4-H Style Revue participants on stage in their garments holding up an "I Heart 4-H" sign
"2024 Hancock County 4-H Style Revue Showcase!"4-H Staff - Andrea M

June 2024 4-H Newsletter

May 31, 2024 4-H News

4-H Happenings

A monthly newsletter for Hancock County 4-H Members

Table of Contents

Upcoming Dates| County News | Club News | State News | Leaders Meeting Minutes

Upcoming Dates to Remember

June 1 – First Day of Pride Month
June 3 – Summer Learning Series Registration Opens
June 5 – Fryeburg Market Lamb Intent Forms Due
June 8 – Downeast YMCA Healthy Kids Day, Come Visit Our Table! (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
June 11 – 4-H Leader’s Meeting (6:30 pm)
June 14-15 – 4-H June Jamboree!
June 15 – 4-H Pride in Portland (see state news for more information)
June 19 – Extension Office Closed for Holiday
June 30 – Animal Approval and Lease Forms Due in Office
July 8 – Summer Learning Series Begins!
July 19-21 – Maine 4-H Days at Windsor Fairgrounds

County News

Style Revue

Jolly Juniors Style Revue Participants with their club leader, Brenda, and a long time 4-H volunteer, Norma.
4-H Staff - Andrea M“Jolly Juniors at Style Revue!”

Gosh, are our 4-Hers talented or what!? For those of you who attended our 4-H Style Revue Showcase, you know the answer to that question. We want to share a big round of applause to all our youth who worked on projects for the event. Your sewing, crocheting, and knitting skills are AMAZING! We cannot wait to see what else you’ll create down the line. Keep up the good work!

I also want to share a big that you to club leader Brenda Jordan for hosting Style Revue at Cave Hill School and rallying the Jolly Juniors friends and family. Many hands make light work!

4-H Foundation Annual Meeting

5 women smiling with a UMaine Foundation sign
4-H Staff - Gabby B“Past and Present, All Together!”

Current and past Hancock County 4-H Staff had a lovely afternoon celebrating award recipients at the 4-H Foundation Annual Meeting. Our youth continue to inspire us every year, and we wish everyone the best of luck in their college endeavors!

College Scholarship Winners

Continuing the good news, we are happy to announce we have two scholarship winners this year. Margaret Mae R.G. and Zoe S will each receive a $750 scholarship from the Hancock County 4-H Leader’s Association. Congratulations you two!

Congrats Grads!

We are pleased to recognize a handful of Hancock County 4-H’ers for their upcoming graduations! If you know any of these youth, please share a warm congratulations with them.

  • Margaret Mae R.G.
  • Alyssa S.
  • Ella S.
  • Zoe S.

Photo Scavenger Hunt!

Fiddleheads sprouting
4-Her - Thomas R“Nature is Changing”
Up close portrait of a chicken
4-Her - Noah R“My favorite thing about spring is… free-ranging chickens”

Join our monthly newsletter photo scavenger hunt! We encourage all 4-Hers to be inspired by our monthly themes and snap the perfect pictures. Then, you can submit your photos on the photo contest webpage for a chance to be featured in the following month’s newsletter!

Thank you to Noah and Thomas R for submitting photos for May’s themes! We love to see what your eyes find interesting to capture!

June Themes
  • Movin’ and Groovin’
  • A Day in My Life
  • Sweet Sunshine
  • Hard Work Pays Off

4-H Event Bingo

Hands using a coin to scratch a card to reveal what Bingo prize they've one
4-H Staff - Leah M“Thomas R. scratching to reveal his Bingo prize!”

Hancock County 4-H is bringing something new to the table this year: 4-H Bingo! If you haven’t already seen them, you can check out our new bingo cards here. They’re a fun tool our youth can use to keep track of what events they can participate in throughout 4-H and win some neat prizes along the way! Our first 4-H youth has earned a first and second bingo and received two scratch-off cards. Who else is working on their bingo card?

4-H After School

In May, youth at the library learned how to read the back of a seed packet and practiced their measurement skills by making seed tape. The youth got to take home their tape to plant and also got to bring home some gorgeous flower seed varieties to plant in their home gardens.

There will not be a library or office workshop this month in preparation for our June Jamboree celebration!

