I know you there are a lot of questions right now, especially surrounding the fair, camp and project judging. The only answer I can give you right now is I don’t know. No one does right now. We can’t control the wind, but we can adjust our sails so that is what we are doing. The office is closed but we are still working hard remotely to make sure that if we are allowed to have regular activities this summer, we are ready to go. We are adjusting dates as much as we can to give families the most time to make decisions.
Updated Calendar – Visit our website https://adams.osu.edu for the most up-to-date calendar. All 4-H events, including club meetings, between now and April 20, 2020 must be postponed, canceled or held virtually.
Give a Hand – Give a Can to Hunger – Even though clubs are not meeting, the donation bins for our canned food drive are out and we are encouraging families that can, to drop items into these bins. We have faithful advisors collecting these donations and delivering them to the Inter-Faith House. There is such a great need for these donations at this time that we are not halting collection. Items especially in need are things that are kid friendly: Mac n Cheese, Spaghetti O’s, cereal, breakfast bars, pop tarts, canned fruits and veggies, etc. We are extending the food drive through May 15 in order to give clubs time to participate. Remember to mark your items with your club number for tallying. A list of locations and club numbers can be found at https://u.osu.edu/AdamsCounty4H.
Add/Drop a Project – This deadline has been extended to April 15 in order to give members and families as much flexibility as possible given the current situation. Club advisors, please post those reports in your Facebook group, email them out to your club or in some other way get confirmation from members that they are in the project(s) they want. Members can add/drop any projects at this time. You will need to send an email to myself, watters.92@osu.edu, or Barbie Rowe, rowe.316@osu.edu, so we can update your enrollment in 4-H Online.
Project Books – All clubs had picked up project books by closing yesterday. There were a handful of extras in the office. If you are missing a book, please notify myself or Barbie. If you need additional books because you have added a project you can order online at https://extensionpubs.osu.edu/. They will be shipped directly to your home.
Market Turkeys – We were unable to pick up and distribute due to all of the restrictions in place. These members can add another project. We are able to add to our chicken and duck orders if they would like to switch to a different poultry project.
Market Hogs – Registration/pictures will be due on May 8. We are working out tag distribution. Watch for further details. The optional market hog weigh-in has been postponed. We will notify you once the date has been set.
Quality Assurance – The Ohio Department of Agriculture has waived the 45 day before exhibition requirement for 2020. Exhibitors must complete QA before the first day of exhibition. That gives us more time to get QA in before fair. There is also an online option available. Youth livestock exhibitors (8-18) may take the online YQCA certification but there is a $12 fee. Each member of the family must take it separately. The website is https://yqca.learngrow.io/ and we will post the instructions on the blog and Facebook soon.
Candy Bar Fundraiser – For the time being this is on hold. We are hoping we can conduct this fundraiser in May. We will communicate dates to you as soon as we know more.
Virtual Meetings – There are options to hold virtual meetings. I posted a resource to our Adams County 4-H Facebook page yesterday that provided some details. Virtual meetings can count! Ohio 4-H has also extended the time period in which we have to meet 6 times until December 31, 2020. That means you have several more months for members to get in their 6 meetings but I do encourage you to try to keep in contact in some way through this time period. This can be an isolating experience for some and we want to make sure our members are continuing to learn, explore and engage.
Communication – We will continue to use the Facebook page, blog (subscribe at https://u.osu.edu/AdamsCounty4H and email as our main forms of communication. The fastest way to reach Barbie or me is through email. If you need to call, the office number is still working and we can answer/check voicemails and will continue to do that through normal office hours.
I know this is a lot of information. Things are changing quickly on our end and we are doing our best to keep you up to date. Let’s work together, stay positive and keep doing positive youth development.
Thanks,
Kristy