Monroe County Due

Dates & Activities All 4-H members needed Oct. 5-11 National 4-H Week Oct. 6 Monroe County 4-H

Members visit Clarendon

City Council @6:45pm

Oct. 11 4-H Day at State Fair

Fair runs 10-19

Oct 8 4-H National Youth Science

Day (activity to be announced)

Oct 20 Monroe Clovers Club

Meeting 6pm Mid-Delta,

Clarendon

Oct 21 Monroe County 4-H

members visit Brinkley City

Council @6:45pm Oct 25 Science Day activity and 4-H

Officer Training, 1-4pm @

Extension Office

Oct Monroe County 4-H Awards

Banquet TBA

November 14-15 J.O. Air Rifle Match

4-H Center

November 10 Monroe County 4-H

Members visit

Monroe County Quorum

Court @5:45pm

November 17 Monroe Clovers Club

Meeting 6pm Mid-Delta,

Clarendon

November 22 Teen Leader Leadership

Workshop at Lonoke Co.

December 5-6 J.O. Pistol Match

4-H Center December 15 Monroe Clovers Club

Meeting 6pm Mid-Delta,

Clarendon

September is a busy

time of year for the

youth of Monroe

County. School is un-

derway and 4-H enroll-

ment is in full swing.

This edition of Monroe

Minders will look back

on some of the activi-

ties our 4-H youth have

participated in as well

as give important dates

to mark on your calen-

dars. October 1 starts

our new 4-H year. We

have lots of exciting

things planned to do. So

get yourself ready for

another great year with

4-H!!

Welcome to a New 4-H Year

What’s happening

In Monroe 4-H?

September 2014

Volume 1, Issue 2

Monroe 4-H Minders

4-H Mission

The mission of 4-H

is to provide oppor-

tunities for youth to

acquire knowledge,

develop life skills,

form attitudes, and

practice behavior

that will enable them

to become self di-

recting, productive,

and contributing

members of society.

4-Motto To Make the Best

Better.

4-H Pledge I PLEDGE MY HEAD TO CLEARER THINKING, MY HEART TO GREATER LOYALITY, MY HANDS TO LARGER SERVICE, AND MY HEALTH TO BETTER LIVING, FOR MY CLUB, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTRY, AND MY WORLD.

All meetings and activities announced in this newsletter

are open to all youth between

the ages of 5 and 19.

Valerie Turner County Extension Agent

Family & Consumer Sciences

The informational newsletter of the Monroe County 4-H Program

September Is 4-H Re-

enrollment All active and new 4-H

members need to fill-out

new enrollment packets and

return them to the office

before Sept. 30 Sept. 15 Monroe Clovers Club

Meeting 6pm Mid-Delta,

Clarendon Sept. 15-20 District Fair, Jonesboro Sept. 19-20 State Shooting Sports

Instructor Training

4-H Center

Sept. 22 4-H Shooting Sports & 4-H

sign-up meeting. Brinkley

Chamber of Commerce 6:30

pm

October 1 Starts the

New 4-H Year Oct. 4 4-H One Day of Service

Booth at Brinkley Fest

O-Rama Filled Summer

Are you 4-H Strong was the theme for the 2014

4-H O-Rama. This year Mon-roe County 4-H members competed in county, dis-trict, and state O-Rama.

4-H O-Rama is more than

just competition and a time for 4-

H members to strut their stuff.

O-Rama is learning new things, mak-

ing new friends and reconnecting

with old friends. 4-H O-Rama events

offer something for all 4-Hers.

There are events in bait casting,

public speaking, horticulture, talent,

and much more.

The 4-H youth of Monroe

County competed in five events at

the county level. Ten 4-H members

competed in bait casting & game fish

ID, sport fishing, horticulture, BB/

gun safety, and bicycle safety. The 4

-Hers had a great time and

learned new events they would like

to do again. All participants in the

Monroe County 4-H O-Rama were

offered an opportunity to advance

to the 4-H District O-Rama.

Nine Monroe County 4-H members par-

ticipated in the County O-Rama.

State 4-H O-Rama

Two Senior 4-H members

advanced to the State 4-H

O-Rama held at the U of A

campus in Fayetteville on

July 23-25. These two indi-

viduals shined in their com-

petitive efforts, made new

friends, and made goals for

their 4-H involvement for

the upcoming year.

Keyshawn brought home a 4th

place ribbon for his participation

in the Bicycle Safety competition

while Sue brought home a 3rd

place for her participation in the

BB/Gun Safety competition. Both

youth look forward to next year

and bringing home trophies.

Keyshawn F, Sue Y, Leader Joyce York.

District 4-H O-Rama was held June 19 in

Forrest City.

