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Buckeye "Clover-Graham"

June, 2005


Dear 4-H Professionals,

During the February State 4-H Conference I had the opportunity to share the Ohio 4-H Team structure. Let me review the roles of these priority area teams. They included:

  • Serving as a leadership vehicle for program and curriculum development (printed, web-based, and in-service/development opportunities) to meet clientele needs.
  • Mobilizing our human resources around priority areas. Team involvement will be a part of our day-to-day work with all 4-H professionals involved in at least one team.
  • Being a framework to increase financial resources and for strategic financial investments.
  • Providing professional development and networking opportunities for Extension
    4-H professionals.

It has only been 4 months since officially launching these teams and we are making progress. Please take time to review recent summaries from each of the teams at http://www.ohio4h.org/plt/index.html. Minutes of the May Program Leadership team are also located on this site.

May I again remind each of us, the success of the teams will rely on the contributions of the members of each team. We all have full plates, but I will continue to challenge us to prioritize work as a part of individual teams to produce outcomes that the entire Ohio 4-H network will benefit from. I thank all of you who are actively involved in the process and challenge others to become more involved in the priorities of the teams.

Again, visit http://www.ohio4h.org/plt/index.html to review the progress of the teams.

Sincerely,

Jeff King
Assistant Director, 4-H Youth Development
Ohio State University Extension


5th H Award Recipient

During the past 6 months the Ohio 4-H program as had the benefited from the talents and expertise of a few additional 4-H professionals on the state level. First, I want to welcome Dr. Ryan Schmiesing back to the State 4-H office and we look forward to his continue leadership and support in the area of volunteer leadership and development. While Ryan was serving as the West Regional Director, Graham Cochran, Judy Villard, and Greg Homan accepted additional programmatic roles within the state 4-H program. This month’s 5th H award is being presented to these three individuals and Vicki Schwartz. While the appointments of Graham, Judy, and Greg have ended and Vicki’s will change, the impact of their contributions will continue on.

  • Graham, your leadership efforts with implementing the team structure, providing co-leadership to the 4-H Afterschool grant process, and developing background on staffing will continue to support and expand 4-H programming.
  • Judy, your leadership efforts with restructuring and implementing the Health and Safety Speaking contest program and outlining/developing resources to assist County Extension Directors in supporting County 4-H Educators will lead to new ways of operation as a result of the organizational restructuring.
  • Greg, your leadership efforts in co-chairing the first Ohio 4-H Teen conference and your ongoing development of a teen leadership institute concept will continue enhancing educational opportunities for our 4-H teen members.
  • Vicki Schwartz is also receiving the 5th H award for her leadership and assistance during this transition. As a result of the restructuring, Vicki accepted a position in the state 4-H office working with Ryan in the area of volunteerism. She was in the process of adjusting to her new role when additional responsibilities were added. Vicki, your positive attitude and willingness to get the job done assisted all of us in doing our jobs.

Please join me in thanking Graham, Judy, Greg, and Vicki for their leadership and support to OSU Extension’s 4-H program.


Editors Notes

Clovergram Deadline
If you have information that you would like to share with your colleagues regarding 4-H events and activities, announcements concerning upcoming programs, or successful programming efforts, please note the deadline and publish date for the 4-H Clovergram for the remainder of the year.

The deadline for each issue is the 28th of the month. So, for the July issue of the 4-H Clovergram, the deadline for submission is June 28th with release of the newsletter on the 1st of the month. This same format will be followed each month.

Please know that we reserve the right to edit articles that are submitted, particularly for length. It is important that articles are clear, concise, and to the point! Articles are to be no longer than 250-300 words.

Interstate Exchange - Tell us about it!!
In the coming months we would like to highlight some different events and activities that youth are participating in across the state. Occasionally our office receives calls about interstate exchanges and how their county can get one started. Do you have an interstate exchange? Regardless of where you are in the planning stage, let us know the details as we would like to share with your colleagues. If you are just starting to plan or just returning, we would like to hear from you! Send an email to Ryan Schmiesing.

Organizational (4-H Youth Development) Updates

Addressing Volunteer Behaviors Website
Over the past couple of years many of you have asked for supporting information when it is necessary to address behaviors of volunteers. We have now published the supporting documentation, including sample letters for Educators and Specialist to use when working through a different issues involving issues.

Please direct your browser to the following url to view the website and get access to the supporting documents http://www.ohio4h.org/inappropriatebehaviors/
Note that many of the documents that many of you ask about are found on the left-hand column.

PLEASE BOOKMARK THE WEBSITE AS IT WILL NOT BE FOUND ON OUR PUBLIC SITE!!!

