Waldo County 4-H Newsletter – October/November 2019

November 5, 2019 Waldo County 4-H Newsletter

4-H on the Move

A Monthly Newsletter for Waldo County 4-H Members and Volunteers

Download the PDF: Waldo 4-H Newsletter 2019-10 11

Table of Contents

  • County News
    • Upcoming Dates
    • Waldo County 4-H Leaders’ Association
    • Fall Club Informational Meetings
    • Waldo County 4-H Recognition and Game Night
    • County 4-H Teen Financial Assistance for National 4-H Education Trips
    • Inclement Weather and Extension Office Closures
    • Do you need help with 4-H Forms?
    • County Club News
  • State News
    • UMaine Day at the Legislature
    • Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF)
    • 4-H Statewide Teen Dance Seeks Planning Committee Members
    • Join Us for “Dining In” Day – National Family & Consumer Sciences Day
    • Winter Becoming an Outdoors Woman Program
    • 2020 National Youth Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summit Applications

County News

Upcoming Dates

11/7: 4-H Leaders’ Association Monthly Meeting

11/16: Waldo County 4-H Recognition Night

12/5: 4-H Leaders’ Association Monthly Meeting

12/31: Re-enrollment packets due at county office

Waldo County 4-H Leaders’ Association

The Waldo County 4-H Leaders’ Association meets at 10:00 AM on the first Thursday of every month. Most meetings are held at the Waldo County Cooperative Extension office. However, the November meeting will be November 7, 2019 at 10:00 AM at the Waldo Community Center.

All enrolled 4-H Volunteers are members of their county Leaders’ Association. Your leadership support is encouraged and vital in deciding the focus of our county 4-H programs. Please contact Sadee Mehuren or Joyce Weaver by email or phone to RSVP for the November meeting.

Re-Enrollments and New Enrollments Due by 12/31

Enrollment packets are with your 4-H leaders and advisors. If 4-H clubs, groups or families have not received re-enrollment packets, please contact your 4-H leader or advisor. ALL enrollment packets are due Monday, December 31st. Renewing members and clubs are expected to re-enroll between October 1 and December 31 each year.

New members may enroll at any time. However, both new and re-enrolling members must be enrolled by December 31 to participate in events and activities such as, but not limited to, state-wide market animal auctions, Eastern States Exposition competitions, National 4-H Congress, National  4-H Conference, and to be eligible for 4-H post-secondary scholarships.

Fall Club Informational Meetings

Waldo County 4-H Club Poster Template for Information Meetings (click to go to request form)

4-H Club Informational Meetings happen annually. All 4-H clubs are required to post flyers in community public places announcing these meetings for families to visit and learn about local 4-H opportunities and club programs. Parents/guardians must attend club information meetings with their children or teens. Holding 4-H Club Informational Meetings helps to ensure that Extension staff and volunteers are meeting Civil Rights obligations through public outreach and making programs accessible to all.

Waldo County 4-H Recognition and Game Night

The 2019 4-H Recognition Night is a time to recognize the hard work of our 4-H volunteers and members during the 2018-2019 4-H year. Please invite your family and friends to join Waldo County 4-H at the Waldo Community Center for a potluck, game night, and awards ceremony.

The Waldo County 4-H Leaders’ Association will be presenting the first annual Waldo County 4-H Achievement Award. We invite all 4-H members and their families to come out and enjoy the evening. All 4-H youth who submitted project records will be recognized.

If you are a person with a disability and need an accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Sadee Mehuren at 207.342.5971 x1020 or sadee.mehuren@maine.edu to discuss your needs.

Saturday, November 16, 4:30-7:30 pm

Waldo Community Center

  • Dinner: 5:00 pm
  • (potluck, please bring a dish)
  • Awards: 6:00 pm
  • Activities following awards

County 4-H Teen Financial Assistance for National 4-H Education Trips

The Waldo County 4-H Leaders’ Association is currently accepting scholarship (financial assistance) applications for Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) and National 4-H Congress and Conference Trips. To request an application, please contact the UMaine Extension Waldo County office or visit our county web site 4-H forms page at extension.umaine.edu/waldo/4h/forms/. The dates for the trip will be determined soon. Maine 4-H delegates typically participate in this program over the Fourth of July.

Inclement Weather and Extension Office Closures

UMaine Extension offices gauge office closures in accordance with the nearest University Campus. Office closures happen when inclement weather or non-weather-related issues come up and may require the office to close. The Waldo County Extension typically follows UMaine Frederick Hutchinson Center for inclement weather purposes.

Please note there are times when an office may have to close even though the respective University Campus is in session and or not in session. The best practice is to call your local county Extension office to see if the office is open for business or if a program has been cancelled or rescheduled.

Do you need help with 4-H Forms?

If you need help with 4-H forms, please contact your county extension 4-H staff. Waldo County 4-H staff would be happy to assist you in completing forms associated with project records, club planning and reporting, and event/fair preparation. If you have any questions regarding 4-H forms feel free to contact the Waldo County Cooperative Extension office at any time.

County Club News

The Born to Ride 4-H horse club finished up their 2019 show season by participating in Eastern States and Clinton Fair. Photos by Laura Bissell.

At Eastern States Lydia was on one of the cheese cookoff teams and they got first. She was also first in her class and was honorable mention junior champion.

Mackensie was on the clipping team and they were first. She was on the judging team and Maine was second. She was on quiz bowl team and they won. She also won the jersey cow class with Beatrice. She was grand champion and champion of all breeds.

