Stacey Russell has been named the recipient of the 2019 Brian T. Wagner Community Leadership Award. This award was established by the Muskingum County Community Foundation (MCCF) Council in 2005 to honor volunteer leaders between the ages of 18 and 55 and encourage other young adults to lead efforts to improve Muskingum County.

The award will be presented to Russell on Friday, February 1, 2019, at the Ohio University Zanesville/Zane State College Campus Center during the annual Groundhog Day event.

Russell is the Fiscal Officer for the Muskingum County Library System, a CPA and a Certified Public Finance Officer. She is a graduate of John Glenn High School and Marietta College.  As a 4-H alumni, Stacey contributes much of her adult success to the skills she gained in 4-H. She is active with Muskingum County 4-H, serving as President of the Muskingum County 4-H Committee from 2014-2016. When the 4-H Committee was exploring new fundraising options, Stacey became a founding member and treasurer of the Muskingum County Reverse Raffle Committee, a nonprofit organization that has donated more than $64,000 to the 4-H program in five years.

She is an active member of Coburn United Methodist Church and serves on the Muskingum County Women of Achievement Steering Committee. She has served as a board member for Muskingum Family YMCA and United Way of Muskingum, Perry and Morgan County campaign committee. She received the 2010 Muskingum Family YMCA’s Women of Achievement Mary Townsend Professions Award and 2011 United Way Chairperson’s Award for making a significant impact to the Annual Campaign. She and her husband, Matt, have one daughter, Madeline, who is a Freshman at the Ohio State University.

For more information about the Groundhog Day Celebration, contact the Muskingum County Community Foundation at giving@mccf.org or by calling (740) 453-5192.

In order to be more consistent with statewide livestock exhibition ownership rules from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Ohio State Fair has modified ownership rules beginning with animals exhibited at the 2019 Ohio State Fair. Specifically, some market animals (swine, lambs, goats and poultry) will have ownership date changes. Visit: https://ohiostatefair.com/livestock/ for more information.

To help prepare exhibitors for this change, a list of these modified rules are below. We are sharing this list online and on social media to help inform exhibitors, but would greatly appreciate your assistance in spreading the word.

Market animals – SOME CHANGED FOR 2019 OHIO STATE FAIR

• Market beef – January 1
• Market swine – May 26 (changed for 2019)
• Market lambs – May 26 (changed for 2019)
• Market goats – May 26 (changed for 2019)
• Market rabbits – June 1
• Market poultry – within 5 days of hatch (changed for 2019)

Breeding animals – dates have not changed for 2019:

• Breeding Beef – May 1
• Breeding Swine – June 1
• Breeding Sheep – June 1
• Breeding Goats – June 1
• Breeding Poultry – June 1
• Breeding rabbits – June 1
• Dairy Cattle – June 1

A colleague in Noble County Extension is offering a Youth Mental Health First Aid course on January 28 and wanted me to share this information with our 4-H families. I have participated in this course and it is a great learning opportunity for people who work with youth.

The 2019 Ohio 4-H Conference is designed to bring together 4-H volunteers and teens (age 13 and older) from across Ohio. Teen leaders and volunteers learn together and from each other in order to become better at delivering the Ohio 4-H Program to our members. A variety of educational sessions ensures that there is something for everyone! I am looking forward to teaching two sessions – one with my 4-H colleague Jessica Rockey from Perry County titled “Community Service During Camp” and another called “Inside Out: Understanding a Camper’s Headquarters.”

Who: Teens and Volunteers

What: Ohio 4-H Conference

When: Saturday, March 9

Where: Greater Columbus Convention Center

Registration fees for the conference are $40. $20 scholarships are offered through the TSC Paper Clover Campaign (teens) and Muskingum County 4-H Committee (adults).
 Muskingum County 4-H Junior Leaders will cover the additional $20 for enrolled members.

Final Cost:

Teen: Junior Leaders 
- NO COST

Teen/Adult: Not Junior Leaders $20 fee

Registration Form

Registration Booklet (with session list)

Deadline to submit registrations to the Extension Office is Friday, February 1 at 4:30 p.m.

Let 4-H Quench Your Thirst for Knowledge, Adventure & Fun!

Club Display Contest

4-H Clubs are encouraged to help us promote 4-H across Muskingum County! Put a display in a school, library, church, local business or other location. For displays to be considered in the contest, they must be in place by Saturday, February 9th and a photo of the display must be e-mailed to mcconnell.210@osu.edu by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, February 11th.

Displays must include information about the 4-H Kick-Off and provide contact information for the Extension Office. Clubs are encouraged to include their club name and contact information.

All entries submitted by the deadline will be on display at the 4-H Kick-Off on February 13. All Kick-Off attendees will receive one ticket to vote for their favorite display and winners will be announced that evening. Prizes will be awarded to clubs as follows: One Outstanding Display ($20), Four Honorable Mention Displays ($10 each).

Facebook Photo Challenge

4-H Clubs can help promote Muskingum County 4-H on Facebook! Clubs can submit one photo per club that includes members demonstrating this year’s theme, “Let 4-H Quench Your Thirst for Knowledge, Adventure & Fun!”   Photos must be e-mailed to mcconnell.210@osu.edu by February 8 at 4:30 p.m. to be included in the contest. Please mention the name of the club when photos are submitted.

Photos will be posted in an album on the Muskingum County 4-H Facebook Page. A prize of $20 will be awarded to the club photo that receives the most likes during 4-H Week!

4-H Kick-Off

Wednesday, February 13

Rolling Plains United Methodist Church, 3350 Moxahala Park Rd., Zanesville

Project & Opportunity Fair 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

County Awards presented at 7:00 p.m.

The first 250 attendees will receive a 4-H cup! Youth who bring a friend who is not a current 4-H member will receive a reward, and so will their friend!

Learn more about 4-H, Earn Club Participation Points, View Award Winning Project Displays, Enter 1/2 Camp Scholarship Drawing, Preview 200+ Project Books, check out the photo booth and much more!

All 4-H Week activities sponsored by the Muskingum County 4-H Committee.

The 2019 Muskingum County 4-H Calendar can be downloaded from our website.