Dear 4-H Families:

THANK YOU to everyone who helped in any way to make the summer 4-H shows and events successful. Without the support that you gave, the events would not have been possible. Much hard work by the 4-H members was evident from all of the fine 4-H projects. Congratulations on a job well done.

Constructive comments regarding the summer 4-H shows and events are always welcome. Please put your comments on paper and send them to the Extension Office.

September 1^st began a new 4-H year -- we're glad you're part of it!

This newsletter is our way of communicating with every 4-H family in Fulton County — show it to your parents!!! Please read it, and make note of dates that apply to your family. As always, call us at 547-3711 if we can help you in any way to get more out of 4-H.

September 1st began a new 4-H year in Fulton County. Clubs will soon be having their organizational meetings and electing officers. Club enrollment materials will be given to Key Leaders at the 4-H Leaders' Meeting on Monday, October 6th, at 6:30 p.m. To be a 4-H member in the 2008-2009 year, youth must be 8-18 years old (or in 3^rd grade) as of September 1, 2008.

All 4-H families and friends are cordially invited to attend the annual 4-H Achievement Program on Sunday, November 9th, at 2:30 p.m. at the Lewistown Community High School Auditorium. Awards will be presented to many 4-H members. Key leaders will receive more information closer to the date.

All 4-H members age 12 and over are invited to be a part of 4-H Federation. You'll meet new friends and get involved in countywide leadership activities.

This past year we continued our program to offer community service grant money to 4-H clubs, conducted Federation business meetings, and cleaned and set up for the foodstand and 4-H General Show. We sponsored the YMCA Night and the Bowling Party, and assembled the 4-H Show Books. We also did fun things like going to the State Fair together to see a Weird Al Yankovic concert, going out for ice cream, making pizzas, helping at 4-H Super Saturday and the Achievement Program, watching movies, playing games, and snacking!

The next 4-H Federation meeting will be on Monday, October 27th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Extension Office in Lewistown. Officers will be elected that night. If you are interested in holding an office, and cannot be there that night, call Janis at 547-3711 and let her know. When the business meeting is over, there will be refreshments. Come join us if you're 12 or over — there's always food and fun!

A bus load of Fulton County 4-H Federation members, chaperones, and friends attended the Illinois State Fair on August 9th. They traveled by charter bus, and spent the afternoon seeing projects and exhibits, shows, and more. In the evening they attended the Weird Al Yankovic Concert there. This event was their yearly outing that they earn through their participation in events during the year.

Thank you to the Pleasant Spacemakers 4-H Club leaders and members for coordinating, delivering, and taking down the Fulton County Project Display at State Fair this year. Well done! There are still a few projects at the Extension Office to be picked up — please come and get them if they're yours.

Congratulations to all the Fulton County 4-H members who participated at the Illinois State Fair Junior Show, in both livestock and non-livestock areas. As usual, our county was very well-represented. Next year's State Fair will be August 14-23, 2009. Flyers were passed out at the State Fair with the wrong date, so be sure you have these correct dates on your calendar.

The State Junior Horse Show next year will be July 28 through August 2.

The Illinois 4-H Foundation established the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame to honor extraordinary 4-H alumni, volunteers, and former 4-H staff.

Sharon Spangler has been named a 4-H Hall of Fame Inductee for 2008. She is a key leader of the Checkrow Volunteers 4-H Club in Fulton County, and has been a 4-H leader for 35 years. Previous inductees from Fulton County are Virginia Barnard and Frances Fisher.

Forty-four people were inducted into the 4-H Hall of Fame this year. Only one person per county may be nominated each year. Each inductee receives a commemorative Hall of Fame medallion, and will be added to the virtual 4-H Hall of Fame listing at www.4-Hfoundation.uiuc.edu.

The Fulton County 4-H Program is once again planning to recognize adults who help to make 4-H strong in Fulton County. At the Volunteer Recognition Banquet to be held in January 2009, one 4-H Volunteer and one 4-H Leader will be recognized for their contributions to 4-H. Nomination forms are available at the Extension Office. Just call 547-3711, and request that the forms be mailed to you. Nominations are due November 10.

· Host a "Board Game Night" for area children

· Assist elderly people in the community with yard work, raking leaves, snow removal in the winter, etc.

· Pick up litter in your community.

· Gather newspapers and other needed supplies for the Humane Society.

· Plant trees — see www.arborday.org

· Visit nursing homes — just spend time talking to some of the residents.

4-H premium checks will be sent to members' homes in the next few weeks. On the portion of the check where ratings are listed, B = Blue, R = Red, W = White. These checks are only valid for 60 days from the date of issue. If a check is not cashed in 60 days, it WILL NOT be reissued.

