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TENNESSEE 4-H IDEAS IN THIS ISSUE 4-H Camp Promotion UPCOMING EVENTS November 28-December 2
November 29
December 6
December 6-7
January 20-21
January 30-31
January 30-31
Tennessee 4-H Home Page: 4h.tennessee.edu Online version of Ideas: 4h.tennessee.edu/ideas08 Ideas index: 4h.tennessee.edu/ideas08/08-index.htm How are you promoting 4-H camp? Are you talking it up? It's not too early to promote 4-H camp. Many families begin making summer activity plans during the holidays. Think about mentioning 4-H camp at every 4-H meeting from now until summer. A camp video was produced a couple of years ago and has been shown to be an effective marketing tool. Other proven techniques for promoting 4-H camp include articles in newsletters, mass media outlets and county 4-H Web sites. However, talking about 4-H camp at your club meetings and events is probably the most effective promotional tool. Also include 4-H camp articles in other Extension newsletters such as horse, cattle, crops, family and consumer sciences, Master Gardener, etc. Many of these clientele have children or grandchildren who may be interested in 4-H camp. Newsletter articles can include testimonials from 4-H alumni. The Powerpoint presentation giving the reason for 4-H camp is on the Tennessee 4-H Web site at 4h.tennessee.edu/centersandcamping/resources/index.htm. Contact Daniel Sarver if you have questions. Cost for 2009 junior 4-H camp has been determined. The base fee for junior 4-H camp is $210.00. For credit card users, the cost is $222.00. Other camps held at 4-H centers will have fees based upon the activities. 4-H camp promotional pieces are also being developed. Daniel Sarver 4-H LIVESTOCK SKILLATHON TEAM NAMED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
The team competed in team and individual beef cattle, sheep, swine and meat goat identification, evaluation and management skill activities. Holly Dickens led the team by placing second high individual overall, Greer Goddard placed 11th followed by Emily Upchurch in 13th place and Monica Wilmore in 16th. Tennessee won the quality assurance division. Holly was the second high individual, Emily was sixth high, Monica was seventh high and Greer was 9th high individual. In the identification division, the team placed third. Holly was the second high individual. Tennessee finished third in the evaluation category with Holly placing sixth individually. The skillathon competition involves several aspects of the livestock industry. Individuals must be able to identify and define equipment, breeds, and meat cuts from all types of livestock. They are required to take a written test concerning all facets of agriculture and quality assurance. Hay and wool judging are also included in the individual competitions. The team competitions involved yield and quality grading a carcass, judging retail cuts, keep/cull goat class, boar performance selection, nutrition and ration selection with oral reasons, as well as a quality assurance station where sheep were weighed, sorted and dewormed. This is the first time a team from Tennessee has won the national competition. Special thanks go to Dwight Loveday, Associate Professor, 4-H Youth Development, for his guidance and support of the 4-H skillathon program. For a photo of the team, go to 4h.tennessee.edu/ideas08/images/skillathon.jpg. Amy Williams 4-H PROJECT MEDALS ARE STILL AVAILABLE We still have a supply of medals for the horse and clothing projects. These medals are made available for county recognition programs through National 4-H Council. Just send a request by email to ssutton2@tennessee.edu with the number of medals you need. Steve Sutton 4-H SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE OUT Applications for the G.L. Herrington and Alpha Gamma Rho agricultural scholarship are due in the state 4-H office by March 1, 2009. Both these scholarships open to any incoming freshman majoring in agriculture at UT, Knoxville next fall. The Herrington Scholarship is for $1,000 and the AGR Scholarship is a $500 award. Applications for all other scholarships are due by May 1, 2009. Please encourage all eligible 4-H’ers to take advantage of these opportunities. The scholarship information is available online at 4h.tennessee.edu/recognhndbook/sect06.htm, and the application may be found at 4h.tennessee.edu/forms&materials/. Steve Sutton Interested in learning more about service learning and how to incorporate service learning projects into your 4-H program? 4-H Service Learning 101 is being offered for agents and program assistants who would like to learn more about the elements of service learning and how to incorporate those into their 4-H program. This training is being offered twice in hopes of accommodating your schedule. Note the two trainings are the same so you only need to register for one. The trainings will be offered via Centra on January 7, 2009, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST and January 8, 2009, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. EST. Registration is open through January 5, 2009, in SUPER. