A Petting Zoo will be held in conjunction with the Fairfield Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, October 11, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. It will be set up on the east side of the Courthouse lawn. Any 4-H'er willing to participate by bringing one or more animals should call the Extension Office at 842-3702. Fairfield's FFA is in charge this year, but your help would be appreciated.

The Wayne County 4-H Federation will host a wiener roast for 4-H families and guests on Saturday, October 25, 6:00 p.m., at the Extension Office. A brief business meeting will also be held. This will serve as the October & November Federation meetings. The next scheduled meeting will be December 1^st. Officer elections will be held at that time.

Everyone likes recognition. If you're a 4-Her, consider Wayne County 4-H Achievement night your opportunity to be recognized for all your hard work throughout the 4-H year.

Scholarships for 4-H camp, trips, conventions and conferences will be awarded. Cloverbuds, first year, ten year and retiring 4-H members will be recognized, as well as those turning in end-of-the-year records and State Fair participants. Other awards such as Project medals and trophies, Victory Awards, and naming the Friend of 4-H and 4-H Alumni for 2008 will also be on the evening's program.

Achievement Night is scheduled for Tuesday, October 7^th at the Geff Ruritan Building. The evening will start with a light meal at 6 p.m., followed by the awards program. This should prove to be an enjoyable time for the entire 4-H family. We hope to see you there!

That's right – all over the nation, 4-H clubs will be celebrating National 4-H Week, October 5-11. Wayne County is doing its part.

Public service announcements will be aired on WFIW during 4-H Week, recorded by some of our own 4-H'ers, and Wayne County Press is running a special page promoting 4-H as well. Any club planning to put up a window or poster display is asked to call the Extension Office at 842-3702 and let Matt know where it's located. Displays or posters should be in place by the end of the day on Monday, October 6.

Joe Meagher, Ethan Keyser and Chris Lowe participated in the Illinois Junior Swine Show at the State Fair. Special thanks to Greg & Kim Keyser for chaperoning the group.

Wayne County 4-H'ers garnered the highest honors on eleven of the 31 projects exhibited at the Illinois State Fair.

Superior ribbons are awarded at the judge's discretion in each project division. Earning superior ribbons from Wayne County were Cheyenne Bruce in Communications, Justin Gill in Visual Arts/Paper, Emily Hatfield in Horticulture/Veg. Plate, Jake Howell in Outdoor Meals, Shelby Johnson in Clothing Decisions, Whitney Johnson in Photography, Laurel Pennington in Floriculture, Emily Scarbrough in Leadership, Hayley Spicer in 4-H Cooking 101 and Fashion Revue, and Lian States in Intercultural.

Awards of excellence for outstanding work were earned by Johna Bailey, Sara Buchanan, Matthew Byars, Megan Byars, Hannah Etheridge, David Harl, Emilee Hatcher, Billy Hatfield, Kayla Howell, Collin Koker, Nicolas Konopasek, MiKayla Massie, Andrea Nelson, Hillary Scarbrough, Jentzi Schumm, Ethan Spicer, MiKayla Stroughmatt, Chelsie Walker, and Katie Weaver.

Approximately 250 people enjoyed a wonderful meal at the 4-H Foundation Pork Chop Fundraiser. A huge thanks to all 4-H Foundation members, 4-H leaders, 4-H members and parents for working to make this event a success! A special thank you to the Geff Ruritan Club for all of their time and effort. The Ruritans prepare and donate the baked beans, cole slaw, homemade rolls and drinks. 100% of the profit from this event is used for 4-H college scholarships, camp scholarships, fairground improvements, trophies and other forms of support for the Wayne County 4-H program.

Congratulations to the following 4-H members for working hard to be the top three ticket sellers:

1^st place - Sara Buchanan

2^nd place - Andrea Nelson

3^rd place - Madeline Stence

Southern Illinois Leadership Convention - Emily Hatfield and Billy Hatfield will represent Wayne County at this event to be held at Touch of Nature near Carbondale October 11-13.

Discover Chicago - A large group (33 in all) from Wayne County will spend an unforgettable weekend, October 11-13, in the "windy city" as they tour sites of interest with other youth and adult participants from the Southern 4-H Region. 4-H'ers attending are Collin Koker, Vanessa Schumm, Eric Schumm, Michaela Smith and Ethan Spicer. Janet Schumm is serving as an adult chaperone. Have fun!

Citizenship-Washington Focus - Three Wayne County 4-H'ers, Hannah Etheridge, Keshia Rogers and Emily Scarbrough, enjoyed traveling to Washington D.C. as part of this year's Citizenship-Washington Focus. They took part in workshops and committee meetings, did tons of site seeing and visited Capitol Hill.

When your club reorganizes for the new 4-H year or if you are a new member, here are a few reminders and suggestions about enrolling or re-enrolling. At your first meeting of the new year, you will receive the Illinois Clover. It has more than 100 project units to choose from. Ask your family and 4-H leader for help, and consider the following:

How old are you? We know that younger members would like to sign up for many projects, but then find out there is just too much to do and learn, and that you can't handle them all. Most of the project listings have a "suggested" age range. Don't enroll in a project that is too advanced for you.

How many years in 4-H? If you are a first or second year 4-H member, limit yourself to 3 or 4 projects. This will give you time to enjoy each project and complete it by exhibit time. If you take too many projects, you will not enjoy them and those that help you won't enjoy them either.

What projects/units have you taken? It is fun to try new projects, but you should find out from older members what you might face if you take a different project. Limit yourself to one or two new projects each year.

What about awards? If you are interested in awards, you may want to take one or two project divisions for several years, moving through the different units that might be more advanced.

October 5-11

National 4-H Week

October 7

4-H Achievement Night

October 11

Pumpkin Festival

October 11-13

Discover Chicago Trip

October 11-13

Southern IL Leadership Convention

October 25

4-H Wiener Roast/Federation Meeting

November 27 & 28

Extension Office Closed for

Thanksgiving Holiday

December 1

4-H Federation Meeting