September

1—NEW 4-H YEAR BEGINS!

7—Office Closed for Holiday

8—4-H Fair Superintendent Meeting

28—4-H Ambassador Kick-off

28—All Award Applications Due at Office

28—All Treasurer, Secretary & Historian Books Due at Office

October

1-4—North Central Region Volunteer Forum

4-9—4-H Week Window Displays

26—4-H Ambassador Meeting

November

23—ACHIEVEMENT NIGHT!

30—4-H Crop Show

26-27—Extension Office Closed for Holiday

Hi Everyone,

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our Livingston County 4-H Fair winners and to those of you who were chosen to attend the State Fair. What an awesome year for both fairs! Could we have asked for better weather? Be sure and look in this newsletter to see who represented Livingston County at the State Fair this year.

Achievement Night will be held on Monday, November 23, 2009, at the Pontiac Bible Church. EVERYONE should turn in their awards forms by your club set deadline. EVERY 4-H member who has reached their goals for the past year should receive their award that night. Don't be one of those Johnny-come-latelies and forget to turn in your forms. They are so easy to fill out and your 4-H leader or I will be more than happy to assist you. Please call if you have any questions.

- Nancy Flessner

A thank you sent to our fair supporters is a small way to show how much we appreciate all of the support that they offer. Whether you received a plaque, sold an animal at the auction, or had any other wonderful experience at the 4-H Fair, it is important to let people know. Without our great supporters and volunteers, the 4-H Fair would not be the learning and fun experience that we have all come to enjoy and expect. Show your appreciation by expressing how important our supporters are.

All 4-H members have received County Award applications in the mail and your 4-H leader has your Achievement Award application that they will be handing out at your next 4-H meeting. EVERYONE has the opportunity to earn their award by just participating in the various activities of their club, county or state. Please take the time to fill out your forms and be sure to ATTACH YOUR GOAL SHEET to your Achievement Award application. All award applications are due at the Extension office by September 28, 2009, and are due to your 4-H Leader by the date that your club has set so that they can all be returned to the Extension office as a group. SIGNATURES are needed on all forms for them to be accepted!

The Livingston County 4-H Ambassadors will kick off their new year with a meeting on September 28, 2009 at the Extension office starting at 6:30 p.m. Pizza will be served and everyone should bring something to drink and a snack to share. All 4-H members who are at least 14 years old are invited to join our group. Every month we will be doing some form of leadership project, having fun, and of course snacking our way through the year. At this meeting we will be electing new officers for the year, starting to plan our monthly projects and getting to know all of our new members from across the county. If you have any questions about the 4-H Ambassador program or would like more information on joining our group, please call the Extension office. You have no idea how much fun you are missing by not joining this energetic group. Postcards will be sent to all eligible 4-H members with details about our meeting. Plan to join us for the evening to see what we are all about—leadership, fun and friends!

