the Canfield Fairgrounds
• Monday, July 18: Clothing judging will be held at a location TBD
More information about all dates will be forthcoming!
Important Dates for New and Returning VolunteersChild Abuse Recognition (1.50) Training is required for all volunteers each year. No need to pre-‐register.• Saturday, April 2, 2:20-‐3:00pm at the Horse Symposium event at West Branch High School• Tuesday, April 12, 6:30-‐7:10pm at Mahoning County Extension Office• Tuesday, April 26, 5:00-‐5:40pm at Mahoning County Extension Office• Thursday, May 5, 5:20-‐6:00pm at Mahoning County Extension Office
Interviews are required for all new volunteer applicants. You will be contacted by Kelly Beers once your application is complete (including the receipt of your references) to schedule an interview.
New volunteers must complete a 4-‐H orientation training. We will begin incorporating the Child Abuse Recognition Training into these sessions so that you only have to attend one training. Please contact the Mahoning County Extension office at 330-‐533-‐5538 to sign-‐up for one date. Training dates include:• Wednesday, April 27, 9:00-‐11:00am at Mahoning County Extension Office• Wednesday, May 11, 5:30-‐7:30pm at Mahoning County Extension Office• Monday, May 16, 5:30-‐7:30pm at Mahoning County Extension Office• Tuesday, May 24, 10:00am-‐12:00noon at Mahoning County Extension Office
All new volunteer applicants, and all returning volunteers who were notified that they must receive a background check this year must be fingerprinted by May 15. Please submit your receipt to the Mahoning County Extension Office for reimbursement.
Did you know that as a 4-‐Her, you may be eligible for discounts at local businesses? It’s true! Some of these programs do request a identification that proves that you are enrolled in or volunteering with 4-‐H in order to access these discounts. Therefore, the state has developed 4-‐H ID cards, which we can personalize and print for you here in the Mahoning County Extension Office.
Now open in Austintown, Alliance, and Warren, Family Farm and Home offers special discounts ranging from 5-‐15% off for a variety of items. Other business offering discounts include AgLand, and Tractor Supply Company. And be sure to talk to your advisors and club leaders to see what other local companies may also offer discounts!
Discount Programs for 4-Hers
2016 Health and Safety ThemeThis year’s Health and Safety Poster theme is “Smart and Safe Use of Technology”. We look forward to seeing the great posters that our 4-‐‑Hers develop on this topic!
We’re going to camp…are you?Junior Camp for Mahoning and Portage county youth 8-‐14 years old is Sunday, July 3 through Saturday, July 9 at Camp Whitewood in Ashtabula. Cost is $300 per youth, and there will be the opportunity to apply for scholarships through the Mahoning County 4-‐H Endowment.
Cloverbuds have two options for camps this year. On Monday, June 27 from 10:00am-‐2:00pm Mahoning County will host a Cloverbudday camp at the Southern Park Stables in Boardman. On Thursday, July 7 from 10:00am-‐2:00pm Portage County will host a Cloverbudday camp at Camp Whitewood. Portage and Mahoning County Cloverbuds are welcome to attend either camp. Cost will be $10.
New Cloverbud BookOhio 4-‐‑H has published an updated version of The Big Book of Cloverbud Activities. If you’re looking for new project ideas you can order a book through the Extension Office. Cost is $16.50 and the new version is spiral bound, which will make it easier to copy pages for meetings!
Boardman Community Day on June 4th
On Saturday, June 4 from 11am-‐2pm at Southern Park Stables, Mahoning County 4-‐H will be sponsoring a variety of kid and family-‐friendly events as part of Boardman Community Day. We are looking for clubs that are interested in sponsoring events, including:
• A dog agility demonstration, or dog costume show (or combination)
• A llama agility demonstration, llama costume show (or combination)
• Pony rides• A 4-‐H promotion table, where we
will help promote upcoming 4-‐H activities and events, as well as general 4-‐H participation
• Crafts, face-‐painting, or other build-‐n-‐take activities for various age groups
If your club is interested in sponsoring one of these activities, please contact Kelly at beers.67@osu.edu or 330-‐533-‐5538. If you’re interested in helping, but want some help choosing a project or activity, we have a range of supplies available here in the Extension Office which you may be able to use.
Additional activities and events will be held at the Boardman Township Building, including a touch-‐a-‐truck event, free food and drinks, various exhibits, and wagon rides from the Township Building and the Stables. Mark your calendars and come out to join us at this great event!
Your New 4-‐‑H EducatorI thought as part of this (my first) newsletter I would introduce myself to those of you who I have not yet met. My name is Kelly Beers and I’m the new 4-‐‑H Youth Development Extension Educator for Mahoning County. You can just refer to me as ”the 4-‐‑H person”.
I grew up on a dairy farm in Warren County, where I participated in 4-‐‑H showing dairy, rabbits, and general projects. I was also a camp counselor, and ran for Fair Queen (and lost-‐‑my speech was terrible). I later completed both of my degrees at Ohio State. After 23 years in Ohio I decided to move to Maine for an adventure. I worked at The University of Maine for 8 years, eventually overseeing the First Year Experience program for college student transition and retention.I met my husband in Maine, though he is a native of Erie, PA. He is the Agricultural and Natural Resources Educator in Trumbull County. We have a three-‐‑year old daughter, Elsa, a German Shepherd, and a fat yellow tabby cat. In my spare time I enjoy the outdoors-‐‑ hiking, snowshoeing, gardening, and I’ve recently started learning archery.
I’m really excited to be working with 4-‐‑H here in Mahoning County. I loved being a part of the program as a kid, and look forward to creating great programs and experiences for our youth!