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Staff News & Notes - Week of January 4, 2010
Hi,
Two thousand ten; Two-oh-one-oh; Twenty-ten – there are several different ways to identify our new year. This past weekend I was watching all the news pundits who were describing the challenges and concerns of the last decade, and those who were also trying to predict the next decade.
My first reaction to these comments harkens back to the turn of the millennia, and my life-long interest in math. Everyone had the mind-set that the new millennia started on January 1, 2000. There were only a few of us who understood that the year 2000 was the last year of the millennia, and the new millennia actually began on January 1, 2001. But I am not going to fight with the thinking of the masses. We are beginning a new decade.
The last decade was notable for 4-H in Ohio. We celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of our organization. A group of hard-working, passionate individuals made the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center a reality. We saw 4-H membership and participation in 4-H Youth Development Programming sustained at a high level for an extended period. Policies and procedures were refined even more to address the challenges that a volunteer saturated organization such as 4-H demands. Almost 50% of the current 4-H Professionals in Ohio joined our ranks since 2000. But most of all, we provided non-formal educational opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Ohio youth.
Sure there were challenges through the past decade, the most notable being the down turn in the economy and the loss of funding for Extension at State and County levels. But even with these challenges, 4-H has shown its influence and enthusiasm for public support of Extension.
The decade before us will no doubt have it challenges and changes too. The Professionals in 4-H will need to expand their skill sets to adequately meet these challenges. We are going to need to be able to make decisions of program priorities if our resources continue to be limited. We must explore and incorporate new resource streams – grants, contracts, endowments, and possibly other avenues. Trends to support Extension through levies or other non-governmental sources will require new skills for most of us. We must figure out how to incorporate the new technology and social media opportunities into productive and useful youth development tools. We must also learn how to identify, train, and utilize volunteers even more than we do now.
It will be a great challenge for 4-H Professionals. We must be teachers, organizers, managers, grant/ report writers, researchers, politicians, mediators, technologists, and humans. Plus, we all need to develop our specialization so that we will be recognized as an expert in that subject matter.
The next decade in 4-H will be fun and interesting. Are you ready for that exciting ride?
Thanks for what you do, and truly, Happy New Year!
Tom
Christine Drennen Joins Ohio 4-H Foundation as Program Manager
January 4th was the first day on the job for Christine Drennen as Program Manager for the Ohio 4-H Foundation. She replaces Erin Wingfield who recently accepted the position of Director of Development, OSU Extension - 4-H Youth Development, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Christine comes to us from Bowling Green State University where she served as Director of the Canadian Studies Center. She worked with that Center for fifteen years. Her experiences included cultivating individual and corporate donors, establishing new endowments, building existing endowments, initiating events designed to encourage giving/ recognize donors, managing fiscal and human resources, and overseeing web presence.
As Program Manager with the Ohio 4-H Foundation, Christine will be responsible for the fiscal responsibility of the Foundation. She will perform fund raising oversight and communication and coordinate the fund raising activities of the Ohio 4-H Foundation Board, Educators, and Extension clientele. She will have the responsibility of planning fund raising projects and special events. She will solicit new donors and maintain financial records. She will also coordinate the function of the Ohio 4-H Foundation Board and its standing and ad hoc committees.
As of this writing her phone number and email address have yet to be established, but her office will be in Room#412 of the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center.
Please extend a warm Ohio 4-H welcome to Christine when you have the opportunity!
Interim Camping Specialist
Beginning January 1, Niki McNeely will be temporarily re-assigned to the position of Interim 4-H Camping Specialist. This re-assignment is due to the loss of funding for a 4-H Professional in Preble County. This is an interim position only; once a County Educator position is identified, this position and related duties will be relinquished, and Niki will move to that county. Her office location during this interim assignment will be in the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center.
