Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

1

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

October 2016

Dates to Remember:

Oct 1—New 4-H Year!

Oct 2—Officer Leader

Training

Oct 2-8—National 4-H

Week

Oct 6—All items for

Achievement Night

Due!

Oct 15—4-H Project

Fair

Oct. 22-23—Mother

Earth News Fair

Visit us on the Web:

www.shawnee.ksu.edu

Candis Meerpohl

4-H Youth Development

Agent

candism@ksu.edu

785-232-0062 ext.120

Kim Seeley

4-H Program Assistant

kjseeley@ksu.edu

785-232-0062 ext.112

Callie Hobkirk

4-H Office Assistant

cshobkirk@ksu.edu

785-232-0062 ext.111

A Word From Your Agent...

DO NOT FORGET TO CASH YOUR PREMIUM

CHECKS! Club leaders have the Fair Ribbon checks for each member, please make sure

to attend your club meetings to receive the check. After you have

picked up your check, do not forget to cash or deposit the check!

Happy New Year! October 1st marks the beginning of the 2015-2016 4-H year.

I’m looking forward to the New Year, and working with all of our families to ac-

complish their objectives for this 4-H year. Have your 4-H’ers set their goals

yet? It is much easier to set project goals at the beginning of the year than any

other time, AND it helps you start on your new record books!

After October 1, don’t forget to go on 4-H online and reenroll. This is how you

get project information and communication from our office!

A new initiative for this year is a leadership group for youth in 8th grade and

above. The group met for the first time in September and named themselves

S.T.A.L.K, Students Taking Action, Leadership Kommittee.

The first topic the youth learned about was brainstorming and group decision

making. We had a speaker, Nancy Daniels from K-State come and lead a work-

shop on this topic. Using their new skill the youth named the group, and came

up with the future topics they would like to learn about. They started talking

about a countywide leadership project but ran out of time from all of the good

discussion.

The next S.T.A.L.K meeting will be November 10th from 6:30pm-8:00pm.

Please e-mail candism@ksu.edu to RSVP. This is a youth workshop so it

is OK if parents drop youth off and come back to pick them up. The November

topic will be Public Presentation Skills.

I’m looking forward to another great year of Shawnee County 4-H!

~Candis

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

2

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

New 4-H Year, Oct 1st

Officer Leader Training, Oct 2nd, National

Guard Museum

National 4-H Week, Oct 2nd-8th

All Items for Achievement Night Due

(Non-Competitive Record Book Names,

KAPs, Pin Award Names, etc.) Oct. 6th

4-H Project Fair, Oct 15th, Library

New 4-H Family Meeting, Oct 20th, EMR

Clothing Cares, Oct 20th, Farm Bureau Building

Mother Earth News Fair, Oct 22nd-23rd

Mark Your Calendar!

4-H Project Fair

October is the official start to the new 4-H year! So while other's might be saying Happy Halloween, we will be saying Happy New Year! We want to do our best to promote Shawnee County 4-H during October. One of the events we will be having this year is a project fair at the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library on Oct. 15th from 12-2. I know there are a couple of other things going on that day, but we had to work around the library's schedule.

All you need to do to participate is fill out the sign up genius with what project you would like to display and sit or stand by your display so interested families can ask you questions on Oct. 15th. Link to sign up: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0849AAA82FAAFC1-oct

This is a great opportunity to promote your favorite 4-H project and tell the community that 4-H is for EVERY youth in Shawnee County. It also looks good in your record book. Youth can bring small animals inside the library and the library can give us a section of the parking lot for large animals.

Volunteers Needed- TARC, Children’s Services is always looking for dependable volunteers to share an evening of fun with. The SPARKK (Special Parents and Respite Kare for Kids) Program was developed by a group of dedicated family members with a need for respite care and the commitment for providing quality supports and services to children with disabilities or delays in Shawnee County.

SPARKK is held two Friday evenings a month from 5:30 to 9:00p.m. at TARC’s Administrative Building, 201 SW Randolph Ave. in Topeka. SPARKK is for children between six months and sixteen years of age

that have an IEP or IFSP. Siblings ARE welcome!

A minimal fee covers an evening filled with quality supports, stimulating activities, dinner and guaranteed fun.

We would love for you to join us for a Friday evening SPARKK night. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Wendy Gatewood, Children’s Services/Assistive Technology Family Support Coordinator, 785/506-8616 or wgate-wood@tarcing.org.