Club News

4-H Club Lock, Stock, & Barrel celebrating Harmony's win from Postal League.
Becky Ames“Lock, Stock, and Barrel Year-End Celebration”

Lock Stock and Barrel 4-H Club: On Wednesday, May 22, the Lock, Stock, and Barrel 4-H Club had their end-of-year Potluck and Awards night at the Blue Hill Rifle and Pistol Club in Blue Hill. The 4-H Leaders and families of the youths came together for a fun time and delicious meal to celebrate the youths’ achievements. From September to May, the 4-H members participated in Basic Rifle and Archery courses. They also took part in the Youth Postal League, which allows them to participate in competitive matches with other youth across the state, while improving their new shooting skills. 

The last discipline was a three-week course in black powder, which was held outdoors. The weather did not cooperate well, but our youth persevered and completed the course. The youth will complete their 4-H year with a canoe trip down the Naramissic River in Orland on June 22 at 10 a.m. 

We congratulate the youth on their accomplishments and hope to see them next year. We want to thank the Blue Hill and Rifle Club for their support of our 4-H youth. 

  • Completion of Basic Rifle-Completion: Harmony B, Noah R, Noah O, Fisher S, and Everett S
  • Participation in Postal League: Harmony B, Noah O, Noah R, Fisher S, and Everett S
  • Completion of Basic Archery: Devlin L, Noah O, Noah R, and Everett S
  • Participation in Basic Archery: Fisher S
  • Harmony B took the Sub-Junior High Point award in the girls’ prone position and received a trophy.
  • Completion of Black Powder: Noah O, Noah R, Fisher S, and Everett S

Respectfully,

Leaders: Norwood and Becky Ames, Frank Butler and Chris Kravitt

State News

Maine 4-H Days! Register Now: Registration is now open for 2024 Maine 4-H Days!  There will be livestock events throughout the weekend and dozens of enrichment workshops to choose from during the day on Saturday. Friday night will be a blast with a Youth Council Dance for youth ages 12 & up and then a Move and Groove Family Movie Night for the rest!  Camping space is available at no additional charge. Visit the website to learn more about the different activities, and to register now!

Where: Windsor Fairgrounds, Windsor, Maine
When: Friday evening, July 19 – Saturday, July 20. Animal Science tracks are being scheduled from Friday, July 19 – Sunday, July 21.

4-H Summer Learning Series: 2024 marks the FIFTH year Maine 4-H is offering a Summer Learning Series!  This year, workshops will run from July 5 – August 10, and there is something for everyone. Registration opens June 3 for enrolled 4-Hers, and opens June 10 for all other youth.

There is a lot of diversity in the offerings for this year – you can learn about rocks or how to start your own fish tank!  Would you like to explore the world of animals, or get cozy with festive winter holiday crafts? From Cloverbuds to Teens, there are experiences available for all ages.  Dive into the different workshop options! To register or learn more, head to our website!

UMaine 4-H Invites You to be a Part of Pride 2024: 4-H will be participating in Pride festivities in Portland on June 15, 2024.  A pride event is a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community, the rights won, and recognition of these individuals as existing and loved members of our communities. 4-H will participate in the parade portion by walking with a banner. Participants should plan on being at the event from noon – 2:30 pm.

This event is open to any 4-H member or 4-H volunteer. Friends, family, and 4-H alumni are welcome but must have a 4-H member/volunteer hosting them. Please register by June 10. To register or for more information, go to this webpage. If you have questions you can email 4-hpride@maine.edu.

Summer at 4-H Camps at Tanglewood and Blueberry Cove: The UMaine 4-H Camps at Blueberry Cove and Tanglewood have summer camp openings and scholarships to support Maine youth to attend. We are excited to connect 4-Hers to our programs. We have scholarships available to cover up to 75% of the tuition for these programs. Funding is also available for first-time campers from National 4-H via CAMP III funds!

Overnight camps and Discovery Trips, ages 8-15: Week-long programs at Tanglewood and Blueberry Cove or adventures along the Appalachian Trail or Downeast Farm Camp with Painted Pepper Farm.

Teen Leadership programs, ages 14-17: Two and three-week immersion trips to build leadership skills while exploring Maine’s beautiful natural areas via canoeing and backpacking.

