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REMINDER: Older Youth Opportunities

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Older Youth Applications are now live!

To access, complete, and submit the application follow this link: go.osu.edu/moyapp. The deadline to submit the application is December 4th, 2020! The application allows youth to select the possible teen opportunities available in the county that they would like to be a part of in 2021. There is also an option for them to select State Achievement Awards that they could compete for at the State Level. If youth are unsure what a specific group does or the time commitment to join, here are brief descriptions of each of the teen opportunities available through Morgan County 4-H:

  • Junior Fair Board – The Junior Fair Board is organized with representation from Junior Fair youth group participants, including 4-H, FFA, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Skills USA, and Farm Bureau and is responsible for planning, conducting and evaluating various activities of the Junior Fair. The Junior Fair Board is accountable to the Senior Fair Board and may have advisors representing the various youth groups participating. The Junior Fair Board meets once a month on the third Tuesday of the month. The current constitution states that members must attend at least 50% of the meetings to remain a member of the Morgan County Junior Fair Board and must be at least 14 years old.
  • Junior Leaders – A group of older 4-H youth who participates in community service projects in Morgan County. Junior Leaders also are responsible for helping at 4-H project judging. Many Junior Leaders promote 4-H in the schools in Morgan County by giving demonstrations and putting up posters in their school. They also get to go on team building trips throughout the year. Recently, Junior Leaders meetings have had workforce development and life skills lessons to prepare teens for their future endeavors. The Junior Leaders meet once a month on the last Monday of the month.
  • Junior Fair Sale Committee – The Livestock Sale Committee was established to assist the Senior Fair Board and representatives from the youth organizations in determining the need and direction of the Junior Fair Livestock Sale.  The committee assists with the planning, implementing, and evaluating of the activities related to the Junior Fair Livestock Sale.  The committee also seeks local financial resources and support, as needed, to conduct, promote, and expand the Junior Fair Livestock Sale. The Junior Fair Sale Committee meets on a bi-monthly basis on the second Thursday of the month. Currently only 5 youth can serve as junior fair board representatives. Voting members (3 per specie) must be at least a freshman in high school.
  • 4-H Advisory Committee – The Morgan County 4-H Advisory Committee serves a major purpose and works with County Extension Staff to help determine the needs and direction of the county 4-H program while following state and national policy by:
    • Helping analyze the needs and interest of all county youth 5 to 19 years of age.
    • Helping to ensure a balanced program regarding all potential clientele, including adults and youth on a nondiscriminatory basis.
    • Assisting with planning, evaluating, and recommending of 4-H educational experiences, methods, and programs.
    • Assisting in the recruitment and development of leadership to work with the 4-H program.
    • Seeking local financial resources as needed to conduct, promote, and expand the 4-H program.

    Currently, 4-H Committee meetings are held bi-monthly on the last Monday of the month. The 4-H Committee is open to local 4-H families, volunteers, community members, and youth representatives. Currently only 3 youth can serve as representatives.

  • 4-H CARTEENS – 4-H CARTEENS is a traffic safety program conducted by 4-H teen leaders and their program partners for juvenile traffic offenders. Teens gain leadership, public speaking, and organizational skills. 4-H CARTEENS goals include:
    • Reducing the number of repeat juvenile traffic offenders,
    • Decreasing the number of teen traffic offenders, and
    • Increasing teen awareness of traffic/vehicular safety.

    Currently, the 4-H CARTEENS meet approximately 4 times to plan the 3 programs offered during the year. Older youth must be at least 15 years old with their permit to lead this program.

Master Clothing Educator Q&A

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Does your 4-H’er need to know the difference between a running stitch and back stitch?
The Master Clothing Educators will be available live during Zoom this month to answer questions and share sewing skills. No need to register – just drop in!
June 4: 10:30 a.m. – noon
June 8: 3:30 – 5 p.m.
June 30: 1 – 2:30 p.m.
July 8: 1 – 2:30 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
Password: 447231
Join Zoom Meeting
Password: 447231

State Level Project Judging

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Recent news from State 4-H Leader, Kirk Bloir:

“Due to COVID-19 and in alignment with the cancellation of the Ohio State Fair, there will be no 4-H state fair project judging this year. However, we know how important it is to recognize 4-H members for the time and effort in completing their projects. While we are still working on the details, we are excited to announce there will be an Ohio 4-H Project Showcase. All members will be invited to submit a photo of themselves with their 4-H project. These photos will be added to a gallery page on the state 4-H website and we’re working on plans to highlight members in additional ways. We’ll share the information about posting photos by June 15.”

4-H Project Books

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WONDERING HOW YOU CAN GET A 4-H PROJECT BOOK?