(Volunteers must be 13 yrs. of age and must be ac-companied by an adult until the age of 16.)

TARC is Shawnee County’s most experienced provider of support for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

3

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

4-H Achievement Night—Finding 4-H Achievements

Achievement Night is for all members to be recognized for their hard work for the 2015-2016 4-H year. The

program will be November 5th at Washburn Rural High School. Doors will open at 6pm and the program will

start at 6:30pm. You will receive a formal invite in the mail if you were enrolled in 4-H online for the

2015-2016 year. New members in Oct. 2016 are invited to come as well and go on stage with their clubs!

To encourage youth to submit record books and to attend the program, Events Council is sponsoring door

prizes again this year. The prizes will be a Fitbit, a large Lego Set, a 4-H event scholarship and a bike! The

door prize winners will be determined by a drawing at the conclusion of the program.

You have three ways to get your name into the drawing.

1.) Attend Achievement Night, you will get one entry just for coming. (You must be present to win a prize)

2.) Submit a non-competitive record book. Not only will this get you a Gold Award at Achievement Night but it

is good for one more entry into the prize drawing. (You can do several non-competitive record books but you

will still only get one entry)

3.) Submit a competitive record book. These books are judged on the county level and will also get you into

the prize drawing. (You can do several competitive record books but you will only get one entry into the draw-

ing.)

You can do all three of these things for a total of 3 chances at the door prizes. Each 4-H’er will only be al-

lowed to win one prize. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you on Nov. 5th. There will be snacks and a social

after the program.

4-H New Family Meeting-

Are you new to 4-H or have only been involved for a short time? Are you a club leader who has new families that could use some background information about 4-H?

On October 20th there will be a New 4-H Family Orientation at 7:00pm at the Shawnee County Extension office upstairs meeting room. The Extension office is located at 1740 SW Western Ave. in Topeka, there is an entrance to our meeting room on the west side of the building facing Western Ave. There will be a presentation about 4-H and the goals and opportunities of the program. We will also explain our Shawnee County events that we have.

This meeting is open to all new families and we will have time to answer questions about 4-H. If a family is going to attend we would like to have them RSVP either by e-mailing Candis at candism@ksu.edu or by calling Callie at 785-232-0062 ext.111. We will need RSVPs by Oct. 17th, there must be enough interest to have the meeting.

Feel free to share this information with all the new

families and visitors to your club!

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

4

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

Events Council Elections-Oct. 13th

-

Make sure that your club is represented at the Oct. 13th Events Council meeting. This is the meeting where we elect new Events Council officers and choose committees for the new 4-H year.

Here is the part about Officer Elections from our Events Council By-Laws:

Officers The youth officers shall be: president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and reporter. Qualifications

Must be a current Shawnee County 4-H member at least 12 years of age on the date

of election. (This is NOT 4-H Age)

Must have been an active Council member by serving on at least one Council

committee in a previous year

OR

Must have held a major office (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer,

reporter) at the club level.

Officer may be voting or non-voting member. (This means you do not have to be the elected Events

Council officer for your club)

Terms of office

Officers are elected for a one year term. Term starts after elections are completed. Officers may hold the same office no more than two consecutive years. If the elected officer misses three full council meetings it will be determined that they cannot fulfill their

term and the vacancy (according to Section 5) will be filled at the third missed meeting.

Additional information:

Youth self-nominate by writing their names on a sheet of paper before the meeting. Youth can self-nominate for as many offices as they would like. Each youth can say a 90 second statement before each office they are running for. (This will be timed) Events Council VOTING members will vote by secret ballot, those ballots will be counted and the winner

will be announced before the next officer election begins.

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

5

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

Events Council Committees Sign UP-

At the Oct. 13th Events Council meeting 4-H clubs will sign up for Events Council committees. Each voting community club will select two committees and each voting project club will select one committee.

Community clubs will draw a number for the order they get to choose in and will make one choice. Then pro-ject clubs will draw numbers and make their first choice. Then the remaining committee slots will be filled by the community clubs in the order that was already drawn.

Below is a list of the committees and how many clubs we need to serve on that committee. If your club is not present they will be assigned a committee after project clubs select their committee and before community clubs choose their second committee.

A. Trips & Awards Committee- 1 club

· Will plan, organize, and conduct recognition events.