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact the 4-H Youth Development Department. Justin Crowe ANOTHER BUDGET SAVING IDEA FROM WASHINGTON COUNTY Connie Sharp, Extension agent in Washington County, wanted to share something she has done to help with budget issues. She has worked with the Washington County school system to put a 4-H box at the Board of Education building. The school system has an in-school mailbox with a driver delivering to the schools once a week. The driver also returns items to the school board from the schools via the return route. Connie uses this system for the teachers to get things to her such as enrollment information, essays, etc. This is also how she delivers her letters for all 4-H county functions, thus saving money on postage. She also has collected all the email addresses for the Honor Club members and the Heritage Skills Club and communicate opportunities to them in this way. Thanks to Connie for sharing her ideas for trimming expenses. If others have found things that work, let us know and will share them via our Ideas newsletter. Steve Sutton CUMBERLAND COUNTY LIVESTOCK TEAM HAS SUCCESSFUL YEAR The Cumberland County 4-H Livestock Judging Team just completed a very successful and rewarding fall season of judging! The team consisting of Taylor Graham, Tyler Green and Emily Upchurch began workouts in September for contests in Indiana, North Carolina and the national contest in Louisville, Kentucky. The first trip to Indiana took place October 16-19. There were two contests associated with this trip. First was a practice contest hosted by Purdue University, and a second contest called the Stockman hosted by Clinton Central FFA. Senior college, junior college, 4-H and FFA teams from all over the United States attended these events. The 4-H/FFA division of the Stockman Contest was not only one of the best contest imaginable, but also the most challenging competition wise. The top 4-H and FFA teams from across the nation (all destined for other national contests) competed head to head. The Cumberland County team finished 11th out of 29 teams. The second contest the team participated in was the Southern Regional held in Tarboro, North Carolina. Again, teams destined for the national contest were represented with the Cumberland County team managing a 6th place finish. The team finished second high in oral reasons, fourth in beef and fifth in goats. Taylor Graham was second high individual in beef, fourth high in oral reasons and sixth high in beef. With contest experience under their belt, the team felt it was ready for Louisville. As a group, the team was able to drop only 39 points in placings in the contest! However, the national contest is won or lost on questions and reasons, and unfortunately the team had a very average day in both. Out of a possible 33 teams and 2700 points, the team finished 12th overall, only five points out of the top ten and 50 points out of first. The team high was a sixth place finish in beef. Taylor Graham dropped only three points in placings. He was sixth high in beef, ninth high in performance classes, and 13th high overall wining an All-American belt buckle. Emily Upchurch was 16th in sheep and goats finishing six points out of first. The team recognized the entire experience as GREAT! The things they liked best were traveling, seeing livestock all over the county and meeting many new people. The three members stated they would never forget the experiences they had. Team members and Extension staff would like to express their gratitude to the many people who assisted them in training and preparing for the events, as well as the local sponsors that made these trips possible. Gregg Upchurch DON’T FORGET TO COLLECT YOUR SCHOLARSHIP! Please remember 4-H’ers who have won 4-H educational scholarships are eligible to collect them as soon as they have completed a successful semester of post high school work and are enrolled for the next unit of school work. This would include college, university, trade school, etc. Successful completion means the member’s grade point average is at least 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale. To receive the scholarship, please complete the scholarship payment form (F837) and submit it to the state 4-H office. The scholarship payment form may be found on the Web site at 4h.tennessee.edu/forms&materials/. The scholarship check will be written payable to the member and will be mailed to their Extension agent for presentation. Level I scholarships won at Roundup are administered by the University of Tennessee. We supply the three colleges involved with a list of members who should be eligible to collect their scholarships. Payment is made during the registration process at the beginning of the second semester. In order to receive the Level I scholarship, a member must have successfully completed a semester of work at the UTK College of Health, Education and Human Science majoring in child and families studies or nutrition; the UTK College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources; or the UTM College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences majoring in agriculture and natural resources or family and consumer sciences. A list of 4-H members who have been awarded state 4-H scholarships (with the exception of Level I scholarships), but at this point in time have not collected their scholarships may be found at 4h.tennessee.edu/ideas08/attach/scholarship_list09.pdf. Please check this list for accuracy. Let us know if the graduation date or any other information is incorrect. Steve Sutton FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER ELECTRONIC OPTION OFFERED The Tennessee 4-H Foundation is now offering its members the opportunity to "opt out" of receiving printed, mailed copies of the Foundations quarterly newsletter and receive email notice of when the publication is posted to the web. To exercise this option, go to 4hfoundation.tennessee.edu and click on "newsletter" on the menu options located on the left-hand side of the main page. Members have the option of choosing either printed copies through the mail, or electronic notification of postings to the Foundation Web site. Mark Gateley LEADERSHIP AND CITIZENSHIP PORTFOLIOS DUE FEBRUARY 1 4-H leadership and citizenship project achievement portfolios are due in the state 4-H office on February 1, 2009. The following information regarding portfolios maybe be found on the Tennessee 4-H Web site at 4h.tennessee.edu/awardsrecognition/.