Major duties during this interim assignment will include: (a) Give leadership to planning and implementing an annual training for all who will be serving as camp directors for Ohio 4-H Camps; (b) Develop as needed training for any new staff hired after the camp director training; (c) Assess and maintain a record of the current legal association with all 4-H Camps and OSU Extension; Update MOUs if necessary; (d) Develop a training workshop for camp board members; (e) Coordinate all efforts with committees planning and conducting regional/ statewide camp counselor trainings; (f) Develop protocol or standards for 4-H camp counselors training. Then train county professionals and camp directors of the expectations; and (g) Explore the possibility of Camp Counselor Training transitioning from a county-based to an EERA-based program.
Season’s Greetings!
The Winter 2009-2010 edition of Equine E-News is now online at http://equineenews.osu.edu .
Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Connections
The Winter 2010 issue is now posted on the web at http://cloverbudconnections.osu.edu/
so you can follow the link and print a copy for your use and distribution to volunteers. Our issue this winter is all about Cloverbuds: Access to College. Watch for our Spring Issue when we focus on Cloverbud Basics.
In this issue you will find:
· Never too Young to Think about College by Becky Cropper
· Cloverbuds: Connect to College - A Look at College Access by Sara Arnold
· Financial Implications of Higher Education by Sara Arnold
· Book Review by Scott Scheer
· Campus Connections by Scott Scheer
· Popcorn Snowmen by Cheryl Goodrich
· Click it, Print it, Do it! -- When I Grow Up.... by Joyce Shriner
Spread the news about this resource to your volunteers or friends. You can also link your county or 4-H site to the newsletter link.
2009 Carving New Ideas “A Superhero Success”
On December 11, 2009, forty teen 4-H members from around Ohio ventured to Camp Ohio to experience the Carving New Ideas Camp with the theme “Saving the World One Clover at a Time” 4-H Superhero training.
CLICK HERE for a complete news release and photos.
Ohio 4-H Foundation Grant Award Letters
Award letters for Ohio 4-H Foundation grants were sent in county mail on Thursday, December 31. Please read your award letters carefully as there are changes in procedures this year. If you have questions about those procedures please contact Anna Bernard at Bernard.95@osu.edu.
New ChickQuest 21-Day Calendar Online
At last October’s NAE4-HA meeting, a very enthusiastic ChickQuest curriculum user suggested putting the ChickQuest 21-Day Calendar poster into a PowerPoint presentation, allowing the group leader—whether a classroom teacher, Extension educator, or volunteer—to project the images on a large screen. That was a great suggestion, and a link to a 21-Day Calendar Presentation now appears on the ChickQuest website at www.4hchickquest.org. Questions? Please contact Jane Wright at wright.646@cfaes.osu.edu or 614.292.0909. And keep those suggestions comin’!
Openings on Curriculum Committee
If you have an interest in developing youth curriculum, please consider applying for a position on the Ohio 4-H Curriculum Committee. Vacancies exist for representatives from these EERAs: Buckeye Hills, Heart of Ohio, Maumee Valley, Miami Valley, and Western Reserve. The group meets three times a year to discuss and review new titles, titles for discontinuation, and efforts underway. Meetings have been face-to-face in Columbus, but beginning this month at least a couple will be conducted via WebEx. Terms are for three years. To apply, please send a letter (email) of interest to Vicki Schwartz, Associate State Leader, at schwartz.4@cfaes.osu.edu.
BLW Scholarship Deadline
The deadline for submitting an application to receive a partial scholarship to attend Buckeye Leadership Workshop is January 8. The workshop, held March 24-28 at Recreation Unlimited, is in its 66th year. Scholarship applicants may access the necessary information at: http://buckeyeleadership.com/. A completed registration form, a completed scholarship form, two letters of recommendation and a $100 deposit is required.