· Scholarships awarded through Council.

B. Community Service & Parade Committee- 2 clubs

· Will plan, organize, and conduct at least one

community service event for the county.

· Plan, organize, and assemble 1 or more floats for

1 or more parades.

C. Finance- 1 club

· Will manage the financial activities of the Council.

Revised Bylaws approved at the October 10th, 2014

Events Council Meeting

D. Pancake Feed Committee- 2 clubs

· Plan, organize and conduct the annual Pancake

Feed

E. 2018 January Jamboree Arts & Crafts Workshop

Committee- 2 clubs

· Plan, Organize, and conduct an Arts & Craft

Workshop

F. 2018 Youth Leadership Activity (Formerly Lock In)-

2 clubs

· Plan, organize and conduct a youth leadership

activity

G. County 4-H Day Food Committee- 2 clubs

· Plan, organize, and conduct 4-H Day concessions.

H. Fun Fair Activities Committee- 2 clubs

· Plan, organize, and conduct Fun Fair activities.

I. Fair Dance Committee- 2 clubs

· Plan, organize, and conduct Fair dance.

J. Officer Training Committee- 2 clubs

· Plan, Organize and conduct officer training.

K. Friends of 4-H Committee- 2 clubs

· Plan, organize and conduct an event to recognize all

Friends of 4-H.

L. Achievement Event Decorating Committee

(Riverside and Grove)

· Will plan, organize, and decorate for the Shawnee

County Achievement Event.

M. Achievement Event Food & Dance Committee-

2 clubs

· Will plan and organize the food and dance for the

Shawnee County Achievement Event.

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

6

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

4-H Sport Fishing Project Club Again, for the 2016-2017 4-H year there will be a Sport Fishing project club! Youth will be taught the safety and skills needed to be successful fishers by Brett Fox and Daniel VanHoozier. Both are certified 4-H volunteers and also deliver the Fishing’s Future program. Youth 9 and older are invited to attend and equipment will be provided. The group will meet the 1st Thursday of the month and the 3rd Tuesday of the month from January to April from 6-7:30pm. The group will meet in the Extension Meeting room until the weather is nice enough to go out and fish! If you want to be a part of the group please e-mail candism@ksu.edu to reserve your spot. Space will be limited. Also, don’t forget to enroll in the fishing project when you are selecting new projects!

Mother Earth News Fair

Once again the Mother Earth News Fair has invited 4-H to

participate. The Mother Earth News Fair is a fun-filled,

hands-on, sustainable lifestyle event with 150 workshops

bringing in people from all over our county and state. Here

are 3 great reasons for you and your 4-Her(s) to volunteer at

this event;

1. You can be instrumental in promoting and growing 4-H

in our community.

2. 4-Her(s) can promote their favorite projects while getting

another chance to show off those great fair entries.

3. Youth can practice public speaking by talking about the projects and activities they love in 4-H in a

friendly, non-competitive environment.

Here are the details. There will be six two-hour timeslots on Saturday starting at 8:45am and ending at

7:15pm and five two-hour time slots on Sunday starting at 8:45am and ending at 5:15pm. All youth under

the age of seventeen will enter for free, while adult volunteers will receive a free pass for that day.

Project displays must fit on one table (provided). An easel is available for poster displays to stand behind

table if desired.

Please sign up by October 14th. Use this link to sign up for a time slot: Volunteer Times or email

Callie at cshobkirk@ksu.edu to request a time slot.

October 22nd & 23rd

Kansas Expo Center

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

7

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

2016 Kansas 4-H Dog Conference and Quiz Bowl News

The Kansas 4-H Dog Conference and Quiz Bowl will be October 22nd-23rd at Rock Springs 4-H Center. The theme is “May the 4-H Dog Be with You.” Registration will be through the CVent 4-H system with registration closing October 1st. There is a $25.00 cancellation fee once participants have registered on CVent. To register beginning August 15th, visit:http://www.kansas4-h.org/events/index.html. Cost is $105.00 for full-time participants, $65.00 for Saturday only and $45.00 for Sunday only. T-shirts and hoodies may be ordered on-line for an additional cost. Full registration information will be posted on the Kansas 4-H Dog web site page by August 15th: Visit: http://www.kansas4-h.org/events-activities/conferences-events/dog/index.html.