Mackensie also attended Windsor Fair and Fryeburg Fair and showed. She got Champion with her cow again. Lydia’s calf was junior champion. Mackensie sure went out of 4-H on a high note this year as it was her last year. She is a sophomore at UMO studying pre-vet. She has been very active both last year and this year with the animal club. Photos by Marilyn Schofield.

Born to Ride members have finished up the show season with a bang.  From working on their scrapbook projects to showing at the fair then competing at the Big E, we certainly have had a full year. Photos by Holly Ingraham.

State News

UMaine Day at the Legislature

4-H Page Day in Augusta – January 2020 – Date to be determined soon

University of Maine Day at the Legislature is a day where Cooperative Extension gets to highlight our awesome programs, including 4-H. Since legislators like to see 4-H members from their districts, 4-H’ers (age 13 or older) are encouraged to serve as Honorary Pages. The Maine 4-H program has up to 30 slots for Honorary Pages.

What does a page do? Legislators are constantly communicating and making decisions while in session and pages make that communication possible. Pages hand out information packets or place the paper information on their desks. Pages will also run communication and documents directly from legislator to legislator. Watch for more information coming soon!

We would love to have pages from all over the state represented. Slots, representing different state senators and representatives, will be filled in the order they are received. If the slot for your legislative district has been filled, your name will be added to a wait list in the order it is received.

4-H Honorary Pages will be in the capitol from 8:30 am to 3:00pm. A parent or 4-H volunteer must provide transportation and chaperoning.

If you would like to apply to be a 4-H page or have any questions about the process please contact the Waldo County Cooperative Extension office.

Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF)

Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) is a 4-H leadership program for high school youth, ages 15-19, from across the country. Take your 4-H experience to another level through Citizenship Washington Focus, a six-day intensive summer citizenship program for youth. CWF delegates learn about the democratic process and their role as citizens while they experience our nation’s capital. Get the inside scoop about how government really works from prominent guest speakers and interact with Maine’s state senators and representatives and/or their staffers.

Program fellows lead bill writing workshops, as well as a national issues forum and mock elections. There are congressional sessions that prepare youth for leadership now and in the future.

Waldo County youth who are interested in attending the Citizenship Washington Focus program this summer can obtain an application by contacting the Waldo County Cooperative Extension office or by visiting the Waldo County 4-H forms webpage.

Scholarships are available for Waldo County 4-H members to help cover the cost of attending CWF. To apply for a CWF scholarship check the box that reads “I am applying for a CWF Scholarship and I will be 15 years old by January 1, 2020” on the Waldo County CWF application.

Non-4-H and mature 14-year old youth may attend this event with approval from the county office they represent. Generally, this is a one-time experience, but youth may attend more than once but they will pay the full participation price. The 4-H Foundation does not provide scholarships to non-4-H members.

4-H Statewide Teen Dance Seeks Planning Committee Members

There is a small group of 4-H members who would like to plan a statewide formal dance for teen 4-H members across the state. We are looking for teen volunteers who would like to be a part of the planning committee for this winter event. FMI please contact Maddie Gray at maddicus83@gmail.com.

Join Us for “Dining In” Day – National Family & Consumer Sciences Day

December 3, 2019 is National Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) Day. The Maine Affiliate of the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences and UMaine EFNEP are planning to participate and we would like 4-H to join the promotion too. What is it? A specific opportunity to promote family and consumer sciences programs, tools, and professionals that support family mealtime. We ask families to make and eat a healthy dinner together during the week of December 3rd. Research has shown that the whole family benefits from family mealtime by having better nutrition, improving family communication, fostering family traditions, and teaching life skills, such as meal planning, budgeting, and food preparation. Encouraging families to prepare simple, healthy meals and eat together supports the essence of family and consumer sciences: “Creating Healthy and Sustainable Families.”

Learn more about Dining In Day, and find some great resources for yourself and your club at the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences website.

Winter Becoming an Outdoors Woman Program

The 2020 Winter Becoming an Outdoors Woman program will be held on February 21-23, 2020 at Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center, 17 Conservation Lane, Bryant Pond ME 04219 in Oxford County. This fun weekend is geared towards women seeking new ways to get outdoors, meet new friends, and challenge themselves. All meals and lodging are provided and space is limited to 36 participants.

FMI visit the BOW Winter Skills event webpage or call 207.665.2068.

2020 National Youth Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summit Applications

There are currently eight scholarships available through funding from the Maine 4-H Foundation, to send youth to the National 4-H Conference Center, just outside Washington, D.C., for the Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summits in early 2020. Attendees will learn more about their area of interest by attending career panels, interactive workshops, and visiting related agencies throughout D.C. The Summits were created to empower youth to be well-informed citizens, expand engineering and agriculture experience, and increase connections to living a healthy lifestyle, all while being actively engaged in their communities.

Agri-Science: January, 9-12, 2020

Healthy Living: February 13-16, 2020

Eligibility: Youth ages 14-18 (enrolled in 4-H by December 31, 2019)

Participant Cost: $150.00 (Maine 4-H Foundation funding will cover the remainder of registration and flight cost: approximately $800)

Application: Combined application for both the Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summits

For more information please visit the National Youth Summits webpage. If any youth would like to attend, but do not receive the scholarship funding, they may self-fund and attend. Counties are also welcome to provide full or partial-scholarships to youth as well. Email or call Sara, sara.conant@maine.edu, 207-781-6099, for more details on these options, or with any questions.

Applications and Recommendations due by December 1, 2019.