The Leader's Banquet was held on September 3, 2009. I hope all of the leaders who attended enjoyed the evening. I would like to take this time to thank all of the leaders in Perry County for the outstanding job that they do.

The third annual Blast-Off Picnic was attend by 100 people. We registered over 50 kids, including many new members. I would like to thank all of the people who made this possible: Larry Jones of Wilson Livestock, Wenneman's Meat Market, Perry County Market Place, Farm Credit Service, If you missed the Blast-Off Picnic your new year folder and registration papers for the New Year are at the Extension Office. Call Rhonda if you have any questions.

I still have a lot of quilt raffle tickets in my office to be sold. I am asking each 4-H member to try to sell $10.00 worth. This is one of the fundraisers that we have planned to offset the $20.00 that the state is charging for membership. Perry County is not charging, but I need your help in selling these tickets. Please contact me for tickets. If you have already sold yours THANK YOU.

National 4-H Week is October 4-10. This years theme is Celebrate 4-H. I encourage you to do a poster, and I would also like to see more clubs do table and window displays. These are excellent ways to promote 4-H throughout our community.

The Outdoor Adventures Workshop will be held on October 9, 2009, at Pyramid State Park. We will meet by the Rangers Station at 10:00 am. Workshop topics include: hiking, entomology, plant identification, wildlife, photography, and campfire meals. Bring a camera to take pictures if you have one. There is a $5.00 cost for this workshop due to expense of the meal and for the speakers. The workshop will end at 2:00 pm. If you have any questions, or would like to sign up call the Extension Office.

Achievement Night will be held at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Pinckneyville on October 13. Supper will be at 6:30 p.m. This is an evening to recognize members' hard work throughout the 4-H year. Please call the Extension Office with the number of people attending in your family.

The Perry County Fall Festival will be held once again with the annual Fall Thresherman Show on October 17. We will begin at 2:00 pm. Please park behind the Fairgrounds close to the Thresherman's Building. Supper will be at 5:00pm. at the home of Larry & Clydine Hardin. The event ends at 5:30.

With the new year here, I would like to remind members that becoming a Federation Delegate in your club is a huge responsibility. It can also be very rewarding. Federation Delegates please make sure that you can attend most of the meetings. The first meeting of the year will be on October 15th, at the Extension Office beginning at 7:00 p.m.

We will once again share a booth with the Perry County HCE units. The morning begins at 8:00 a.m. and we will stay until 2:00 p.m. We will be selling raffle tickets for the quilt that 4-H members made last year. The drawing will be at 2:00 pm on that day. I hope to have a lot of help selling tickets. See you there.

The Sewing Workshop will be held on November 11, 2009. We will be making a quilt block in the first session. We will then schedule a second session where each of you will learn how to hand quilt your block. I hope to have a lot of members sign up.