Dear 4-H Families, Volunteers, and Supporters,
I know that many of you have lots of questions following last night’s email from our State Leader, Kirk Bloir. We spoke with Camp Counselors last night to break the news and it was the most heartbreaking conversation I’ve had in my 11 years here with Van Wert County 4-H. I am so proud of the counselors for the way they handled the news. If you have a (human) 4-H camper at home, please look at the link in the 4-H Camp section below about doing a Camper Pen Pal! It isn’t a replacement, but I hope it helps keep our 4-H Camp Bonds.
4-H Meetings
Face-to-Face 4-H meetings can resume on July 6, 2020. I am encouraging advisors to try Remind, Facebook, and maybe even a few Zooms to communicate! Those of you who are familiar with these (even if you aren’t a volunteer) if you could offer help that would be beneficial. If you add me to your Facebook groups, then I can snag cool videos and share them with others!
Still Project Judging
We will do judging with 4-H Projects and Project Judging for all projects.I fully plan to do judging (hopefully face-to-face, but possible virtually), give away trophies (not virtual ones, I promise!), select winners, etc. Still projects will stay the same. Use this time to get them worked on and make them amazing!
Black Inc. Projects
I am moving forward with Black Inc. Judging! Please keep an eye out for the applications so you can get an early start.
Ohio State Fair
I do not know about any changes to Ohio State Fair as of now. As soon as a decision is made, I will be sure to communicate with you.
4-H Camp
As you read last night, we will not be doing 4-H Camp this year. We are still shocked from this decision and I have no real updates at this point to share. If you would like to participate in a pen pal exchange with a fellow Van Wert Camper, please fill out the following survey: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bxWVAantVuz56rX
Van Wert County Fair
There have been no changes communicated as of right now for the Van Wert County Fair. All Van Wert County Fair decisions will be made by their Board in collaboration with the health department. There is quite a bit of time between now and then and we are committed to assisting the Fair Board in making this fair great! Please know that I cannot give you guidance on whether or not to purchase your animal for fair. I would encourage you to have a family conversation about the project, projected costs, and ability to care for the project this summer. We will have judging for those who choose to move forward with their livestock projects, awards for skillathons, and I am fully committed to doing everything I can to support those youth who continue their Livestock Projects. In short terms, Livestock projects please proceed knowing there are unknowns, as of right now the shows are not canceled.
Turkey Order
We are taking turkey orders through this coming Monday, April 13, 2020 (Extended from this Friday). Please use the following link to tell me what you would like to order. https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6usx3yfrMMtGAXb
If you have already emailed me or texted your order – please check your email (later) today for a confirmation email with your order. Let me know if it is wrong or needs updated at Gottke.4@osu.edu
Livestock Quality Assurance
We will not be conducting the face-to-face session #2 for Livestock Quality Assurance in June. I have an update tonight on Zoom for 4-H Professionals. At this time, online QA is open to ALL ages at the cost of $12.00 a person. If you wish to complete this you can, I will know more tonight.
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Events Coming Up
I will have more guidance on events and what I am permitted to do and how to move forward with them for the future. I will be sure to communicate with you all at least once a week with updates, and as soon as possible with updates about any of the unknowns above.
·Shaved Ice: The trailer will not be able to participate in any activities until after July 6, 2020
·Chicken BBQ: Will most likely need postponed, getting further clarification from the State.
In Closing
I know we have changed directions a lot in the last 4 (four) weeks. I know it is frustrating, sad, and downright stressful. Please know that I am doing everything I can to answer all your questions, keep clear communications, and make this as easy as possible. If you have questions, you can always ask me via email, text, or Facebook. I have developed a survey you can put your questions in to help me keep track of questions and ensure that I have answered them all. I ask that while we are working through all of this for what feels like the 100th time, please keep us in your thoughts. This summer will look and feel different than the last 10 summers of 4-H. The situation is a moving target and we are trying very hard to serve all of you as best as we can.
Questions??
Do you have questions? Feel free to use this survey and I will get back with you (as long as you leave contact information). I will be going through email and text messages today to make sure I haven’t missed any questions, but you can ask questions again by going to the following link.
https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5orrJQDIrmDwuNv
I will be posting FAQ as we get them to Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/vanwert4h and on our site at http://vanwert.osu.edu
If you haven’t already, please sign up for the Remind service to get text messages information when we send or post relevant information.
Please text @vanwert4h to the number 81010
They’ll receive a welcome text from Remind.
If anyone has trouble with 81010, they can try texting @vanwert4h to (419) 482-1735.