Educational sessions will include: Showmanship Dog Issues and Obedience Dog Issues, Keeping Your Dogs

Safe All Year Long, Parachute Cord Lead-Making, Dog Sled Race Information, and Puppy Raisers Program.

Keynote speaker will be “What Kansas State Fair 4-H Dog Show Judges Look for,” by Rachel Wedel and

Andy Conser. The conference will have a costume and dog talent contest, a dog job, dog skill-a-thon, quiz

bowl, plus s'mores and much more. All youth must be chaperoned by parent or 4-H leader. County groups will

be housed in the same cottage and all dogs must be on leash or kenneled in your room. Owners must pick up

and bag after dogs.

For more information, contact Deryl Waldren, Northwest Area Extension Office, P. O. Box 786, Colby, KS

67701; 785-462-6281; dwaldren@ksu.edu.

Kansas 4-H Leadership Weekend

The Kansas Youth Leadership Forum (KYLF) and the Kansas 4-H Volunteer Forum information will be on the

4-H Online CVent Registration System and the 4-H Website at the end of August, with a note notifying

extension offices when they go up.

The Forums will be held November 18-20, 2016 at Rock Springs 4-H Center. KYLF is for youth ages 14-18

before January 1, 2017 and KVF is for all Kansas 4-H Volunteers. KYLF will feature leadership workshops,

Youth Council Elections, and opportunities to learn and have fun. The Kansas Volunteer Forum will include a

workshops, a program from the Kansas Leadership Center, and lots of opportunities for networking and

sharing resources.

Online Registration will be available at the end of August. Again this year

participants in both forums will register though the same system. You will

find this information on the website, 4-H Events and Activities > General

Events > and there you will find info for both events.

Shawnee County has KYLF

Scholarships Available!!

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

8

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

Counties/Districts Needed for 2017 Kansas 4-H Japanese Exchange

This summer inbound exchange program which Kansas has conducted with LABO and LEX in Japan since

1977 is seeking counties to participate in 2017. Based on your county/district responses, Kansas will commit

to hosting a specific number of youth and adult chaperones for the 2017 summer inbound program. In 2016,

Kansas hosted 28 Japanese youth and adults. Participating counties get to host a small group of young

Japanese teens who are highly motivated to become a member of their Kansas host family and to learn

English. Kansas 4-H families have reported many good experiences and say that the program has had a

positive impact on their children.

The Japanese will arrive in counties July 23, 2017, and stay with one family each for four weeks. Consider

getting involved with your county/unit. Participating counties/units must locate a volunteer coordinator who

then manages the recruitment and screening of five to six host families, and organizes local activities during

the stay. Training, resource materials and some expense money are available for the coordinators and

agents. Extension agents liaison with the Kansas 4-H Japanese Coordinator to conduct the program.

If you think your county might be interested, or to find out more details about your county/district hosting

Japanese youth from 12-18 years-old in 2017, contact Rose Scott by September 14th: sixtykid2@gmail.com,

or call Rose at 785-388-2009 or 785-565-3197 (cell). Please consider trying this popular program this

upcoming year.

48 Hours of 4-H in 2016

Join us this fall in seeing just how much we can give back to our communities! The weekend after National

4-H Week, is the perfect opportunity to setup a service project. Invite your friends, clubs, adult volunteers and

4-H Alums too! Find information here and start planning your projects. http://Kansas4H.org/484H

When: October 8-9, 2016 Who: 4-H Members, 4-H Clubs, Friends, Adult Volunteers, Parents, 4-H Alumni

Attention Shawnee County 4-H Clubs!! The Shawnee County fair board needs

your help picking a fair theme for the 2017 Shawnee County Fair! We would like to

give each club the opportunity to submit an idea for next year’s fair theme.

Themes submitted will be voted on by the board members, the winning club will be

featured in the 2017 Shawnee County Fair book. Themes must be submitted no

later than November 20th and only two theme ideas per club. Please submit your

theme to the Shawnee County fair board by emailing them to

shawneecofairboard@gmail.com.

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

9

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

Congratulations to the Shawnee County Photography Teams that competed at the state fair. In the senior

division, first place went to… Shawnee County! Team members were- Amanda Miller, Andrew Hudson,

Blythe Landon and Isabel Reed. The intermediate team took 9th place members were- Ian Schulz, JoyAnne

Boutz, Braedon Miller, and Jacob Lehmann. Everyone did a great judging. We are so proud of you!