Well the 4-H Advisory Committee has decided to help cover the additional costs of all project books and resource books for each family, if the family saves and returns a receipt for their online book order to the OSU Extension office.

Traditionally, 4-H Advisory Committee doesn’t pay for resource books, but they have decided to pay the difference this year. For example, the beef resource book is $15.50 when purchasing at the office, but online it’s $20. This year, 4-H Committee will help pay the difference of $4.50. Remember, only one species resource book is needed per family depending on which species youth are showing.

While county offices are closed and local distribution of project books is on hold, choose one of these methods:

  • Download one for free – A special collection of  20 project books is available for free on the Perfect Stay-at-Home Projects web page. Click on the book you want, and when the file opens on your screen, save or print it from there. Horseless Horse and Science Fun with Physics were added recently.
    • Make sure the 4-H member is enrolled in the project before dedicating time to complete the project. (For accessible formats of these publications, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility.)
  • Buy one online – If you would like to buy a print copy of a Perfect Stay-at-Home project or any other project book, you can order directly from extensionpubs.osu.edu with one of these special discounts for Ohio residents: FREE2020 (for free shipping) OR 20IN2020 (20% off the entire order). Use the coupon that works best for you. Orders can be shipped directly to a person’s home as long as it is an Ohio address.
    • In order to purchase online, a credit card is needed. All families will have to pay the costs upfront, and, due to the current global pandemic, families will have to wait to be reimbursed from what 4-H Committee decided to cover this year.
    • Please review your order carefully. Extension Publishing is unable to take returns. There is no restriction on the number of times a coupon can be used. See printable ordering instructions HERE.
  • Make your own – If you would rather not purchase a book in this way, self-determined projects are an excellent choice for self-motivated members eager to get started by creating their own projects. Although self-determined projects may be better suited for older 4-H members, they are available for any member and are often based on idea starters already available online. Many of the idea starters are great stay-at-home projects too, for example, Music, Bats, String Art, Climate Change, American Sign Language, etc. One called My Stay-at-Home Summer just became available! (For project judging, self-determined projects are judged in self-determined categories.)

**Tractor project book update: these are supplied from the Purdue Extension Education Store, which is temporarily closed. Keep checking back or consider another project. Not Just Knots perhaps?

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the OSU Extension office at 740-962-4854.

4-H Enrollment Deadline

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4-H enrollment deadline is April 1st! Make sure to provide plenty of opportunities for youth to decide on which projects to enroll in this year. If you have any questions on certain projects that you are unable to answer, please call the office 740-962-4854 to speak with a 4-H Educator for more information. Encourage kids to try new things and expand their knowledge across a variety of projects. You never know what it will be like if you don’t try it.

Advisor Update

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Advisor update is scheduled for Monday, February 10th at Riecker Building, room 325 at 6-7:30pm. At least one advisor from each club must attend this information session. We will review the 4-H program split and discuss the changes for the upcoming 4-H year. Also, there will be Policy 1.50 training available that evening.

Ohio 4-H Conference

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Mark Your Calendar!

The 2020 Ohio 4-H Conference is scheduled for March 14th at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. It’s a wonderful day for both teens and adult volunteers.

Packets of information are available at the extension office. The 4-H Advisory Committee covers the cost of the conference if you turn in your registration to the extension office by February 5th. If you miss the deadline, you can still register yourself until Friday, February 14th, but you will have to pay your own registration.

If you have any questions, please call the extension office at 740-962-4854 for more information.

End of the Year Financial Reports

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End of the Year Financial Report for 4-H Clubs and 4-H Affiliates

The report is due January 31st and new for 2020 – you need to submit the December 2018 or January 2019 bank statement and the December 2019 bank statement if your club has a checking or savings account. You have two options to complete this report:

Option 1: complete the paper copy and mail it or drop it off at the office with your bank statements. DO NOT fax or scan/email due to sensitive information on the form.

Option 2: complete the form online through a secure site and bring the bank statements to the office by the January 31st deadline. Go to ohio4h.org/volunteers/volunteers/club-leaders/finances/clubaffiliate-yearly-financial-summary. Follow the instructions to complete and submit through a secure email system.

Position Available – OSU Extension

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OSU Extension Morgan County part-time Program Assistant position for 4-H Youth Development and Agriculture & Natural Resources (ANR).  Duties include assisting 4-H Educators and other staff with 4-H enrollment, volunteer recruitment, data entry, record keeping, and organization/maintenance of files. The Program Assistant will coordinate with other office staff to plan and deliver school and community-based educational programs and activities for youth based on the 4-H model.

For a complete position description, minimum qualifications, and application instructions, go to www.jobsatosu.com and click Search Postings.  Under Job Opening Number, type 456728, click Search.  To assure consideration, please apply by January 26, 2020.  The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.