MINNESOTA 4-H. CLOVER UPDATE SE Region - OLMSTED COUNTY. In This Issue: CALENDAR. Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) Office Closed - Independence Day

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1 MINNESOTA 4-H CLOVER UPDATE SE Region - OLMSTED COUNTY JULY 2016 In This Issue: Calendar... 1 County Information & Events Regional/State Information CALENDAR CONTACT US OLMSTED COUNTY EXTENSION rd Ave SE Rochester, MN (phone) (fax) mnext-olmsted@umn.edu JARRARD WOODWARD 4-H Program Coordinator woodw092@umn.edu July 2-9 July 4 July 14 July 18 July 18 July 19 July 21 July 23 Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) Office Closed - Independence Day Superintendent Box Night, 7pm, Location TBD Expressive Arts, Demonstration & Clowning Day, 12-5pm, Evangel United Methodist Church Executive Council Meeting, 7pm, Extension Office Horse PDC Meeting, 6pm, Barlow Plaza Hy-Vee Fair Set-up Static (general) Exhibit Entry Day, 9am-3pm, Graham Arena #2 (blue building), Fairgrounds KAY ERWIN County Support Staff kerwin@umn.edu NICOLE POKORNEY Extension Educator pokorney@umn.edu DEB SVEEN Regional Support Staff dsveen@umn.edu /olmsted July Olmsted County Fair July 31 Annual Ice Cream Social, 1-4pm, Graham Arena Atrium August 1 Fair Clean-up August 3 State Fair Trip Winners Meeting, 6pm, 4-H Building, Fairgrounds August 15 Executive Council Meeting, 7pm, Extension Office August State Fair Livestock Encampment August 30-September 1 State Fair Static (general) Encampment August 31-September 2 State Fair Lama Encampment September 5 Office Closed - Holiday 2016, Regents of the University of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this publication/material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to

2 PAGE 2 4-H Executive Committee The Executive Committee typically meets every third Monday of the month unless otherwise stated. Meetings are held at 7:00 pm at the Olmsted County Extension Office Building. The next three meetings are as follows: July 18 August 15 October17 Please watch your newsletter for possible changes to dates and times. Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are open to those interested in attending; due to limited space, please contact Jarrard Woodward at 507/ or Remember, all youth, families, leaders and volunteers involved with the Olmsted County 4-H Program are members of the Council. Olmsted County 4-H Horse Project Development Committee The HPDC will be following this meeting schedule: September April: Third Sunday of each 6:00 pm May August: Third Tuesday of each 6:00 pm Location will be the meeting room inside the Market Café at the Barlow Plaza Hy-Vee. woodw092@umn.edu if attending (just in case plans need to be made for an alternate/larger meeting area). Annual Council Meeting Monday, September 19 th at 7:00 pm Olmsted County 4-H Building This meeting is held to elect new officers to the 4-H Council and Executive Committee for the upcoming H Year. All clubs are asked to send at least one adult and one youth representative to this meeting for voting. All interested individuals are encouraged to attend this meeting if you wish to be an 4-H Youth Leader of the Month-July The Olmsted County 4-H Youth Leader of the Month of July is Keanan Peterson- Rucker of the New Haven Sodbusters Club. Keanan is a senior at Pine Island where he is active in football, basketball, golf, FCCLA, Student Council, Knowledge Bowl Math League, Band, Choir, We Act, and Panther Crew. officer of the Executive Committee.

