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Follow Up to January 4-H Program Day
--Pat BoyEs
On Tuesday January 16, 2008, 55 4-H educators from across Washington virtually gathered via WECN to participate in the winter edition of 4-H Program Days. One of the exciting highlights of the day was the presentation by Extension Specialist Dr. Jose' Luis Garcia-Pabon who is helping us to better understand how we can work more effectively with Hispanic youth and their families. During the discussion we began to explore more in depth where our 4-H Hispanic enrollment is coming from and what programs they are choosing to participate in. In the 2006 4-H year, 12% of the total 4-H membership (nearly 7,000 youth) was Hispanic with the majority of those participating through EFNEP or Food Sense programs.
Jose has formed a task force to work with him to strengthen our outreach into the Hispanic community. I urge you to work with Nancy Mordhorst to use the data you are already collecting through the 4-H enrollment system to better identify the specific 4-H programs and opportunities that Hispanic youth in your communities and county are selecting.
County Teen Representative Training Rescheduled
--Jan Klein
County Teen Representative (CTR) Training will take place on the Eastside: Saturday, March 8, 2008, at Spokane County Extension Office, 10a.m. to 3p.m., cost: $10. Training will take place on the Westside: Saturday, February 2, 2008, at WSU Puyallup, 10a.m. to 3p.m., cost: $10.
Training will include:
- facilitation skills
- goal setting
- meeting management
- sharing 4-H information
- teambuilding.
Specific training in County Teen Representative program goals and accountability will be included so it is strongly recommended that CTRs and their adult mentors attend. Specific breakout groups will be for first and second year CTRs.
Counties with youth interested in getting more information and developing their own CTR program, or youth already in leadership positions are encouraged to attend. This training is good leadership development for any middle school youth.
If your county plans to participate, please fill out the information below, copy and paste it into an email and send to jlklein@wsu.edu as soon as possible. Fees will be collected at the trainings. Contact Jan Klein at jlklein@wsu.edu or 509-358-7937 for more information or with questions.
County Teen Representative (CTR) Leadership Training Registration:
Which training will your county be participating in?
Westside: February 2, 2008
Or
Eastside: March 8, 2008
County:
Please fill this in for each youth and adult attending.
Name of adult or teen attending:
County Teen Representatives Yes/No Years of term:
Name:
Address:
Email address:
Stevens County 4-H Sensational Saturday Program
--Jeanette Cornwall
Mark your calendars now for the Stevens County 4-H Sensational Saturday Program February 9, 2008 from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm at Community Colleges of Spokane , Colville Campus Over 40 workshop offerings and complimentary lunch will be provided. More information is coming!
Clover Country - Top Country Hits From Famous 4-H'ers
--Pat BoyEs
Now is the time of year when many of you may be working with your 4-H Leader's Councils in reviewing your plan of work for the year and perhaps setting or revising local fund raising goals. I want to give you an early alert of a new national 4-H fund raising opportunity which I anticipate being announced by mid-March.
It is called CLOVER COUNTRY - TOP HITS FROM FAMOUS 4-H'ERS. This is a compilation CD, which features superstars of the country music industry and all have a 4-H connection. The CD should generate significant revenue for 4-H at all levels and will absolutely enhance 4-H visibility. The CD will be available in mid-March across the nation in retail outlets, at http://www.4-hmall.org/ and through your local office should you choose to sell "CLOVER COUNTRY" as a fund raiser. The minimum order size is 1020 if you want to purchase at the wholesale price of $5.99. You can then sell the CD for $9.99. The CD will sell for $9.99 at the http://www.4-hmall.org/.
As more information becomes available, I'll be sure to alert you. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call upon me.
T.R.E.E. 4-H club of Mason County Receives a $700 Award
--Marilyn Brennan, Forestry Program Assistant, Mason County
T.R.E.E. 4-H club of Mason County (Teens Rebuilding Environmental Excellence) has been awarded a $700 GreenWorks! Community Action & Service Learning Grant in support of "Forestry Fun Days". Forestry Fun Days is a yearly two day natural resource education event in February for Mason County 4-H After School members, planned and implemented by T.R.E.E. 4-H club. Project GreenWorks! is a grant program sponsored by Project Learning Tree www.plt.org.
