A Message To Share
Whether we’re ready or not, June means we’re all going to be VERY busy with lots of summer activities involving the youth in our programs. 4-H camps, meetings, project workshops, Science Workshops, Roundup and State Jr. Leader Conference are all conducted in June and so are a few of our county fairs!!!

We realize that there are many organizations with which youth and families choose to be actively engaged. While we appreciate that involvement with Indiana’s premiere (and largest) youth development program (4-H), with that comes a responsibility to serve as positive representatives of 4-H. We realize that many youth have set a personal goal of participating in 4-H competitions at the county and Indiana State Fair and realize it is a privilege to participate.

Please help us remind families that we need to remain focused on developing the next generation of young people who will ultimately serve as our future leaders! While competition at 4-H events is natural, the education that comes with 4-H project work and attainment of personal goals is far more important than an attitude of “winning at all costs” (competency rather than competition). With your assistance, we feel certain that the young people involved in 4-H Youth Development projects and activities will learn that the process of learning is far more important than the 4-H project or exhibit itself.

While we strive to present the ideals above, we also expect parents and volunteers to assist us by:

• serving as positive role models;
  
• conducting themselves in a courteous and respectful manner;
  
• exhibiting good sportsmanship;
  
• praising young people for what they have learned from their 4-H experience and accomplishments;
  
• understanding that the best exhibit possible is the individual 4-H member!

Please feel free to share this message with our 4-H families and volunteers.

Wishing you all a terrific summer!

Renée McKee, State 4-H Program Leader

State 4-H Fashion Revue Materials
NOTE: This year’s preliminary judging will be conducted on Friday, August 7 (opening day of the Indiana State Fair) in the Home & Family Arts Building on the State Fairgrounds.

On June 15 we will have all of the electronic files containing participant information and registration materials for the 2009 State 4-H Fashion Revue posted for you to download.

You will find the following:

• A cover letter to educators with instructions for a set of materials to be distributed to each of six (6) Fashion Revue entrants to which your county is entitled. Please note that each county may have no more than two entries per category for a total of six entries. Each individual may only be entered in ONE category. *****It is the responsibility of each county to enter participants in the accurate category ******we annually experience contestants wishing to change categories when they arrive for the competition.
  
• State Fair Fashion Revue Program with dates/times of preliminary judging and final presentation at the Indiana State Fair;
  
• State 4-H Fashion Revue Registration/Narration form that each participant should hand carry to the preliminary judging;
  
• State 4-H Fashion Revue Photo Information;

Please be certain to submit the State Fair Fashion Revue Entries to Richard Fox via ED by August 3. If you have no entries for 2009, please email Jane Robertson and let her know there will be no entries from your county. robertsonje@purdue.edu

ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS

International 4-H Hosting Opportunity
We are still in need of host families for the Japanese students coming to Indiana this summer (July 23 – August 15.) We have 9 females and 3 males that are still in need of a host family. An information page on these students can be found here. Applications for host families can be found here. Please share these with anyone who might be interested in hosting or might know someone who is interested in hosting. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide in connecting us with interested host families…these programs would not be successful without the help you provide us every year!

- Lee Stanish

Beekeeping
Congratulations to Solly Burton from Sullivan County. Solly came in 4th in the 2009 4-H Beekeeping Essay Contest, sponsored by the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees. After winning the Indiana Essay Contest his entry, The Dance Language of Bees, was forwarded to the National office where he competed against 27 youth from other states. He earned $100 and a book about beekeeping for his efforts.

The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees and the American Beekeeping Federation holds a beekeeping essay contest for 4-H members each year. This year the essay topic is “Is My Community Honey Bee-Friendly?” Essays are accepted at any time, throughout the summer and fall, until January 15, 2010. The top Indiana essay will be forwarded to the national competition. Each state winner will receive a book from the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees and the top three national winners receive cash prizes ($750, $500, $250). The announcement for the 2010 contest is available here.