Five county 4-H

members competed. First time District O-Rama

competitors Sue, Lee, Mae

and Lauralee made a great

District 4-H O-Rama showing as did veteran 4-H

member Keyshawn.

Senior members Sue

brought home 1st in BB/Gun

Safety and Keyshawn 3rd in

Bicycle Safety. Junior mem-

bers Lee brought home 1st

in Bicycle Safety, Mae took

1st in Horticulture, and

Lauralee took 2nd in BB/Gun

Safety.

Monroe 4-H Minders Page 2

Sue Y, Lee Y, Mae Y. Lauralee J, Keyshawn F.

County Agents Pictured

Left Van Banks Right Valerie Turner

Monroe County youth spends a

week in the seat of state gov-

ernment learning how govern-

ment works and putting what

they learned to work during the

Citizenship Leadership Camp

held June 22-27.

More than 100 teens ages 13-17

began their experience at the 4-

H Center in Ferndale to learn

leadership, citizenship and ser-

vice lessons. Youth learned what

it means to be a public servant

Citizenship Leadership

Citizenship Camp and have their voice heard

even if they’re still teenag-

ers.

Teens learned about the

state government structure

and how laws are passed by

going through the process

themselves and being

coached by those who work

in government and public ser-

vice. They also toured the

Justice Building and Clinton

Presidential Library to learn

more about government, vis-

ited the Electric Coopera-

tives of Arkansas, the Witt

Stephens, Jr. Central Arkansas

Nature Center and performed a

service project at Boyle Park in

Little Rock.

County Agent Keyshawn F

Valerie Turner

On August 18, 2014 the 4-H

members of Monroe County

voted unanimously for their

club to be named Monroe Clo-

vers 4-H Club. Along with a

new name the 4-Hers also

elected officers.

4-H members were allowed to

volunteer for their choice of

offices and only senior mem-

bers could run for president

and vice-president. Each per-

son wanting to be elected to

an office had to stand before

the group and tell why they

wanted to run for office.

Volume 1, Issue 2 Page 3

Monroe Clovers

is our New Name Sue Y. was elected as Presi-

dent, Keyshawn F. and as

Vice President. Gracelyn C.

was elected as Club Secre-

tary; Zamara J. as Treasuer;

Zachery G. as Photographer;

Laualee J. as Reporter; Lee

Y. as Recreation Leader;

Brooklin S. & Sidney S. as

Refreshment Coordinators.

These youth look forward to

fulfilling their roles as club

leaders.

Adult leaders for the Mon-

roe Clovers include Robert

Jarrett, Wendy Garrett,

and Joyce York.

The Monroe Clovers 4-H

Club meets the third Mon-

day of each month at 6 p.m.

at the Mid-Delta Community

Room in Clarendon.

New members are always

welcome.

County Club Gets Name and

Officers

Citizenship/Leadership Initiative

As part

of fund-

ing

awarded

to the

Monroe

County 4-H program targeting 4-H

involvement in citizenship and

leadership, the 4-H members of

Monroe County will visit local city

and county government meetings

and meet officials who run them.

On October 6, 2014 the Monroe

County 4-Hers will visit the Clar-

endon City Council and observe

the monthly city council meeting.

On October 21 the 4-Hers will

visit the Brinkley City Council

and observe their second monthly

meeting for October.

On November 10 the 4-Hers will

visit the Monroe County Quorum

Court to observe their monthly

meeting.

The youth will have a chance,

before the meetings, to meet the

members of each council and the

quorum court, and ask questions

about their role as a member,

how they were elected and why

they wanted to be an elected offi-

cial.

Multi State 4-H Leader Forum to be Offered

Multi-State Conference for 4-H

Volunteerism

November 7-9, 2014 a multi-state

100 Years of Volunteers Confer-

ence will be hosted by Arkansas

and held at the Arkansas 4-H Cen-

ter. This multi-state educational

conference is for 4-H volunteers,

parents and Extension

agents wanting to learn fun, crea-

tive, innovative and effective best

practices in working with today’s

youth and families. It will be a

great opportunity to network with

adults from other states inter-

ested in developing youth, volun-

teers and the 4-H program. Ses-

sions will be taught by experi-

enced volunteers and Extension

staff.

The Conference will cost under

$175 and will include meals, hous-

ing and programming costs. Please

consider forming a team of volun-

teers to attend, sending volun-

teers as a form of recognition or

participating for professional de-

velopment/continuing education.

This is a great opportunity to

share your ideas with adults dedi-

cated to making "The Best Bet-

ter"!

engineering concepts, develop

math skills, learn about nutrition

and help solve a relevant, global

issue.

