4-H Happenings, September 2022

Contents


Important Dates: 


County News


Re-enrollment Time is Approaching

4H CloverIt’s hard to believe, but this 4-H year will be coming to an end September 30, and re-enrollment will begin October 1 with a deadline of December 31.  Keep an eye out for more information on how to re-enroll in ZSuites!

Congratulations to All Who Participated in the Skowhegan State Fair!

4-H youth and her horse wearing Toy Story costumes
Samantha B., Costume Class

The Skowhegan State Fair was held from August 11 to August 20. Items were on display in the 4-H Exhibit Hall, showcasing 179 completed projects and 12 Educational Exhibits from 6 clubs from Somerset, Franklin, and Waldo Counties, including woodworking, arts and crafts, animal husbandry, food and nutrition, and much more. There were over 5600 visitors to the exhibition hall during the fair. Many thanks to our volunteer judges. It is not easy work to evaluate all those entries!

Congratulations to the Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club for winning the Peoples’ Choice Award!

Fairgoers viewed and cheered for 4-H members who participated in youth shows for horses and minis, beef cattle, dairy cows, working steers, sheep, and goats in the youth shows.

Upcoming Fairs and Shows

Don’t forget to visit and support the North New Portland Fair coming up September 16-18.

And good luck to all who are competing in later Maine fairs and Eastern States!

We Need Your Help Recruiting Sites for Fall STEM Topics with STEM Ambassadors! 

Sites are needed for the 4-H STEM Ambassador program. 4-H STEM Ambassadors this fall will be either virtual or in-person – though in-person may be limited due to proximity of students to sites. Host sites need to fill out this form before September 20 to be considered for fall placement.

Please note that we are looking for informal learning sites. We have found classroom settings challenging for STEM Ambassadors to truly support positive youth development, so we are not hosting STEM Ambassadors with full classrooms in schools.

  • Topic choices for programs will be Art of Math or Sustainable Fisheries
  • Each program will consist of four one-hour sessions, and materials will be provided
  • Sites can choose either topic to be facilitated in person or virtually.
    • If a site is virtual they will need to ensure that each youth joins from a separate device.
  • Programs will happen in October and November and will be done by Thanksgiving.
  • The target audience is grades 3-8, with a preferred group size of 4-10 youth.
  • We need your help recruiting sites! Because we have a virtual option, the opportunity for sites that are not adjacent to a campus is much more feasible. 
  • For more information check out the STEM Ambassador program page.

If you know of any sites (libraries, afterschool programs, etc) that might like to host, please have them complete this sign up form by September 20!


Club News


What Has Your 4-H Club Been Up To?

Two 4-H yought with a mini horse and a collection of fair ribbons
Amiya and Ayiana T., Miniature Horse

The Boots and Spurs 4-H Club has had a busy fair season! In addition to having displays and animals at the Skowhegan State Fair, they set up educational displays at the Clinton Fair, where they met Alisha Targonski, 4-H Professional from Kennebec County. Morgan G. will be showing her working steers, Pepper and Ronnie, at the Clinton Fair and had a very successful showing at Skowhegan Fair with her market beef project, winning a highly commended award. Amiya T will be showing “Later,” her Miniature horse, on September 18 at the Fancy and Fun Mini Show in Sydney. Anna G. won second place for her flower arrangement in the Harmony Fair.

The club also has a busy autumn season planned. On Sunday, September 11 the club is going to the Apple Hill Rodeo in Levant, and hopes to have a trail ride at Cedar Winds Stables in Charleston this fall.

Share your summer fair results and other club activities with us so we can celebrate!


State News


Events and Opportunities

2022 4-H National Trip (Conference and Congress) for Senior 4-H Members ages 14-18

National 4-H Trip applications are due September 30, 2022 for National 4-H Conference and Congress. We recommend you look at the requirements ahead of preparing your materials, as most of the pieces required are something you are already doing for your yearly record sheets.

4-H trips are excellent opportunities to meet 4-H members from across the nation.  Participants learn about many career options, and learn through educational workshops at Congress or become part of a team, making recommendations to the National 4-H Council at Conference. 