Steve Sutton NASA INSPIRE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED The Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience, or INSPIRE, is a multi-tiered year-round program designed for students in 9th to 12th grade who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and careers. NASA INSPIRE is recruiting high school students to join an online community, where their interests can be nurtured and directed. From this online community, students will be offered opportunities to take trips to NASA, have a resident experience at a technology university, or even a summer internship at a NASA center. Students selected for INSPIRE will:
The application deadline is December 31, 2008. For more information, visit the NASA INSPIRE Web page: www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/programs/INSPIRE_Project.html. Daniel Sarver At the National Wild Turkey Federation, there are more benefits going out to youth than just the pride of conserving the American wild turkey. Scholarship money is also available. Students can now compete at the local level for college scholarships sponsored by the NWTF. But it doesn't stop there. All students receiving local scholarships for $250 will have the opportunity to compete for a state/provincial chapter funded $1,000 state/provincial scholarship. State/provincial chapter winners will compete for a $10,000 national scholarship. Eligibility information for recipients and deadlines for each phase of the process are included with the scholarship application packets. Information packets will be sent to interested chapters each year. These scholarships are set up to ensure the NWTF has the dedicated conservationists needed for the future and is a part of the NWTF's Five-Star program. Applicants for the scholarship must be members of the NWTF and are judged on their scholastic achievements, leadership abilities, community involvement and commitment to conservation. The deadline for application is January 1, 2009. For more information on the scholarship program, contact Faith Smith at the Wild Turkey Center by calling 1-800-THE-NWTF or email her at fsmith@nwtf.net. Go to www.nwtf.org/jakes/xtreme/scholarships.html. Daniel Sarver TENNESSEE 4-H FOUNDATION YOUTH DIRECTOR APPOINTED
Sharon Tubbs was Kane's 4-H agent. He credits her with keeping him involved and making sure he took advantage of the opportunities 4-H had to offer him. Kane's experiences included serving the county as a teen leader where he led clubs, went to junior camp as a leader and assisted with the county fair activities. On the state level, Kane served as a youth coordinator at Tennessee 4-H Congress and was a state winner in the consumer education/economics project. As state winner, he attended National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Georgia. Kane continues to serve as a volunteer in the Madison County 4-H program while pursuing his education degree. He also works in an after school program at the local YMCA. The Tennessee 4-H Foundation is pleased to welcome Kane Reeves to the Board. Mark Gateley TENNESSEE 4-H’ER RETURN FROM NATIONAL POULTRY AND EGG CONFERENCE
The Tennessee 4-H'ers also enjoyed tours of the Louisville Slugger bat factory and Churchill Downs where they were able to see a national horse race. They also enjoyed visiting with other 4-H'ers across the nation. Congratulations are in order for these 4-H members, their agents, parents and leaders. A special thanks to Kelly Robbins and Dwight Loveday for their efforts in conducting our state events and helping the contestants prepare for national competition. Steve Sutton UPCOMING 4-H SHOOTING SPORTS DATES Here are some upcoming 4-H Shooting Sports dates for your calendar. Please refer to the Tennessee 4-H Shooting Sports Web site at 4h.tennessee.edu/shootingsports/index.htm for more information.
Daniel Sarver THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.
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Tennessee's 
Kane Reeves of Jackson, Tennessee is the Tennessee 4-H Foundation's newest youth director. Kane has been active in the 4-H program since he was in seventh grade. He is a student at Jackson State Community College where he is seeking his education degree and plans on receiving his B.S. at either the University of Tennessee at Martin or the University of Memphis. Kane would like to pursue his love for 4-H and become a 4-H agent. Steve Sutton, Interim Director for UT 4-H Youth Development, recently announced Kane’s two-year appointment to the Board. 
