Staff News & Notes - Week of 3.10.2008
Dear Colleagues:
Who said the weather was changing? Clearly that was not the case in Ohio over the weekend!
As you know, we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the 2008 Ohio 4-H Volunteer Conference due to the snow, wind, and ice that resulted in terrible conditions across the state. While it was clearly our intent to conduct the event, it became increasingly obvious during the day on Friday that the conditions were going to continue to deteriorate. We know that this event is a highlight of the year for so many people; thousands of hours are devoted to planning the event by volunteers and staff; and it is the time we recognize outstanding service to the organization. At the same time, we know the importance of making sure people are safe and that we are not putting people in harm’s way. Ultimately, the safety and well being of our volunteers, staff, and teens drove this decision. We greatly appreciate the time spent planning the 2008 conference and know that it would have been another outstanding program!
As we have previously shared, we are not able to offer registration refunds as we had contracts for the facilities and food; all awards had been secured; decorations purchased; and materials and supplies secured. Unfortunately, we will not be rescheduling the event as schedules, logistics, and costs would be prohibitive. With that said, we will provide additional information in the coming weeks on how we will recognize our 2008 award recipients. Should you have any questions or suggestions as we move forward, please share directly with Vicki at schwartz.4@osu.edu
Have a great week!
Ryan & Vicki
Interim Co-Assistant Directors
4-H Youth Development
Welcome Jermaine Kennedy, OMK Program Coordinator
Jermaine officially began his position with us last week, but began the job by attending a conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Perhaps the greatest adventure of the conference was the return trip, which included several flight cancellations. Please welcome Jermaine to the Ohio 4-H program!
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Invitation
We would like to invite each of you to the April 4, 2008 ribbon cutting ceremony to be held at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center at 2201 Fred Taylor Drive. The open house will be held from 3:00-5:00pm and we ask that you RSVP by calling or emailing Amelia Brashear (614-247-6904) with the names of individuals attending. When calling or emailing, please be sure to mention that it is for the ribbon cutting on April 4, 2008!
All donors will be receiving an invitation to the ribbon cutting ceremonies in the upcoming campaign update that will be mailed soon!
Win Money For Your 4-H Program! Attend the OSU Wooster Campus Scarlet, Gray & Green Fair
On April 22, 2008 the OSU Wooster Campus will host a Scarlet, Gray & Green Fair to promote and highlight environmental responsibility. As a part of the fair, county 4-H programs will have the opportunity to win money to promote environmental programs/projects! To learn more about how your county can win money, please see the flyer!
Clover Country CD
Our office will not be coordinating a group purchase of these CD's at this time. We would encourage you to participate in this effort, locally, if there is interest. To purchase smaller quantities of the CD, click on the Purchase Now button www.clovercountrycd.com which is linked to the 4-H Mall.
National 4-H Council and EMI Music are producing a country music compilation CD called Clover Country—Songs From Famous 4-H Alumni. This innovative project, never before seen in 4-H’s history, includes 11 hit songs from confirmed 4-H alumni who are all country music superstars. Artists include: Alabama, Luke Bryan, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Sugarland, and Grammy-award winning songwriter Hillary Lindsey---who recently recorded her new song “The Clown” just for Clover Country!
Arts and The Sciences: 4-H Project Mini College
Hold the date! May 3, 2008 is sure to be an exciting day at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center!!! Ohio 4-H will host the 4-H Project Mini College that will feature hands-on educational programs, tours, and expert speakers in a variety of subject matter, including photography, creative arts, communication & technology, and theater arts. We will have the registration brochure available next week; registration fees will be $10.00 per person and will include materials, tour transportation, and lunch. For more information, please contact Patty House.
Promotional Flyer (black and white)
Call for Proposals - CARTEEN Workshop
Please consider submitting a proposal for a session at the October 16 CARTEENS conference. Information may be found at:
http://www.ohio4h.org/youth/carteens.html
College Planning Materials for your 4-10th Graders
The Economic Access Initiative, part of Academic Affairs at Ohio State, would like to share our new college planning tip sheets with 4-H Staff for use in your camps or other activities. Our office's goal is to increase access to education beyond high school, particularly for first generation and low income students. We have three publications, all titled "Making College Happen"; one is geared to 4 through 6th graders, one is for 7th and 8th graders and the last targeted to 9th and 10th graders. A sample of the tip sheets is available online here. We would be glad to provide large quantities for your use this spring and summer. Just email Laura Kraus or call 614-292-3343 with the number and grade level of the publication(s) you would like along with a mailing address. And thank you for your role in educating the children of the state of Ohio!
OSU Pre-Vet Day
The Ohio State University wants to help you reach your goals. If you are in high school and exploring Universities that prepare students for a career in veterinary medicine, we have a perfect day planned for you. Saturday, April 12, 2008 the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) will be hosting Pre-Vet Day for students interested in exploring majors that are helpful in preparing for vet school.
There will be two Pre-Vet Day sessions again this year. One session in the morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and one session in the afternoon from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Each session will feature an overview of what it takes to get into vet school and a tour of our campus. We will also have break out sessions about university admissions, honors, financial aid, and the majors in CFAES.