Photography Judging Contest-

Crops Judging Contest- Shawnee County Crops Teams competed in the first weekend of the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson and placed 2nd in the Senior Division. Team members study and identify 100 crop, weed, and seed samples that are common to Kansas. Individual placings were, Senior Division; Andrew Hudson, 2nd, Austin Rosencutter, 3rd and Perry Foster, 13th. Intermediate Division; Leah Hudson, 6th and Ethan Clark 16th. 4-Her's received plaques and ribbons for their hard work and were able to enjoy the fair as well. Those interested in being part of next year's team, please inquire at the Extension Office.

L-R Leah Hudson, Andrew Hudson, Ethan Clark, Austin Rosencutter, & John Kabus, Coach, not pictured Perry Foster

Shawnee Riders-

During our meeting on September 20, the Shawnee Riders Club we elected new officers to serve to the coming year. Brighton Covel then led us in a game of Freeze tag for recreation.

President: Hailey Culp

Vice President: Calista Covel

Secretary: Elaine LaRoche

Treasurer: Meredith Burgess

Parliamentarian: Jade Covel

Reporter: Haley Tillery

Recreation team: Mathew Kirwin & Brighton Covel

Song/Pledge leaders: Molly Kirwin & Miles Burgess

Congratulations to our new officers!

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

10

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

Silver Lake-

On September 11, 2016 the Silver Lake 4H Club had their monthly meeting at 2:00pm. For the program,

Christ Ortega shared different opportunities available to 4H members as we start a new 4H year. The club

voted on new officers for the 2016-2017 4H year. After the meeting, the club members volunteered at the

Topeka Rescue Mission. – Reporters Olivia and Ella Day

From left to right: Nathan Ruby, Olivia

Day, Bernice Ruby, Anna Ruby.

Indian Creek-

The Indian Creek club inducted new officers at their

last meeting. Our new senior officers are Emma Biggs

-President, Austin Rosencutter-Vice President, Molly

Biggs-Secretary, Alfred Mannell-Treasurer, Aaron

Magill-Historian, and Patrick Biggs-Parlimentarian.

Bethany Gould and Caden Johnson will be our Event

Council Reps. Faith Bruner and Madalyn Lampe will

be our Recreational Leaders. Anna Magill and

Reagan Dehn will be our Song Leaders.

We also had a "Thank You" party for Twyla

Hernandez, who is stepping down as Community

Leader after many years of service to the Indian

Creek club. We celebrated with cupcakes and

presented Twyla with an engraved clock as a thank

you present. Gwen VanLeeuwen – Reporter

Shawnee County 4-H K-State Research & Extension

11

“To Make the Best Better!”

Cha t t e rbox

November

3 Exchange 7:00 p.m. Shawnee Co. Farm

Bureau

5 Achievement Night- “Finding 4-H

Achievement” 6:30pm, WRHS

7 Bunny Bunch 7:00 p.m., EMR

8 Extension Council Exec. Board 5:30 p.m.,

EMR

10 Executive Events Council, CR

11 Office Closed/ Veterans Day

17 Clothing Cares, 6:30pm, Farm Bureau bldg..

22 Fair Board, 7:00 p.m., EMR

23 Deadline to submit articles to Chatterbox

24-25 Office Closed/Thanksgiving

28 Paw Prints, 7:00 p.m., EMR

All dates and activities are subject to change.

October

1 New 4-H Year

2 Officer Leader Training, 2-5pm

2-8 National 4-H Week

3 Bunny Bunch 7:00 p.m., EMR

6 All items for Achievement Night Due. (Non

– Competitive Record books, KAPs, etc.)

6 Exchange 7:00 p.m. Shawnee Co. Farm

Bureau

11 Extension Council Exec. Board 5:30 p.m.,

EMR

12 Livestock Committee, 7:30 p.m., CR

13 Events Council Exec., 6:15 p.m., EMR

Events Council Meeting 7:00 p.m., EMR

15 4-H Project Fair, Topeka Library, 12-2pm

20 New Family Informational Meeting, 7pm, EMR

20 Clothing Cares, 6:30pm, Farm Bureau Bldg

22-23 Mother Earth News Fair

24 Deadline to submit articles to Chatterbox

24 Paw Prints, 7:00 p.m., EMR

25 Fair Board, 7:00 p.m., EMR

27 Horse Club 7:00 p.m., EMR