Contact Larry L. Hall for more information, hall.392@osu.edu, 740-397-0401
Shelton Leadership Challenge
Champaign County 4-H and Urbana University teamed up with North Carolina State University to bring to Ohio the Shelton Leadership Challenge. We would like to invite all 4-H teens to attend this one week camp. The cost is $50 which includes meals and housing on Urbana University Campus. Sponsorships cover the remaining cost. We do have positions available for instructors and team leaders. Applications are due January 22, 2010. Applications can be found at: http://www.urbana.edu/index.php/future_students/shelton_leadership_challenge/shelton_staff/
The Shelton Leadership Challenge at Urbana University is a one week summer experience for rising freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. It will be held June 20-25, 2010. Shelton's cornerstones of values based leadership - honesty, integrity, compassion, diversity, and social responsibility - are the foundations of the experience. The core curriculum focuses on Leadership Roles and Accountability, Team Building, Leadership Styles and Situations, Social Responsibility, Integrity as a Leader, Public Speaking, Changing Behaviors, and Goal Setting. Urbana University is the only institution in the Midwest offering this program.
4-H Day at Cedar Point
Attached is a flyer concerning 4-H Day at Cedar Point which is scheduled for Friday, June 25, 2010. On this day, 4-H members, volunteers, and friends can visit Cedar Point at a reduced rate.
Please consider putting this event on your county 4-H calendar and placing this flyer in a newsletter/mailing or distributing it at 4-H events being held in your county.
If you have questions, please call the Erie County Extension Office at 419/627-7631. Thank you for your help promoting this event!
Community Service at Teen Conference
Jill Stechschulte, stechschulte.23@cfaes.osu.edu, is organizing a Community Service in conjunction with the Ohio 4-H Teen Conference, collecting for Disabled American Veterans Ditty Bags. Teens attending the February, 20, 2010 Conference are being asked to donate the following items for the contents of these bags. Collection area will be near the registration desk.
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full or travel sizes of toothpaste
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dental floss
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bar soap
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comb
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wash cloths or loofa
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tooth brush
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non-alcohol mouthwash
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body wash
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lotion
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small notebooks & tablets
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ink pens
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“stamped” envelopes
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travel size tissues
Continuum Planning for Spring Issue - Please Respond
What stories do you have to suggest for the Spring issue of the College of Food Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ magazine the Continuum? See the information below and note the deadline. Send ideas to Ken Martin, martin.1540@cfaes.osu.edu or to Tom Archer, archer.3@cfaes.osu.edu
Believe it or not, it's time to start planning for our spring issue, scheduled to be printed and at the mailroom by mid-April.
They need to hear from us by Friday, Jan. 8, on topics for stories for this issue. They then can assign stories to the writers by Monday, Jan. 11; stories need to be written by Feb. 12 to keep the production schedule on track. Keep in mind that the summer issue of Continuum will be printed by the end of May or early June.
Order your 2010 Ohio 4-H Specialty License Plate Today!
Logo plates for customers who wish to support Ohio 4-H Youth Development are now available.
Requests for special Ohio 4-H plates may be made at https://www.oplates.com/ , any local Deputy Registrar's office, through a kiosk at your local Deputy Registrar’s office or by calling the Bureau of Motor Vehicles at 1-800-589-TAGS (1-800-589-8247).
All specialty plates have an additional fee collected. $15.00 of the annual fee collected from the sale of Ohio 4-H specialty plates is given to Ohio 4-H and used to support Ohio 4-H programming.
4-H Professionals: Share this article with your 4-H friends and families. Feel free to copy and paste the plate image above for use in your local 4-H newsletters.
Teen Conference Registration
The registration materials are now posted for the 2010 Teen Conference. Saturday, February 20, 2010. Both the registration booklet and registration form are posted for your use in prompting this excellent educational opportunity for our older 4-H youth. Please keep in mind that we will be in Ballrooms 4-5 for Teen Conference this year. The ballrooms are located on the second floor at the north end of the Convention Center.
The on-line registration site is also available at: www.ohio4h.org/register.
Ohio Volunteer Conference Registration
The registration information is now posted for the 2010 Ohio 4-H Volunteer Conference, Saturday, March 13, 2010. You can find the registration booklet and registration form at: www.ohio4h.org/volunteerconference.
On-line registration is also available at: www.ohio4h.org/register.