FY2008 Drug Free Communities Request for Applications Now Available
--Submitted by Pat BoyEs
The following funding announcement may make sense for you to discuss with your community coalition partners.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) along with its Federal partner, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today released the Fiscal Year 2008 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Drug Free Communities (DFC) support program. This year's RFA will allow applicants to apply for up to $125,000 in Federal matching funds to strengthen communities and reduce youth drug use through coalition-driven environmental strategies.
For FY08, DFC expects to award approximately 150 new competitive grants totaling nearly $19 million dollars. Interested communities can find the application online at http://www.ondcp.gov/dfc/files/fy08_rfa.pdf. Additional resources including eligibility criteria are located on the DFC website at www.ondcp.gov/dfc. While not a requirement for application, communities are encouraged to attend one of the regional application workshops hosted by ONDCP, SAMHSA and the National Coalition Institute (details and registration are on the DFC website).
Due date for the FY08 cycle is Friday, March 21, 2008.
USDA-ERS State Fact Sheets Released
--Submitted by Pat BoyEs
When you are in the midst of the final crunch to get a grant submitted by the deadline you may find yourself searching for a state specific fact or notation. While much of the data in the following website is agriculture related it may prove useful to you in some grant situations. I think it is worth retaining the site as a favorite on your internet sites for a quick and handy reference.
The ERS State Fact Sheets contain frequently requested data for each state and for the total United States . These include current data on population, per-capita income, earnings per job, poverty rates, employment, unemployment, farm and farm-related jobs, farm characteristics, farm financial characteristics, top agricultural commodities, top export commodities, and the top counties in agricultural sales. Note - The latest (2005) data on poverty are now available. Fact sheets are available on the ERS website at http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/.
Call for Programs of Distinction Peer Reviewers for 2008-09
--Submitted by Pat BoyEs
National 4-H Headquarters, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA is extending the deadline for applications from those individuals interested in peer reviewing Programs of Distinction manuscripts from around the country to January 31, 2008 . This is a volunteer position, and reviewers donate their time for the review of manuscripts and peer reviewer training (conducted on the Web). The Programs of Distinction review team is comprised of 4-H youth development educators and specialists, family and consumer science and human development educators and specialists, and other Extension professionals familiar with the field of youth development. Please encourage your colleagues and staff to consider this opportunity.
Benefits to Reviewers include:
- An opportunity to help select outstanding Cooperative Extension youth development programs for inclusion in the National 4-H Headquarters' Programs of Distinction database.
- An opportunity to network with other youth development and FCS professionals from around the country.
- A professional development experience to enhance your evaluation and program development skills.
- A valuable addition to your resume, vitae, or promotion and tenure file.
- Peer reviewers should be able to:
- Review and return the manuscripts submitted for Programs of Distinction in a timely manner—within 2 weeks.
- Make recommendations based on how well the submission meets established criteria.
- Provide specific comments that will be returned to the author.
- Serve as a peer reviewer for a minimum of 1 year (maximum of 2 years)
- Participate in a 2-hour web-based training
Application Requirements:
- Applicants must have at least one peer review experience; prior national level experience preferred, e.g., NAE4-HA workshop review.
- Return the completed application as an attachment via e-mail to POD@csrees.usda.gov , with “POD Reviewer Application” as the subject line.
- Ask two people who know your professional work to submit a recommendation letter that speaks to your prior peer review experiences and any expertise you may have in the field of youth development. These contacts need to submit their letters via email to POD@csrees.usda.gov with “POD Reviewer Application—Your Name” as the subject line.
- The application and letters of reference are due by January 31, 2008.
If you have questions about the Programs of Distinction process, please send an e-mail to Maria Arnold, Youth Development Program Specialist, at POD@csrees.usda.gov. Thanks for your interest in Programs of Distinction!
Just a Reminder!
When you have new Extension staff that will be working in some capacity with 4-H, please let Nancy in the State 4-H Office know. They will be added to mailing lists, added to the 4-H Talk list serve, sent a 4-H Welcome Packet, and be assigned a state 4-H staff person as a point of contact, as appropriate. 4-H News is sent via the 4-H Talk list serve each week. Archived copies of previous weeks “Tuesday 4-H News” are available on the 4-H web site: http://4h.wsu.edu/. Please send submissions by Friday of each week to Tiffany Boswell, State 4-H Office, tiffany_boswell@wsu.edu. Detailed event information and registrations forms can be found on the 4-H web site.