Month: April 2020

Spring Paper Clover Campaign with Tractor Supply Company is Postponed

Thank you for everyone in Washington County who support our 4-H program through the TSC Paper Clover campaign.  At this time the Spring campaign has been postponed.  Below is the message from National 4-H Council…

As we continue to work through these unique circumstances associated with COVID-19 and focus on the needs of 4-H youth, Extension staff, Volunteers, and communities, the 2020 Spring 4-H Paper Clover campaign with Tractor Supply Company (originally scheduled to take place 4/29 – 5/10) will be postponed to a later date. 

 We also want to confirm that our partnership with Tractor Supply will continue with the Fall Paper Clover campaign as planned for 10/7 – 10/18. 

Learn How to Build a 4-H Club Website

We have some exciting plans in the works for youth to learn how to build club websites! Please read this article and contact John Smith to be involved.

Is there Interest in SPecial INtrest?

The Awesome Robotics Club has voted to build a club website.  The goal is to provide better club communications, promote our club, recruit new members, and gain increased exposure of our activities to the local community.  Are other clubs interested in this as well?  To prepare ourselves, we are putting together an eight session SPIN course;

Designing and Building a Simple 4-H Club Web Site.

Each session would be approximately one hour long and be held on-line.  As a part of the 4-H Youth Development offerings, the course would be available to members, advisors and parents.  The classes will discuss;

  • what information or “content” we want on the web
  • how to organize the text and visual content into structured documents and pages using HyperText Markup Language (HTML),
  • how to format and present the content using simple Cascading Style Sheets, (CSS)
  • how to select and register domain names
  • how to choose a web hosting service based on their capabilities and your needs
  • a look “under the hood” of the hardware, software, editors, protocols, and acronyms that make up the WWW.
  • Conversely, the course will not cover Javascript which is the third important component of interactive web pages which supports activities like filling out forms and making purchases.
  • Attendees will not leave as webmasters but they will have a start down that path.

We are asking several questions to help craft the SPIN but also to determine if the interest in having club web sites is sufficient to pursue support and investment of the effort at the county level.

  1. Does your club think having a county-wide 4-H web site would be a good idea?
  2. Would your club be committed to producing content, at least annually – think news reporting.
  3. Who is interested in attending this SPIN course?

Please contact advisor John Smith at jsmith@smithspace.org.  More details of the SPIN Club will be shared as a schedule is developed as well as how to sign-up for the sessions.

4-H Virtual Office Hours for 4-H Volunteers

4-H Volunteers should have received an email about 4-H Virtual Office Hours with Bruce & Kathryn. If you are a volunteer and did not receive the email but want to be involved, please email us for the Zoom connection information at zimmer.2@osu.edu or hartline.24@osu.edu

Did you miss the first Zoom? Don’t worry as we are recording the sessions and sharing this link via email strictly for 4-H Volunteers.

4-H Virtual Office Hours

March 31 –   Officer Selection & Training, Club Websites, Q & A – Recording Available

April 7 – 4-H Project Book Update, Keeping in touch with your members and families, Q & A

April 14 – Cloverbud Advisor Training

Should I Purchase Market Livestock?

Words of a fellow 4-H Professional. Very well said!

“As 4-H educators, we have been receiving a lot of questions related to whether families should move forward with purchasing market livestock for fair. What if we don’t have a fair? What will I do with my animal? Or, the one that hurts the worst, what if I lose all my money?

My response to all these questions is a question itself. What are you in this for? What do you hope to gain?

If you are in 4-H so that your child can learn about the effort that goes into raising livestock and producing food animal products, get the animal.

If you are in 4-H so that your child can become a better citizen or learn about goal setting or gain effective leadership skills, get the animal.

If you are in 4-H so that your child can be a step above their peers, so that they can develop a sense of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity, get the animal.

If you are in 4-H so that your child can learn about resilience, determination and never giving up hope (even in the middle of a pandemic), get the animal.

But, if you are in 4-H so that your child can sell their animal for twice what you invested in it, don’t get the animal.

If you are in 4-H so that your child can bring home a big banner or a shiny trophy, don’t get the animal.

If you are in 4-H so that you can boast to co-workers and friends about how your child beat out 15 other people’s children to be the coveted “Grand Champion,” don’t get the animal.

Ultimately, if you do this thing called 4-H so that you can clean up at the county fair and earn awards, money and bragging rights, don’t get the animal. Because I can’t guarantee you those things this year.

I can only guarantee you this:

The agricultural community is powerful. The loyalty and camaraderie among us is bigger than words can describe. Even if we are unable to have fair in the traditional sense, we will do everything humanely possible to ensure youth have the opportunity to display their work. Whether it’s posters or videos or, fancier yet, virtual judgings, we will go to the ends of the Earth to save the 4-H experience for your children. We will work cooperatively with the Junior and Senior Fair Boards and Sale Committee to help with arrangements for animals. We will not strand you with a project; instead, we will work right alongside you to figure out where that animal can go. Whether it’s taking it to a packer five minutes up the road or loading it on a trailer headed halfway across the U.S., we will do the best job that we can to help you navigate the “end-game.” And lastly, we can guarantee you that your child will learn. That, despite limited club meetings or seven days at the county fair, your child will learn the important things. The things that matter. They will fill the days of this pandemic with hope as opposed to grief. Your child will develop a relationship with their animal(s) like they never have before, because, quite frankly, it’s one of the few things they have left.

Is there a chance their experience will be different this year? Yes.

Is there a chance they will lose money? Yes.

As a result, is their 4-H year a lost cause? Should they just give up?

I’ll leave that up to you.”