Also on April 12th, the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine will be holding an open house to explore what a veterinarian really does and how to become one.
For more information or to register for Pre-Vet Day call (614) 688-4659, e-mail tyson.46@osu.edu or visit the website at http://cfaes.osu.edu/visit. Registration is suggested as space is limited.
Information about the College of Veterinary Medicine Open House can be found at http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/195.htm.
Register Now for the 5th annual Youth Welding Workshop
Encourage any youth in your county involved in Welding projects to attend the 5th Annual Youth Welding Workshop to be held at The Ohio State University on Saturday, April 19th. Youth will participate in welding activities with university specialists and have the opportunity to complete work relevant to their project books. For more information, please see the schedule and registration form. Contact Randall Reeder or 614-292-6648, with any questions.
Buckeye Bonanza Benefit Horse Sale
The 1st Buckeye Bonanza Benefit horse sale will be held at The Ohio State University Equine Center on Saturday, April 5th, 2008! The sale will take place at 4:30pm immediately following the Landmark Performance Horse Short Course featuring Shawn Flariza and several other guest speakers. Proceeds from this sale will benefit the OSU Equine Program and the Ohio 4-H Horse Program.
http://horse.osu.edu/BuckeyeBonanza
Junior Master Gardener Newsletter
Check out the Junior Master Gardener newsletter here: http://www.jmgkids.us/newsletter
State 4-H Ambassador Applications Being Accepted Through May 30
This is a reminder that Ohio 4-H Ambassador applications are due to the State 4-H Office by May 30. Ambassadors are the youth spokespersons for Ohio 4-H, and have many exciting opportunities for statewide leadership during their year of active service and beyond. The application form is available here.
All Ohio 4-H'ers are eligible who: a) are a high school freshmen, sophomore, junior or senior on January 1 of the current year; b) have achieved the standards of excellence outlined as criteria for the program; c) are approved by their 4-H Educator as good representatives of the Ohio 4-H Program, d) have a permanent residence in Ohio during the time they wish to serve as Ambassadors; and e) have not previously been a State 4-H Ambassador.
All State 4-H Ambassador applicants who meet the "standards of excellence" criteria and are approved by their 4-H Educator as good representatives of the Ohio 4-H Youth Development Program will be invited to become State 4-H Ambassadors and attend the State 4-H Ambassador Orientation Program and Installation Program on Tuesday, June 10 at The Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus. After one year of representing Ohio 4-H as State 4-H Ambassadors; active Ambassadors who complete the program requirements will be recognized and receive "Graduate Ambassador" status at a special ceremony.
Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment
Deleting Unlinked Parents - From time to time it is necessary to delete out unlinked parents from Youth Enrollment. Before you try this make sure that you back up your DATA. Also you need to be sure that all your members are linked correctly to there parent file. When working in Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment adding new members and linking parents to those members you may notice that there are parent ID numbers listed that have no parent listed next to the number. That is because you have deleted a parent file. If you want to get rig of those blank spaces you can do the following; In Youth Enrollment go to utilities, then file utilities, then utilities - go down the list and highlight delete unlinked parents, answer ok, this will get rid of those blank spaces within the find parent file. Click on the following link for step by step instructions: http://www.ohio4h.org/blueribbon/documents/MicrosoftWord-Howtogetridofunlinkedparentcodes.pdf .
Curriculum Information
Just a heads up to let you know that eStore (http://estore.osu-extension.org/) now lists an out-of-state price for all 4-H reference materials, most notably the resource handbooks. “Out-of-state” refers to all customers who buy directly from OSU Media Distribution instead of going through a county extension office.
County extension offices still pay a reduced “extension” price with a 20% discount. As with project books, the price to counties shows up when you click on “Get my price.” Actual suggested retail prices are listed in the Family Guide (www.ohio4h.org/familyguide) and on the Advisor Order form (www.ohio4h.org/staff/documents/AdvOrderForm2008.pdf).
This is part of an ongoing effort to keep prices low for the residents of Ohio. Thanks for your patience as we continue refining eStore. If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Amanda Forquer (forquer.13@cfaes.osu.edu, 614.292.6942) or Jane Wright (wright.646@cfaes.osu.edu, 614.292.0909).
Upcoming Dates & Deadlines
Be sure to check out the Ohio 4-H Calendar:
March
15 State 4-H Dairy Judging Clinic, Animal Sciences Arena -- Columbus
15 4-H PetPALS Volunteer Training Registration Due
14-16 Ohio Beef Expo – Ohio Expo Center
15 Ohio Beef Expo Judging Contest (Jr. & Sr. Youth Divisions) - Ohio Expo Center
22 Registration due for State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest
26-30 Buckeye Leadership Workshop – Delaware, OH
29-April 3 National 4-H Conference – Washington, DC
29 4-H PetPALS Volunteer Leader Training – 4-H Center, Columbus
29 4-H Youth Poultry Clinic – Fisher Auditorium in Wooster
29 State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest, Voinovich Arena, Ohio State Fairgrounds -- Columbus