3 PAGE 3 Keanan has been active in 4-H for 12 years and has enjoyed learning about the Aerospace, Club Banner, Club Community Pride, Club History Book, Crafts & Fine Arts, Food & Nutrition, Photography, Sheep, and Youth Leadership Projects. Keanan s most enjoyable and satisfying project in 4-H was his swine entry in the county fair this past year. He said, Growing up, I showed sheep for a few years. I had to stop however because of conflicting schedules and the inability to find a place to keep them. Since I enjoyed showing sheep, I decided that I wanted to get back into the livestock program this past summer, but had the opportunity to show swine instead of sheep. By showing an animal that I was fairly unfamiliar with, in the show aspect anyway, I learned many new things. At the club level, Keanan has held the office of president, treasure, photographer and been on the food and recreation committees. A complete article is available online at: ult/files/download/keanan_peterson_ruck er_july.pdf Please congratulate Keanan the next time you see him!!! Summer Day Camps Games, crafts and friendships are all part of this 4-H day camp experience! Head off to a day of camp without leaving your community. Participants will spend the day participating in fun and exciting activities such as making crafts, playing group games, gaining new friends, singing songs as well as many other hands-on activities. This day camp program is intended for participants that have completed grades K-3. There is a $20 registration fee per participant per Day Camp (payable to Olmsted County 4-H). Campers must bring their own sack lunch (picnic coolers will be used). Register right away, as space is limited!!! The registration form is available online at: Questions: Contact Jarrard Woodward at the Olmsted County Extension Office at 507/ or woodw092@umn.edu. Olmsted County Fair The Olmsted County Fair is July The dates and deadlines for this year s County Fair are as follows: 4-H Fair Registrations: Due June 15 4-H Fair Setup: July 21 4-H Static (general) Exhibit Entry Day: July 23 4-H Fair Cleanup: August 1

4 PAGE 4 Project Superintendents Needed We are looking for a couple of 4-H Superintendents and Project Leaders for the H Year. As superintendents, volunteers serve as a resource for judges in project areas (help with displays, ribbons, lines, etc.), make sure all forms and information get turned in to the 4-H Office during judging, and may/may not help with Project Area Leadership throughout the program year. Seeking Project/Fair Superintendents for: Self-Determined Demonstrations/Demo Day While other areas may have superintendents currently, it is never a bad to time to get involved. If interested, please contact the Extension Office. 4-H Superintendent Box Night 4-H Fair Superintendents are asked to reserve Thursday, July 14 th, 7:00pm for building your County Fair Supply Box (call sheets, ribbons, stickers etc.) location to be determined, but Graham Arena #2 is our current Backup location. This is the time for 4-H Fair Superintendents to assemble their fair boxes to prepare for judging at the 2016 Olmsted County Fair. All Superintendents are strongly encouraged to attend. Any fair related information (location changes, policy clarification, Fair Board changes/ concerns etc.) will be shared at this time. Expressive Arts, Demonstration and Clowning Day Judging for Performing Arts (Theater and Music), Demonstrations and Clowning will be held at the Evangel United Methodist Church, Monday, July 18 th from 12:00 pm 5:00 pm. Please remember that all 4-Hers are able to participate in demonstrations and are encouraged to use their club demonstration. Note: If you are interested in presenting a Livestock Demonstration this year, please contact the Extension Office those will be held during the Olmsted County Fair. Preparing for Conference Judging As you work on your project activities and prepare exhibits for the fair, remember to prepare yourself too. Conference judging includes an evaluation of both your actual exhibit and your knowledge of the exhibit. Ribbons are based 50% on the actual exhibit and 50% on the knowledge of the exhibitor.

5 PAGE 5 Think about what you learned in preparing your exhibit, decisions you made and why you made them. The following steps are also helpful suggestions: Prepare your exhibit carefully and neatly. Know why you chose this particular item as your exhibit and how it fits into your project. Know how you prepared the exhibit. Know how much the exhibit cost in time, materials and effort. Be able to explain what decisions you made and why in preparing the exhibit. Study some background information about the exhibit topics. Be able to explain some of the problems you had in making this exhibit and what you might do differently if you were to do it again. Decide if the results were worth the costs and what you learned. Know what other kinds of exhibits and future projects you might be interested in doing in this project area. Remember competition has some risks. Everyone cannot be the top winner. Others may have had other skills and resources to apply to their project area. If your exhibit helps you learn something and it is something you and your family can use, then you are a winner regardless of competition or ribbon placing. Static Exhibit (general/nonlivestock) Entry Day Saturday, July 23 rd, 9:00 am 3:00 pm Graham Arena #2, Fairgrounds Please note: A change for this year is that we will have a scheduled lunch break for all judges from 11:30am 12:30pm (judges may choose to leave lunch early to resume judging). All Static Exhibits must be entered and judged this day at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds in Graham Arena #2 (Blue) Building. Please report to the checkin area to pick-up your exhibit cards (and new instructions this year) then report with your exhibits(s) to the appropriate superintendent/judging area. The judging area is where you will receive your card for your exhibit, where your exhibit will be displayed and where you will be judged. Please look for signs displaying where the various projects will be judged. Also, the 4-H Fair Office will be open on Static Exhibit Entry Day, so feel free to come in and ask any questions you might have Herdsmanship Please note Herdsmanship judging will be scheduled to take place twice each day while 4-H Animals are on the County Fairgrounds. To help encourage clubs to meet and exceed the expectations of the Olmsted County Fairboard, there is an incentive for clubs to work a little harder at