This year there were a few 4-H members who exhibited projects in which they were not enrolled. No premium can be paid for projects exhibited unless you are enrolled in them. It's so important that you double-check your enrollments with your 4-H Key Leader before the May 1st enrollment deadline each year, so corrections can be made if needed.

The USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers youth loans as a way to help young people fund agriculture-related projects and gain experience. The youth must be participating in 4-H, FFA, or a similar organization. For more information, call the FSA office at 547-2233, or see this website —

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=dfl-yl

Thanks to all of you who worked at the 4-H Foodstand during the Fair. Our profit was very good, and will pay for lots of things, including the 4-H manuals and many other 4-H Program expenses and "extras" through the year.

Thanks, too, to the people who helped at the 4-H Foodstand during the Sheep Sale in August. You are very much appreciated!

4-H Federation will operate the foodstand at the Fulton County Fairgrounds during the Spoon River Drive, October 4, 5, 11, and 12. If you're in Lewistown, come have a sandwich!

Many 4-H members will be showing their animal projects at the Canton Friendship Festival, September 17-20th. Be sure to show your appreciation to the sponsors and volunteers who make this show possible. If you sell an animal at the auction, please be sure to write a thank you note to your buyer, so they know how much you appreciate their participation in the auction. Good luck!

If your club is unable to do its radio program as requested, please call the Extension Office at 547-3711. Our 4-H radio program airs on Sundays at 6:03 a.m. on WBYS 1560 AM.

4-H Leaders' Meeting -- October 6th — "Through the Year With 4-H"

There will be a 4-H Leaders' Meeting on Monday, October 6th, at 6:30 p.m., at the Extension Office in Lewistown. Each club is asked to have at least one adult leader present.

Topics will include club fiscal policies, premium rules, a review of enrollment materials, project changes for this year, upcoming events, and other youth-related topics. Janis will show a "year in 4-H" through pictures, narration, and some special holiday festivities. Key leaders may pick up their materials that evening to begin the 2008-2009 4-H year. There will be refreshments after the program, and door prizes will be given! If a club does not have at least one leader present, an individual meeting will need to be scheduled with Janis.

4-H Treasurer Books and 4-H Secretary Books Due at Extension Office

Please bring in your 4-H Club Treasurer Book from the 2007-2008 4-H Year by September 30, 2008 (or you can bring them to the October 6th Leaders' Meeting). We are required by the state to collect these every year. They will be returned to you this fall. For the second year, we are also collecting the 4-H Club Secretary Book, so please bring that in, too. Thank you to the clubs that have already brought theirs to the office.

4-H Insurance

Application forms for taking out 4-H Club insurance are available in the office. One policy you can purchase is to cover accidents during club meetings. A second policy is for short-term programs that your club may be sponsoring. The University of Illinois has liability insurance coverage for county-wide 4-H programs, but this policy does not cover individual club programs or meetings.

Volunteer Screening

A state requirement of the 4-H Program is that we must screen all new volunteers, and have certain information on file for all volunteers. Any new leaders must complete an Extension Volunteer Application form, an Authorization For Background Check, and a Conviction Information Name Check Request form. Do not submit an enrollment form for a new adult leader unless you have these forms completed by them. Volunteer Screening forms are good for five years, and then must be updated. Adults will not be viewed as 4-H leaders until their screening forms have been processed and are back from the state.

If you have an adult in your club who has been serving in a leader capacity, and has not been screened, this is in violation of state policy. Please be sure your adult volunteers are all screened so they can be legally viewed as 4-H leaders.

A listing of 4-H projects available can be found in the new Illinois Clover, pages 15-34. Your leader will have these very soon. Please discard old versions of the Illinois Clover that you may still have. You can also view the Illinois Clover online at http://www.4-h.uiuc.edu/projects/clover.pdf

New 4-H projects --

4-H Cooking 201 — Members can learn how to prevent foodborne illness, conduct food science experiments, prepare a variety of recipes from each food group, and experiment with basic meal planning.

Welding — Shielded Metal Arc Welding — Members can learn to identify welding equipment, learn about electrodes, and learn basic arc welding skills.

New publications -- Computer Science, Dairy Goats

Tired of meetings where everyone offers suggestions and ideas, but no one makes a decision? 4-H meetings can be much more effective if club officers and leaders do some advance planning, and follow basic rules and guidelines.