- Natalie Carroll

Natural Resource Projects – New Record Sheets for Mentoring and Independent Study (High School 4-H Members Only)
Record sheets are now available for the Natural Resource projects mentoring and independent study options for high school youth. They are available online at the 4-H website, posted under each natural resources project. Click on Record Sheets to see:

* Independent Study: Advanced Topic – 4-H-NR-AT
* Independent Study: Mentoring – 4-H-NR-M

Please note! I have received IRB approval for you to make a copy of these record sheets so that you (and I) may use the information. If you wish to do this, you must be sure to follow the approved protocol.

Research questions:
1) Do high school aged 4-H members choose the mentoring or independent study activities for personal or career goals?

2) Do the mentoring or independent study activities advance high school aged 4-H members sense of community connection and/or service learning?

3) Do the mentoring or independent study activities advance high school aged 4-H members personal or career goals?

Required protocol (from the IRB exemption request):

• Youth will be asked to complete the mentoring or independent record sheet (attached) after they have completed their 4-H project work and created an exhibit for the county fair, based on this work.
  
• 4-H members are not required to complete the record sheets. They do so voluntarily.
  
• The county Extension Educators and screened volunteer leaders make the contact with youth to remind them to fill out the record sheet. This work does not necessitate any recruitment as it taps into the 4-H system that is already in place. Youth choose to join a 4-H club, choose the projects they wish to complete, and choose how long (between 3rd and 12th grades) they wish to be involved.
  
• Data is not collected anonymously. – The record sheets have the 4-H member’s name, grade, and county both for the youth’s record keeping and so that the 4-H volunteer leader and/or extension educator can keep track of who has completed their record sheet. These are often collected by one of these adults for review and feedback. Please note, however, that youth names will be kept strictly confidential. No names will be used in any reports, papers, or correspondence.
  
• Provisions to retain confidentiality – Youth retain their record sheets. County educators wishing to use information for impact reports will make two copies of the record sheet. One will be kept in a file in the Extension Office that is accessible to the staff and screened volunteer leaders only and the other will be sent to the PI (Carroll) and kept in a file cabinet on campus.
  
• Who may access this data? – Extension staff at the county and state (Purdue) levels and volunteer 4-H leaders.

- Natalie Carroll

Operation: Military Kids
Welcome Monique Spells, Youth Program Specialist
Monique Spells has been hired as the new Youth Program Specialist to serve as a liaison between OMK staff and volunteers and Military Family Programs staff and volunteers at the Joint Forces Headquarters in Indianapolis. Monique fills the position originally held by Cynthia Gatto, who moved to a Military OneSource position earlier in the year.

In an effort to clarify Monique’s role and to promote effective collaboration, we have highlighted her primary responsibilities:

• Identify local Family Readiness Group (FRG) and military unit points of contact
• Identify where and how OMK activities can assist military children and their families
  
• Communicate OMK opportunities to FRG Leadership
  
• Coordinate OMK services to FRG’s and military units with OMK Program Director and Coordinator
  
• Help local military leadership partner with local OMK teams

Monique will begin her duties on June 15. We’ll provide her contact information to you in next month’s CCC.

Upcoming OMK Opportunities

• County fairs and the Indiana State Fair provide a variety of fun, educational activities for all children and their families and could be especially enjoyable for military children and their families who are dealing with extra stress and uncertainty in their lives. We would appreciate any opportunities you have to invite and to include them in fair events and activities.
  
• The Indiana National Guard Family Program Annual Workshop & State Youth Symposium is scheduled for July 31-August 2, 2009 in Indianapolis. If you know of children with parents serving in the Guard, please let them know of this opportunity. They can get additional information by contacting Carly Glorioso, State Youth Coordinator, at 317-247-3300, Ext. 85457 or carly.m.glorioso@us.army.mil.
  
• Up to $500 can still be available to help support a local OMK event or activity. Contact Steve or Judy for more information and assistance if you know of a youth or adult group interested in a community service project that shows community support for our military children and their families

- Judy Hauser and Steve McKinley

“Your Golden Ticket to Leadership” - Indiana State Fair Youth Leadership Conference
Registrations are due by July 1st for the Indiana State Fair Youth Leadership Conference to be held August 4-9 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Registrations are $125 per person and may be completed electronically through ED. Payment may be submitted along with the 2009 Indiana State Fair Youth Leadership Conference Registration Form available to download here.