6 PAGE 6 keeping their livestock areas clean and organized the first and second place winners in each species will, respectively, get their choice for stalling location at the next year s fair. This year, the following will be recognized with their preferences: Beef: Viola Victors & New Haven Sodbusters Dairy: Salem Sailors & Independent Members Horse: New Haven Sodbusters & Dresser Valley Goat: New Haven Sodbusters & Viola Victors Rabbit: Salem Sailors & Independent Members Sheep: Burr Oak Beavers & Rock Dell Indians Swine: New Haven Sodbusters & NuDimensions 4-H Alumni Ice Cream Social Sunday, July 31 st, 1:00 4:00 pm Graham Arena Arena Atrium The Olmsted County 4-H Alumni Association will hold their annual Ice Cream Social in the Graham Arena Atrium (near Graham #2). Photos of the 2016 Alumni Scholarship winners will be posted in the 4-H Fair Office. These winners will receive their awards at the annual Ice State Fair Trip Winners Meetings Wednesday, August 3 rd at 6:00 pm 4-H Building, Fairgrounds All winners of State Fair trips are required to attend the trip winners meeting (a big Thank You to the Olmsted County Fairboard for offering the use of the 4-H Building for our meeting). Please Note: State Fair Forms will be due in the 4-H Office during the County Fair with our State Fair Trip winners meeting after the fair. As a reminder, 50% of the program fee will be paid by the 4-Her and 50% would be paid by either the Blue Ribbon Auction (Animal Exhibits) or Olmsted County 4-H Council (Static Exhibits). This amount will be credited on each of the member s State Fair Registration Forms. This change makes greater use of the Funds raised through the Blue Ribbon Auction, Countywide Fundraisers, Benefits more Olmsted County 4-Hers, and adheres to Financial Standards when using funds raised in the name of 4-H!!! In following with previous years, the 4-H members $6.00 State Fair Premium (for those that earn and sign-up for State Fair Project Trips) will be credited to the members State Fair Program Fee. Cream Social.

7 PAGE 7 Crediting each 4-Her ahead of time will save the 4-H Treasurer work and resources that it would take to issue numerous individual checks as well as save postage!!! State Fair Schedule As we move closer to the summer season, questions have come up regarding this year s State Fair 4-H Schedule please keep in mind this is tentative at the moment. State Fair Trip Winners Meeting: August 3 Livestock Encampment: August General Encampment: August 30 September 1 Lama Encampment: August 31 September 2 State Fair Chaperones State Fair Chaperones are needed for the 2016 MN State Fair. Chaperones must have completed the MN 4-H volunteer screening process. Livestock Encampment: 4-5 Male & 4-5 Female Chaperones Static (non-livestock) Encampment: 1-2 Male & 2-3 Female Chaperones If you are interested, please contact Jarrard Woodward at or woodw092@umn.edu. As Chaperones, your meal and lodging costs are paid for by the Olmsted County 4-H Board of Directors. We NEED Chaperones or our delegation will not be staying at the State Fair. Olmsted County 4-H T-Shirts Olmsted County 4-H T-Shirts are on sale for $5 each no matter the size! Some sizes may go faster than others; get them while they last (M, L, XL, 2XL, and 3XL). If we have enough interest; a second order will be placed. The design was on display at the Hog Roast by various committee members, 4-H Board of Directors, and Olmsted County 4-H Ambassadors, as well as at the Olmsted County Fair. Find Olmsted County 4-H on Facebook! This page is for current, past and future 4-H Members, Leaders, Volunteers, Parents and Supporters of Olmsted County 4-H. View the latest information about 4-H Programs, Activities, Events and Happenings in Olmsted County as well as connect with others involved in 4-H at a local, regional, state and national level. Be sure to click the Like button at the top of the page! This is a great place to connect with other members and volunteers in Olmsted County 4-H!!!