Ohio State Fair Non-Livestock
In the near future, registration cards will be mailed to county offices. It is requested that a County Extension Educator review and sign the cards. Information related to the 4-H non-livestock activities at the 2005 Ohio State Fair can be found at the following web
site: http://www.ohio4h.org/youth/statefair/index.html. For information on who to contact (Assistant Superintendent) and a participation check-list, visit the following web site: http://www.ohio4h.org/aauck. Admission tickets and parking credentials will be mailed to county offices directly from the state fair.

Research, Evaluation, and Best Practice

Websites of Interest
There are many websites out in cyber space that exist to support the work that is being done locally by 4-H Extension Professionals. If you do not have the following bookmarked, we would suggest you do so as they will likely be helpful to you in the future:

National 4-H Headquarters
www.national4-hheadquarters.gov

National 4-H Council
www.fourhcouncil.edu

4-H Leadership Trust
www.4hleadershiptrust.org

Journal of Extension
www.joe.org

Cloverbud Connections
www.cloverbudconnections.osu.edu

National Association of Extension 4-H Agents
www.nae4ha.org

Ohio State Fair Handbook - Non Livestock
www.ohio4h.org/youth/statefair/index.html

Master of Science in Youth Development

Clemson University
College of Health, Education and Human Development
Office of Distance Education

Clemson University is now accepting applications for the Fall Semester in the new Online Master of Science in Youth Development degree program. This exciting program is designed to equip working professionals with the competencies, knowledge, and skills to help young people develop into healthy, competent, coping and contributing citizens. The MS degree includes 36 semester credit hours of coursework and can be completed in two years. The courses are offered in an accelerated six-week format and are delivered through a variety of distance education technologies. Students also visit the Clemson University campus in South Carolina for three days in September and in April for group activities. Please contact Keith Brown in the College of Health, Education and Human Development Office of Distance Education at bkeith@clemson.edu or 864-250-8880 for more information about the Online MS in Youth Development.


Events & Activities

Youth Welding Workshop
If you have youth interested in participating in the 2005 Youth Welding Workshop, please direct them to the website here. This is a great opportunity for hands-on education from outstanding instructors! The program will be held on June 18, 2005 with registration due on June 1, 2005.

Ohio State Fair Livestock Entry Deadline
Please remind all potential participants that the deadlien for the Ohio State Fair Livestock compettition is June 20, 2005! All exhibition requirements and appropriate forms may be found on the website here! The 2005 Ohio State Fair will run from August 3-14!

4-H Day at Cedar Point
The 2005 4-H Day at Cedar Point will be held on June 24th. This is a great opportunity to take a recreational club trip or family/friend outing! Rates are as follows:

4-H Rate Ticket Prices:
Students (grades k-12)- $28.00
Adults - $32.00
JR (ages 3 & older, under 48") - $24.00
(Regular gate price is $44.95)

Feline Adventures
Feline Adventures at the Ohio State Fair is an educational and evaluative activity for youth who are enrolled in 4-H cat projects. Boys and girls do not have to own cats to participate, but they must have assumed responsibility for the cats during their 4-H project year. Feline Adventures is similar to the animal skillathons, only youth participate in interactive stations with their cats. Stations this year include Animal Care, Responsible Cat Ownership, Nutrition, Confirmation, Breeds, Project Records, and Creative Visuals. Showmanship is a separate judging activity where 4-H’ers answer questions taken from their cat project books, and show the judge how to examine their cats, present their cat’s confirmation including body length, head shape, tail carriage, and coat length. For fun, the youth participate in a decorated cage contest.

Information about Feline Adventures, including the rules, health certificate, and entry form is available on line at http://www.ohio4h.org/youth/statefair/index.html. Eligible youth must complete the entry form, obtain the required signatures, and mail it to Stacey French at the Ohio State Fair (address is on form), along with a $2.00 entry fee.

Please encourage all youth enrolled in 4-H cat projects to enter their cats in the Feline Adventures activities held at the Youth Discovery Center at the Ohio State Fair.

For more information contact: Lucinda Miller, 624.292.4410


News & Notes

Interactive Displays Wanted for OSF Health Day
Do you have an individual 4-H member or group of 4-H members that have provided hands-on educational experiences for youth in your communities related to health or safety topics?  Examples of interactive displays that we are seeking might include: total club health project, CARTEENS instructors, after school group, health or safety officer training experiences, camp counselor led activities from camp, school enrichment activities after-school activities, county fair activity such safety relays. The planning team for the 2005 Ohio State Fair Health Day is seeking individual or groups of 4-H members to provide hands-on educational experiences for fair visitors on August 3 in the Youth Discovery Center.  This opportunity is for display purposes only and is not part of the competitive events that will be taking place at the Ohio State Fair.   If you know of individuals/groups who might be willing to share an interactive demonstration (please contact them to confirm first), please forward their name and contact information to Ryan Schmiesing in the State 4-H Office. 