More information about ISFYLC is available on the conference Web site: http://www.four-h.purdue.edu/isfyl.

- Steve McKinley

Shooting Sports
Instructor website: www.four-h.purdue.edu/shooting_sports
Fall Workshop: September 11-13, 2009. Registration forms, IDNR health forms (not 4-H), and payment are due two weeks before the workshop. They are available on-line at www.inhea.com/. (Click on the 4-H Shooting Sports logo.)

Reminders:
1) Coordinator training is offered at the Fall Workshop only.
2) All classes have both participant minimum and maximum requirements.
3) New volunteers MUST attend the Friday night session to be certified (7-9 pm).

- Natalie Carroll

Indiana 4-H Youth & Adult Congress
This year’s Indiana 4-H Congress will be held in Indianapolis on Saturday, October 10, 2009. Registration will begin at 8:45 a.m. and the program will conclude at 4:00 p.m. Below are some preliminary details about 4-H Congress:

• 4-H Congress will be held at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds in Danville.
  
  
• Again this year, separate seminar tracks will be offered for youth and adults. Thanks to a grant from Monsanto and the National 4-H Council, we will be able to offer sessions specifically designed for adults separate from those offered for the youth audience.
  
  
• Adult seminars will offer lesson plans that staff and volunteers can lead with their Jr. Leaders, Officers, and other youth who have leadership responsibilities in 4-H. Please invite volunteers to attend in addition to those who will be transporting your youth delegates to Congress.
  
  
• Youth seminars will focus on a variety of leadership topics that youth can share with peers in their local 4-H clubs. Youth in grades 8-12 are invited to participate.
  
  
• The registration fee for both youth and adult participants is $25 per person, which includes a light continental breakfast, lunch, and all program materials. Checks should be made payable to the Indiana 4-H Foundation and sent to the State 4-H Office at Purdue by October 1st. Registration will be completed via ED. The registration form available here will be submitted with payment.
  
  Promotional flyers for Youth and Adult Congress will be available in a future issue of the CCC. Thank you for helping us to promote this event to your members and adult volunteers!

- Steve McKinley

PROJECT CURRICULUM AND RESOURCES

Entomology
Your entomology judge may want a key for the new exhibit cards for youth in 4th – 8th grades (ID4 01B through ID 401F). They are now available at the 4-H web site under Entomology/ Projects/Entomology/Score Cards. Click on Entomology Exhibit Cards Key. This link has access limited to the youth educators (password protected).

Entomology/geology boxes (4-H 763) are available at MDC. Mounting pins and collection vials (4-H 763A) are also available.

- Natalie Carroll

Natural Resource Project Exhibits
Please let your project superintendents and/or youth know that they can see examples of 4-H Natural Resource exhibits from the Indiana State Fair at:
http://www.four-h.purdue.edu/natural_resources/4h.html

- Natalie Carroll

VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT

Adult 4-H Volunteer Day
Included with this CCC is information for your 4-H Volunteers regarding the Indiana State Fair 4-H Adult Volunteer Day, which will be held on Saturday, August 15th.

Download an invitation letter
Download the two-page schedule for the day (the schedule is designed to be printed front-to-back).

Please print and distribute this information to your 4-H Volunteers. Adult 4-H Volunteer Day provides the opportunity to recognize the 4-H Volunteers for the work they do throughout the year with 4-H Members. As a part of the program, the Indiana 4-H Chorus will perform, several distinguished speakers will address the group, and tenured volunteers will be recognized.

- Steve McKinley

4-H Volunteer Vision
The June “4-H Volunteer Vision” is availalble here for your use with volunteers.

- Steve McKinley

2009 North Central Region Volunteer Forum
The 2009 North Central Region Volunteer Forum will be held October 1-4, in Lincoln, NE. Registration information regarding the Forum will be available in early June on the Nebraska
4-H Web site at: http://4h.unl.edu/volunteers/forum.htm.

An invitation letter is available here that you can use to invite volunteers to attend the Forum.

- Steve McKinley