8 PAGE 8 Milk Moola Nothing to sell! Just save and return those Milk Moola caps and bag tops as well as Glazers price ovals to the County Extension Office. Olmsted County 4-H will receive five cents for each cap or bag top and ten cents for every Glazers price oval we collect from Kwik Trip Nature s Touch products. The program will only accept specially marked items, so please look for the Milk Moola symbol on those bag tops and caps. As you are using these products, please keep the 4-H program in mind. We need a minimum of 1,000 caps, bag tops or Glazer price ovals per submission. Thankyou to everyone that has contributed to our current collection, 4-H needs your support. It just goes to show that every nickel counts. Customer Service at the Olmsted County Extension Office The Olmsted County Extension Office staff strives to work as a team as much as possible. We also try to deliver good customer service to our 4-H, Master Gardener and Olmsted County community. Walk-Ins: We encourage you to call before coming to the Extension Office. Due to limited staff, sometimes we need to close the office early or for short periods of time. As a reminder, our office hours are now Mon-Thurs 8:00am 5:00pm, Fri Closed. s: If you re ing a general question or request, we encourage you to send your to both of us (Kay and Jarrard); depending on your request or question, and depending on each of our schedules or workloads at the time, we have found that if both of us see the , one of us may be able to respond more quickly than the other. Location: rd Avenue SE, Rochester (Northeast corner of the Fairgrounds). We are on the ground floor; first door on your left as you walk straight in. Drop Box: The Office now has a Drop-Box where forms can be placed when the Office is closed and/or when the Building is locked. The box is located on the outside of the building just to the right of the front door. Though it is a locking box, we would prefer it is checks/cash were not placed in the box. Please let Kay or Jarrard know (phone or ) when you place forms in the drop box. As a reminder, Kay s duties encompass support for Master Gardeners, Nutrition Education Assistants, 4-H, Extension Committee as well as other office duties for Olmsted County.

9 PAGE 9 SAVE THE DATES: H Regional Events November 12, 2016 Regional Officer and Fall Volunteer Training (Rochester) December 3 - Regional Officer and Fall Volunteer Training (Rushford) January 28, 2017 Project Bowl Invitational (Rochester) February 4-5 SE BLU (Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch, Stewartville) March TBD - Regional Project Day (Rochester) April 1-2 Camp Counselor Training, TBD May 7 Camp Counselor Training, TBD June Regional Camp (Whitewater State Park, Altura) 4-H county fair exhibitor tips and natural resource projects webinar 4-H exhibitors: Are you ready for county fair exhibit judging? Are you curious what 4-H judges are looking for? Are you interested in natural resources? Are you looking for natural resources project ideas? This webinar will first give you insights and tips from 4-H exhibit judge and Extension educator Gary Wyatt for preparing and presenting your 4- H exhibits for county fair judging. You will learn about how to best tell the story of your 4-H exhibit to the judge and there will be time for your questions. Then, in the second part of this webinar, Gary will talk specifically about his personal and professional area of interest, natural resources. He will share information and encourage you to explore any of several current and relevant topics that would make great 4-H learning opportunities and exhibits. There will be another question and answer period after this second part of the webinar. The entire webinar is expected to last about minutes, beginning at 10 a.m. on July 12. Suggested connect time is between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m. For those unable to attend, the webinar will be recorded and posted later at To access this webinar by computer: 1. Go to webex.umn.edu - enter meeting number and click Join. 2. Follow any prompts to run or install WebEx/Cisco software. 3. Once you ve joined the meeting, click the pop-up to join the audio conference. You can test your computer s speakers by clicking on the menu bar at the top Audio, then Test Computer Audio. To access this webinar by smartphone: 1. Go to webex.umn.edu 2. Click on Join by Number 3. Unless you have previously installed the WebEx App, you will be prompted to install it. 4. Once the WebEx App is installed, you will then be able to enter meeting number and join the meeting. Please feel free to pass this information along to anyone who may be interested. Learn more at

10 PAGE 10 Any questions about the content can be directed to Gary Wyatt at or Any questions about connecting to the webinar, including testing connections and equipment ahead of time, can be directed to Todd Mehrkens at or