Parliamentary procedure exists to facilitate the transaction of business and to promote cooperation and harmony. Leaders can work with club officers to help them gain a good understanding of basic procedures that they can guide younger members through. For example, a small poster could be hung in the front of the room that helps members remember the words to use when making a motion. The preferred wording is, "I move that…" rather than "I make a motion that…". A helpful hint that leaders and officers can share with members is that you are attempting to actively move business along, as opposed to motioning the business to pass you by.

Basic rules that all 4-H clubs should try to use to make meetings run smoothly:

-- In presenting motions, members should rise and address the officer in charge as either Mister or Madam President. This helps all members see who is talking and hear what they are saying.

-- All motions need a second.

-- The secretary should stand while reading the minutes of the previous meeting to help members focus on who is talking. The secretary does not need to stand while conducting roll call, since it is difficult to take the attendance while standing.

-- After the minutes from previous meetings have been read, the president or chair should ask for corrections. Minutes do not need a motion and second to be approved. Instead, the president or chair may say, "If there are no corrections, they stand approved as read."

-- When committees make recommendations for the entire club, the group should formally approve the recommendations through a motion.

-- If there is a motion before the group, no other motion can be made except: a) to adjourn; b) to table; c) to move the previous question; that is, to end the discussion and bring up the motion for vote.

-- A quorum must be present for the group to act.

Fulton County 4-H Week -- October 20-24, 2008

"Keeping It Green"

(or use a theme of your choice)

Your club is invited to help publicize its activities and Fulton County 4-H during 4-H Week, October 20-24, 2008. "Keeping It Green" shows how 4-H is bridging old ideas with new, to teach youth environmental stewardship and connect youth to science-related issues.

We want the public to get involved in the 4-H Program, if they are not already! The list of ideas for 4-H promotion could be endless. Here are a few:

- Put up a Window Display or Bulletin Board (See contest rules below).

- Design a poster to be put up in store windows, in support of 4-H.

- Invite a new person to join your club.

- Wear an article of clothing that has 4-H on it. — Wear 4-H T-shirts, green shirts, pins, etc.!!!

- Thank your leaders -- send a thank you note; bake him/her some cookies.

- Talk to your local newspaper or radio station about a 4-H story, or take out an ad in the paper.

- Give a talk, demonstration, or skit to civic organizations about what 4-H has to offer.

- Plan a member recruitment drive for your club; distribute a flier about 4-H.

......................................................................................................................................

WINDOW DISPLAY/BULLETIN BOARD CONTEST RULES

1. Displays must be in place by noon on Monday, October 20, and remain in the window until 5 p.m. on Friday, October 24.

2. Displays will be given ratings based on the same criteria as used in the past. Copies of the score sheet are available at the Extension Office.

3. Entries are due to the Extension Office by October 15.

KEY LEADERS: Return the form below by October 15 to the Extension Office, to inform us of your 4-H Week plans (or call or email). Recognition will be given at the Achievement Program to all clubs that participate in some activity during this week (and notify us). Federation gives a cash award to clubs that do window displays or bulletin boards. The winning club in the Window Display Contest receives a traveling trophy and the honor of arranging the County Project Display at the State Fair. The State Fair provides a premium to the club that does the display there.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The ____________________________ 4-H Club will have a (check all that apply):

_____ Window Display, located at this town business___________________

_____ Bulletin Board, located at this town business____________________

_____ Will participate in Fulton County 4-H Week by (list other activities):

______________________________________________________________________

Leader signature______________________________

September

1 New 4-H Year begins — Welcome, New Members!!!

7 Farmington Lucky Clovers 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

17-20 Canton Friendship Festival

28 Astoria Pirates 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

October

4-5, 11-12 4-H Foodstand at Spoon River Drive, Lewistown

6 4-H Leaders' Meeting, 6:30 p.m., at the Extension Office

15 Entries due for Window Display Contest

19 Jolly Workers 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

20-24 Fulton County 4-H Week

27 4-H Federation meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the Extension Office

31 Happy Halloween!

November

9 Hickory Hollow 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

9 4-H Achievement Program, 2:30 p.m., Lewistown Community High School

10 Deadline for nominations for 4-H Leader and Volunteer of the Year

27-28 Extension Office closed for Thanksgiving holiday

30 Checkrow Volunteers 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

The Fulton County Extension Office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is closed during the lunch hour, 12 noon to 1 p.m. The answering machine is left on when we are out of the office, or when we are away from the phone. Our office is located in the lower level of the Farm Bureau Building, on the north edge of Lewistown.

If you are a person who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in any of the listed programs or events, contact Janis Blout at University of Illinois Extension, Fulton County Office, phone 309-547-3711.