4-H Clubs have started in Chester County Schools!

Welcome to a new 4-H Club year! Mr. Brian and I had a chance to meet and enroll 4-Hers at the middle, junior, and high school, so we are excited to get things going! Below is a chart of the different contests and activities you can expect this next school year.

Here is some more detailed information about October's contest - Photography. Mark your calendars now because we'll be at CCHS on October 7th, CCMS October 20th and 22nd, CCJHS on October 19th & 30th. Don't forget to bring your photos mounted on posterboard or another sturdy paper!

We want this to be a fantastic year & as 4-Hers, you know our motto is "To make the best better!" Try something new - don't be afraid to make mistakes, that's how we all learn!! (Even grumpy people over the age of 18! Ha!) Remember you can earn clover Credits for your class the more you participate in 4-H. Look at the chart to see what other ways you can earn Clover Credits.

Hello! Who likes to win prizes?! We all do!!! So - we're gonna try something new called "Feature Friday". Every Friday we will post a photo from the community - of a building or place. It's your job to guess what the place is. The first person to 1) send me an email message of the correct answer AND 2) make a comment about the featured photo on the blog gets a prize! And if you want to submit the Feature Friday Photo - you can also win a prize, just send me a message & you can attache the photo in your message!

And just for fun - I'd like to share some photos from last week's BBQ Festival. These 4-Hers were having fun at one of the vendor booths. Every year the BBQ Festival has grown & it's really not fair of y'all to keep growing as well - I'm having to look UP to you now!!

Photo CDs from camp are ready for pick-up!

Yes - that's right, over 600MB worth of a VARIETY of photos from the 2009 Junior 4-H camp at WP Ridley 4-H Center in Columbia, TN are available for purchase at the 4-H office in Henderson! Give us a call before you come to the office so we can have your CD ready. You'll need to bring $5.00 and we won't be able to mail these out because we'll need your parents to sign a form - (just saying that none of these photos will be posted around the WWW). Our office hours are M-F, 8am-5pm. If you need to make other arrangements, just give us a call. I'm usually in the office late on Wednesdays.

For a $2.00 DISCOUNT - tell us about your best experience at camp this year (in 3 sentences or more)! This only applies to 4-Hers who went camping June 1-5, 2009 at Ridley! ;)

Camp Group Shot

We had a terrific time at Junior 4-H camp! The weather was great - for the most part. It did hail on us one day. :( And our pool times got canceled a few times because of thunder & lightning - but we did not want to be in the pool during those times! The camp staff had a neat zip line set up at Ridley & we were busy at the craft house, making cool crafts and t-shirts. (Mary Beth, you rock!!!) Crazy Critter guy kept our attention with all the fun events in the Wildlife House, on the Creek Stomps, and Tubing!! We even had a few campers try archery and rifles for the first time. The Talent Show was entertaining - there were quite a few campers from Chester County that were brave enough to get up on stage! I'm so excited that I get to go again in 2 weeks! :D

The Beloved 4-H Junior Camp Schedule for June 1-5, 2009!

OK - here is the schedule for 4-H Junior Camp this year. If you print out the pages on LEGAL sized paper, put the pages together (non-printed sides together) and fold in 3s, you'll have your camp schedule as you'll get it on Monday! So - you really don't have to print it out, just look at it. Hey - while you're at it you can book mark the site & you can visit us more easily!!

We're going to give each camper 1 schedule to keep for the week - we only have a few so if mom or dad want one, just give them this blog addy! :)

We are busy getting ready for Monday ... and Mr. Brian and I are so excited. We're gonna have a terrific time!!! :D :D :D

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Make Something Cool!

Isn't this great? I though so ... A way to recycle those old cassettes mom and dad have stashed away somewhere! I even added the sites button to our blog! Go to their site: Dollar Store Crafts. It's on the lower right when you scroll all the way down - maybe you can look through the site & come up with all kinds of busy summer activities or ideas for programs/demonstrations for next school year? It'll be here before you know it!

Get Ready For Camp!

OK - the deadline to sign up for most 4-H camps is this Friday, May 15th. Please call our office if you need us to stay open later than 5pm - that's when we close up for the weekend!

For those of you who are signed-up and ready, we'll be mailing out health forms and parent letters very soon. You can always download an Activity and Event Acceptance Form. A list of what to bring (and what NOT to bring) is here. The Parent meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26th at 6:30pm at Henderson City Hall.

The Buford Ellington 4-H Center in Milan is closing down so we'll be going to the WP Ridley 4-H Center in Columbia.

Former TN 4-Her Wins National Debate

OK, so if Public Speaking is such an important life skill, then why is speaking publicly also the #1 phobia? Seriously, this is a skill that everyone will use - regardless of what they do in life. Whether your job is very public oriented or you choose to do something that limits your interaction with people - getting your idea across in a way that everyone understands is crucial!

Not to mention that being able to give a good speech and support your ideas in a debate can = scholarship $$! Later in life this can translate into getting a job over other applicants, getting a raise or promotion, successfully solving a customer service issue, or helping to lead a 4-H public speaking group for your child!

A former 4-Her from Sevier County has done well in a national debate:

"Former SHS student and freshman at the University of the Cumberlands, Seth Stoffle can lay claim to a title few people obtain but many covet – a national championship.

Stoffle and debate partner Katie Riley were recently named the Christian College National Champions after winning the Novice Duo Parliamentary Debate at the Christian College Forensics National Invitational Tournament at Biola University in California. The duo took 1st place after shutting out top-seeded Bethel University (Minn.) in the semi-finals and then going on to defeat Pt. Loma University (Calif.) for the championship."

Read the full article here!