Check out programs online at umaine.edu/tanglewood, email emma.beaudry@maine.edu, or call 207.789.5868.

4-H Swine Judging Clinic with Randy Shipley: On June 22, Maine 4-H will be hosting a 4-H swine judging clinic at the Cumberland Fairgrounds. Instructed by Randy Shipley of Shipley Swine Genetics, participants will learn how to visually evaluate swine, gain confidence in comparing animals against breed standards, and practice explaining logical reasons for opinion. Whether you are new to 4-H swine projects or have been doing them for years, don’t miss this opportunity to learn from an industry expert.

Pre-registration is required. To sign up for the event, please visit our website. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Sadee Mehuren at 207.342.5971 or sadee.mehuren@maine.edu.

4-H Market Lamb Intent for Fryeburg Fair: Youth planning to participate in the Market Lamb program at Fryeburg Fair need to submit the 2024 Fryeburg Fair Market Lamb Intent form by June 5th. An online form is available, otherwise youth can print and mail a copy downloaded from the website.

4-H Tick Project: The 4-H Tick Project is a community science project engaging K-12 youth and educators, made possible through a partnership between 4-H Youth Development, UMaine Cooperative Extension Tick Lab, Maine Forest Tick Survey, and members of the Learning Ecosystems Northeast partnership. The project provides youth an opportunity to explore ticks and tick-borne diseases, which is a connected story of climate, ecosystem change, and public health.

All educators interested in teaching about ticks in Maine are encouraged to participate in the project at no cost to you. This is a great project for 4-H clubs, SPIN clubs, homeschool groups, and more. For more information and to register, visit the 4-H Tick Project webpage.

Leaders Meeting Minutes

Present – (Elaine Gokey, Lee Sargent, Terry Swazey, Joannie Jodrey, Lisa Carney, and 4-H staff Leah McCluskey) (all on Zoom)

The Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports for May were accepted as written in the newsletter and as read.

Club reports:

  • None this month

Old Business:

  • Scholarships
    • News about Laurie leaving 4-H Foundation…
    • We had two scholarships: Both youth will receive $750
  • Style Revue – Awesome! Would like to go bigger next year, need some volunteer help 🙂
    • The prize basket went over VERY well, and plenty more to use for door prizes at Jamboree
      • Should we continue to do prizes for everyone? Move to a door prize system?
    • Thoughts on two workshops throughout the year? The workshop went really well for the kids who ended up participating in Style Revue. Do one in November? Another in February?
  • BHF
    • Steer Tickets: 6000 tickets have been ordered, and it takes about 3 weeks for them to be delivered
    • Brent will be making the cutouts for the picture stands
    • Lee found a judge for the Horse Show
  • Jamboree Updates
    • Another meeting date? May 28 at 6:30
    • Check in person, who’s collecting the money, does it have to be a leader? Lee and Lisa can help with this.
    • Food? (Terry will make a grocery list once you vote on final menu and will shop for the supplies) 
    • Purchasing supplies (Terry purchased her supplies and will donate – she will reimburse anyone who has purchased any)
    • Terry, can we get in on the 13th or so to set up some stuff? 
    • Leah will get a COI for the fairgrounds
    • T-shirts for volunteers!
    • Filled Workshops so far
      • Sign Designs
      • Barnyard Olympics
      • Archery
      • No Sew Tote
      • Lemonade and Learn
      • Pony Beads

New Business:

  • We might have a couple youth interested in 4-H Camps, what does the application process look like for requesting funds? 
    • Leah will ask other counties what their applications are like

Office Business:

  • New Aquaculture CEA!
  • Hopefully a new EWV coordinator, Leah taking over touch tank things
  • 4-H Foundation meeting tomorrow, Norma is coming! 
  • Summer Learning
    • Watercolors workshop
    • Story hour
  • Leah’s thoughts 
    • New Club – Future Leaders Hub?
    • On SPIN Clubs in Hancock County – We should offer more!
    • On new events
      • Gallery
      • Science fair
      • Cooking Contest
        • Potentially pairs with adult and youth
    • Re-evauating current programs
      • Photo Contest, can a gallery night replace this?

Adjourned 7:31

Respectfully submitted by Lisa Carney, Secretary