A Monroe County 4-H Science Day

will be scheduled for a weekend in

October, be checking your email

for the date and time. You can

also check out the web page above

for more information.

http://www.4-h.org/4-h-national-youth-science-day/

Monroe 4-H Minders Page 4

National

Youth

Science Day

4-H National Youth Science Day (NYSD) is an exciting, in-

teractive learning experience

that engages thousands of

youth across the country in

conducting the National Sci-

ence Experiment. The national

4-H NYSD event will take place

on October 8, 2014 in Wash-

ington, D.C.

The University of Arizona developed

the 2014 National Science Experiment:

Rockets to the Rescue!

This year, youth will be tasked with

this mission: in light of the recent

natural disasters such as Typhoon Hai-

yan, National 4-H Council is asking

youth to design and build an aerody-

namic food transportation device that

can deliver a payload of nutritious food

to disaster victims. Youth will learn

Leaders always

needed.

For information regarding upcom-

ing 4-H state camps and events

check out the 2014 Events Packet

online. You will find a calendar

of events including important

deadlines, leadership opportuni-

ties and trips for youth, award in-

formation, scholarship applica-

tions, O-Rama guidelines, etc.

http://www.kidsarus.org/go4it/

Activities_Events/default.htm

Shooting Sports Sign-up

This past February five Monroe

County 4-H youth members and

their coaches competed at the

2014 State BB Match held at

the Arkansas 4-H Center in Lit-

tle Rock. The competition is

open to all youth ages eight to

15 who have completed the

Daisy Shooting Education Pro-

gram or an “equivalent” safety

course of instruction. This year

we would like to take two teams

to compete as well as compete

in other 4-H Shooting Sports

Competitions.

September 22 there will be a

meeting to enroll in 4-H Shoot-

ing Sports. We are looking for

youth interested in the BB

competition as well as Air Rifle

and Air Pistol.

In October we will start prac-

ticing again for the Daisy BB

Match. We will start practicing

Air Rifle and Air Pistol by the

first of November. 4-H Shoot-

ing Sports Events include No-

vember Air Rifle Shoot, De-

cember Air Pistol Shoot, and

Range Events in July. These

competitions are held at the 4-

H Center in Little Rock.

All 4-H youth interested in par-

ticipating in either the BB, Air

Rifle or Air Pistol competitions

should contact the County Ex-

tension Office.

A County

wide sign-up

for 4-H

Shooting

Sports will

be held

Sept. 22 at the Brinkley Cham-

ber of Commerce from 6:30-

7:30 p.m.

4-H

Ev

en

ts P

ack

et

4-H is a volunteer led organi-

zation! A 4-H volunteer is de-

fined as any adult that works

directly with 4-H youth. These

volunteers are caring and com-

mitted people that understand

the value of selfless service.

They have a willingness to

serve both youth and families in

our community, and are the

“backbone” of the 4-H program.

These wonderful individuals all

have a unique set of skills and

experiences they truly enjoy

sharing with 4-H youth! If you

are interested in becoming a 4-H

Volunteer Leader, please contact

the Monroe County Cooperative

Extension Office for more infor-

mation at 870-747-3397.

Monroe County Needs More Adults and

Clubs.

Volume 1, Issue 2 Page 5

4-H Record Books will be due

February 1, 2014 to the State Of-

fice. We will have a record book

training in November. All mem-

bers need to decide on a 4-H

project area to be working on.

Contact the County Extension

Office to get your book ordered

today.

U of A Division of

Agriculture

Monroe County

Cooperative

Extension Service

609 Madison Street

Clarendon, AR 72029

Arkansas is our

campus.

Phone: 870-747-3397

Fax: 870-747-5567

We’re on the Web

www.uaex.edu/Monroe

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons

regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion,

age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally pro-

tected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation,

national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/

Equal Opportunity Employer.

At the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, we

are the educational outreach arm for the university’s Division of

Agriculture. Our job is to provide our neighbors with the right tools

to meet economic, natural and social challenges. Our mission is to

provide research-based information through non-formal education

to help Arkansans improve their economic well-being and the quality

of their lives. We have offices in all 75 counties, enabling us to

reach all of the state with the know-how for living healthier lives,

building stronger families and communities and growing more effi-

cient food and fiber supplies to meet increasing global demands.

Program areas include: Agricultural Production & Processing

Environment, Energy & Climate

Access to Safe & Nutritious Food

Increasing Opportunities For Families & Youth

Economic & Community Development

Stop by your Monroe County Extension Office today for more

information.

How can we serve you?

Valerie Turner CEA-FCS

vturner@uaex.edu

Cooperative Extension Service

2301 S. University Avenue

Little Rock, AR 72204

Official Business