We will be holding interviews for National trips on the week of October 10-16, 2022. These will be via Zoom. We will be interviewing for the National 4-H Congress, which will be held in Atlanta, GA on November 25 – December 1, 2022, and the National 4-H Conference, which will be held on April 14 – 19, 2023 at a conference hotel in or around Washington, DC.  The Maine website pages for both conferences have been updated.  Once your application has been received we will contact you for a convenient time for all to do the Zoom interviews.

Hopefully, next year, we will be back to our normal “National Interview Schedule” that will be held in April/May 2023. Please feel free to email Heidi Palmer, State Activities Coordinator at heidi.thuotte@maine.edu with any questions.

Public Speaking Workshop

The Maine 4-H Communication Science Team invites all enrolled 4-H members to the October 19 meeting for an open workshop.  The meeting will be held via zoom from 6 – 7 pm.  Team members will teach tips and tricks to improve your presentation skills.  Please contact cathy.gray@maine.edu for more information. To join the zoom, click : Join Zoom Meeting, or go to zoom.us, and enter the meeting id: 86067599466 and passcode: 468314.

Save the Dates for the 4-H Unconference

UMaine 4-H Unconference will be an organized forum for 4-H volunteers, club leaders, afterschool providers, teachers, parents, and teen leaders to gather. UMaine 4-H Unconference is intentionally designed to have YOU teach and learn from each other. There is no agenda; you come with 4-H ideas and topics you want to talk about or learn more about, and we’ll guide the process to get folks into groups where YOU are the experts. Save the dates: Saturday, October 22 and Friday, November 11. Come to one or both. Watch this website for more information as it becomes available.


Scholarships and Grants

Farm Service Agency Youth Loans

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) makes loans to youth to establish and operate agricultural income-producing projects in connection with 4-H clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. Projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience. The maximum loan amount is $5,000.

Youth Loan Eligibility Requirements:

  • Be a citizen of the United States (which includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) or a legal resident alien
  • Be 10 years to 20 years of age
  • Comply with FSA’s general eligibility requirements
  • Be unable to get a loan from other sources
  • Conduct a modest income-producing project in a supervised program of work as outlined above
  • Demonstrate capability of planning, managing, and operating the project under guidance and assistance from a project advisor. The project supervisor must recommend the youth loan applicant, along with providing adequate supervision.

For help preparing the application forms, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit the USDA Farm Service Agency website.


Contests and Competitions

Raffle Update for Maine 4-H Teen Leadership and Program Development Survey – Ages 11+

Hello 4-H Community! The Teen Leadership and Program Development Survey now includes a raffle for the following seven items:

  • Two 4-H T-shirts
  • Three Lunch Totes
  • Two 4-H Positive Vibes T-Shirts

The SHORT survey (about 30 questions/5 minutes) is for any 4-H participant age 11+ since 2017.  We want your voice included! The survey results will help us learn more about 4-H participant interests and improve statewide 4-H program planning.  If you are a parent of a 4-H child receiving this message, please have each child age 11+ who has participated in 4-H since 2017 complete a survey.  If you are a club leader, please pass along this information to your club members!

To enter the raffle, simply add your contact information (email, phone #, etc.) to any of your typed responses in the survey or send it to me in a separate email or phone message: andrew.hudacs@maine.edu207-581-8204.  The drawing for the raffle will happen in early October.

Lastly, please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see a summary of the survey results, please contact me at andrew.hudacs@maine.edu or (207) 581-8204.


For Volunteers

2022/2023 4-H Volunteer Training Opportunities

As we get ready for the new 4-H year, we are looking forward to offering a variety of learning experiences (both in person and virtual) for our 4-H volunteers. Sessions are free of charge, but require registration. Some sessions have limited space. Visit the 4-H Volunteer Calendar of Training Opportunities to learn more and register! 


Leaders Meeting Minutes


August, 2022

There was no meeting in August. The next meeting will be 6 PM on Wednesday, September 21, at the Somerset County Extension Office.

Agenda: 

  • Fair review
  • Upcoming opportunities, events, and deadlines
  • New Project Records Review and feedback from all leaders (if ready for roll-out from ME 4-H office)
  • 4-H Engineering Day – begin planning
  • Any other new business