4-H Animal Sciences Website
The 4-H Animal Sciences website has been renovated ( http://4hansci.osu.edu) !  This website will be kept current on a weekly basis.  Please use this website to access information on:

  • Calendar of Events
  • Ohio State Fair Information
  • Registration Forms
  • Project Resources
  • Program Resources
  • Quality Assurance
  • Contact Information

If you have a 4-H event (i.e. county judging contests, shows, skillathons...) you would like posted to the calendar, please email the information I will post the event.   The calendars have been consolodated into one to allow for updates and links to more information.  If something is missing from the website, which was useful to you before, please contact Amy.

Phone: (614) 292-7453
Email: radunz.1@osu.edu

Collegiate 4-H
What They Do: attend regional and national conferences, put on Plowboy Prom and CNI (Carving New Ideas Camp), year round communtiy service, Relay for Life Team, have social events such as camping and canoeing, and create life-long friendships.

Who Are They: students from all backgrounds (if you have never been in 4-H you are still welcome) from all over campus (we are not all agriculture majors).

Encourage current 4-H members from your county who are attending The Ohio State University to join Collegiate 4-H! First meeting will be on Wednesday, September 21st at 7:30pm, the first day of classes in the Norton Hall Lobby (north campus dorm). Check out their website here!

“The Experience of a Lifetime”: Alumni Perceptions of the Development and Transfer of Life and Workforce Skills in the Ohio 4-H Camp Counselor Program

Janel Digby, Graduate Research Associate & Theresa M. Ferrari, Extension Specialist

Significant human and financial resources are invested in the Ohio 4-H camping program, and recently camping has been named one of the new priority areas. Recent research suggests that 4-H camp counselors develop important life skills (Brandt, 2005; Forsythe, Matysik, & Nelson, 2004; Garst & Johnson, 2003; McNeely, 2004; Purcell, 1996; Weese, 2002). However, findings related to career and workforce connections are mixed. Thus, additional study of outcomes of camp counselors appeared to be warranted.

How do 4-H camp counselors perceive their experience years after camp? What are the benefits of being a camp counselor? Those are questions that were answered in a recent research study of camp counselor alumni (Digby, 2005). The goals of the research were to examine the following areas from the alumni perspective: (a) their experiences as a 4-H camp counselor, (b) the life and workforce skills gained through their experience, (c) the impact the camp counselor experience had on their career choice, and (d) the unique aspects of being a 4-H camp counselor as compared to the rest of the 4-H experience.

This study used qualitative methods to collect data from individuals who had been 4-H camp counselors in Ohio. Four focus groups were used to collect data from a sample of 30 former counselors. Eighteen of Ohio’s 88 counties were represented in the sample. The average age of the participants was 22 (ages ranged from18 to 30), and the average number of years the alumni were counselors was four years.

Overall, alumni of the 4-H camp counselor program thought their experience was fun and enjoyable, yet challenging. They believed they developed important life and workforce skills needed for the 21 st century. More specifically, decision making, planning and organizing, communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork, and leadership were skills most mentioned. The alumni believed that the camp counseling experience had both indirect and direct impacts on their choice of a career. Indirect impacts on a career choice included that alumni considered what type of job or work environment they would like in their future. Direct impacts were that alumni decided that they enjoyed working with children and looked for a career in working directly with children. Unique aspects of being a camp counselor compared to other experiences in 4-H were that camp takes place in a different environment where there is little competition. Camp counselors also have the opportunity to be role models and develop a sense of identity.

In conclusion, camp provides a developmental context for adolescents, as 4-H camp counselors, to thrive. The skills and qualities learned through this experience are transferred to other contexts of life such as student, employee, or community member. The development of these skills and qualities takes place in a fun environment, which is an often-overlooked dimension of youth programs in attracting and retaining youth participation.
 
 
 
 
© 2004 Ohio 4-H Youth Development
 
 
4-H Youth Development creates positive environments for culturally diverse youth and adults  to reach their fullest potential as capable, competent, caring and contributing citizens.

Ohio 4-H Youth Development
2120 Fyffe Road, Room 25, Columbus, OH 43210

Phone: (614) 292-4444

Printable Version

 

Editor
Ryan J. Schmiesing, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor & Extension Specialist
4-H Youth Development

 
Ohio State University Ohio State Extension