EXHIBITOR TOWN DIVISION RATING

Miranda Bunting Gridley Visual Arts A of E

Kaity Carroll Pontiac Leadership A of E

Stevie Carroll Pontiac Small Engines A of E

Kory Carter Gridley Photography S

Becky Clark Ancona Foods & Nutr. S

Michael Clark Long Point Horticulture S

Hannah Dunlap Pontiac Clothing & Text. A of E

Vince Dunlap Pontiac Visual Arts A of E

Zachary Ehlers Cullom Visual Arts A of E

Jennifer Ehresman Gridley Citizenship A of E

Rebekah Ehresman Gridley Foods & Nutr. A of E

Amy Follmer Graymont Intergengen. S

Ryan Francis Pontiac Bicycle Rodeo A of E

Wade Francis Pontiac Bicycle Rodeo A of E

Lauren Galick Streator Photography S

Ashley Harfst Saunemin Clothing & Text. A of E

Elizabeth Harfst Saunemin Animal Science A of E

Matthew Hilleary Odell Electricity A of E

Susan Hish Fairbury Geology A of E

Sarah Jablonski Blackstone Pub. Pres. A of E

Alli Leacock Odell Pub. Pres. A of E

Jessi Leacock Odell Pub. Pres. A of E

Park Leacock Odell Photography A of E

Emily Ledford Pontiac Floriculture S

Heidi Maier Forrest Nat. Resources A of E

Miranda Malinowski Manville Citizenship A of E

Ashten Melton Cullom Food Demo. A of E

David Reamer Dwight Foods & Nutr. A of E

Evan Rich Forrest Pub. Pres. A of E

Jack Rich Saunemin Foods & Nutr. A of E

Grant Ricketts Fairbury Nat. Resources A of E

Jenna Rients Flanagan Visual Arts A of E

Mackenzie Roahrig Saunemin Cloth. & Text. S

Olivia Ruff Streator Visual Arts S

Bradley Sancken Saunemin Visual Arts S

Madison Sauer Streator Fashion Revue A of E

McKayla Schneider Flanagan Interior Design S

Claralee Schwarz Pontiac Animal Science A of E

DeAnn Slagel Fairbury Foods & Nutr. S

Sierra Steidinger Fairbury Foods & Nutr. A of E

Kelsey Vaughan Forrest Foods & Nutr. A of E

Riley Zapp Forrest Foods & Nutr. A of E

S = Superior Award

A of E = Award of Excellence

Addie Girard from the Graymont Achievers and her cross-bred steer Apollo took Grand Champion over all breeds at the 2009 Illinois State Fair. GREAT JOB ADDIE!

The 2009 North Central Regional Volunteer Forum will be held from October 1-4, 2009 in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Holiday Inn. This forum will help volunteers to realize, energize and visualize their unlimited potential. The forum is open to anyone who would like to find out more about becoming a volunteer or any volunteer that would like to polish their volunteer skills. A registration book and registration information can be found at http://4h.unl.edu/volunteers/forum.htm.

4-H window displays will be judged the week of October 4th. The theme for this year is "4-H Is More Than Cows, Cooking & The Fair." Call the Extension office to let us know where your window will be displayed so our judges can have plenty of time to view all of them. Winners and prizes will be announced at Achievement Night on November 23, 2009. We had some awesome displays last year so lets see if we can top them!

Livingston County Fair Input

The 2009 Livingston County 4-H Fair was a huge success for all of our 4-H members and we have received many comments letting us know how everyone felt about the fair. If you have any comments (good or maybe not-so-good) that you would like to share with us, please call our office or see one of the fair board members with your concerns. In order to have things run smoothly it is important to let us know about your fair experience. We cannot be everywhere during the fair so there may be times or areas that things happen that we are not aware of. This fair is for you—the 4-H member and families so let us know how you felt about the fair.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Award honors a special volunteer who has made a difference volunteering in his/her community. By applying, you may win $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. next May. Visit www.prudential.com/spirit or www.principals.org/prudential for an online application. The access key work is "spirit." We have many young people who have made a tremendous difference in their communities so let's log on to the site and apply! Paper copies may be obtained from your

4-H leader or by stopping by the Extension Office. Applications are due by October 31, 2009.

Leadership 1 – Skills You Never Outgrow

Develop leadership skills in seven area: understanding self, communicating, getting along with others, learning, making decisions, managing, and working with groups

Bicycle 1 – Bicycling for Fun

For grades 3-5. Learn to identify bike parts, check tires, brakes and chains, understand traffic signs and select safety equipment.

Bicycle 2 – Wheels in Motion

For grades 6-8. Learn how to fix a flat tire, do maintenance on a bike chain, learn to shift gears efficiently and perform safety maneuvers.

4-H Cooking 301

Learn how to plan and prepare food for a party, make yeast breads and rolls, bake cakes and prepare foods on a grill.

Vegetable Gardening A – See Them Sprout

Suggested for beginners. Learn to plan and plant a garden, grow plants from roots, make a rain gauge and learn when to harvest vegetables.

Vegetable Gardening B – Let's Get Growing

Suggested for intermediate Levels. Learn to start seeds indoors, how plants respond to light, how to grow new plants from plant parts and to make a worm box.

Vegetable Gardening C – Take Your Pick

Suggested for advanced intermediate levels. Learn to test and improve soil, how to extend growing seasons, how to cross pollinate flowers and how to dry herbs and pickle vegetables.

Vegetable Gardening D – Growing Profits

Suggested for advanced levels. Explore double cropping methods, learn about plant genetics, about practice and learn about IPM and how to start a plant business.

Veterinary Science 1 – From Airedales to Zebras

Suggested for grades 3-5. Learn about different animal species, the roles animals have in society, about body systems and organs and to understand animal behaviors.

Veterinary Science 2 – Ally Systems Go

Suggested for grades 6-8. Learn how to complete animal health records, about animal diseases and how they spread and about veterinary medicine careers.

Veterinary Science 3 – On the Cutting Edge

Suggested for grades 9-12. Learn about animal reproduction, preventative medicine, how genetics influences breeding and what veterinarians do.