This is cool for the photo buffs!

Are you looking to take your 4-H Photography group to the next level?

BBC Wildlife is opening its Photo Masterclass archive. The series covers everything about shooting pictures outdoors. This includes time-of-day considerations, wildlife portrait settings, and shooting underwater.


This archive of information is an awesome resource for the 4-H photography leader or the 4-Her interested in a little self study about photography.


Take Care,
Kevin

State Recordbook Judging

I know it feels early to be talking about State 4-H Recordbook Judging (we haven't sent out the District information yet) but we do need to put some thought into the judging process, and more specifically who will be judging at State.

The south region will be judging on August 11, 2010 at the Victoria County 4-H Activity Center.  As in years past there will be 4 judging locations.  In the south we will be judging the following categories:
Aquatic Science
Entomology
Photography
Plants and Animals Open Category
Poultry
Range Management
Shooting Sports
Swine
Veterinary Science

Each of you is invited to judge State 4-H Recordbooks, and any qualified leaders from your county are also invited.  To express your intention to judge, all you need to do is fill out this simple form.

I'll put your name on the list and send it to the State 4-H Office and we will awaite confirmation.

Ultimatly we need 8 to 10 judges from our district.

If you have questions drop me a line.

Take Care,
Kevin

District 9 4-H Leader College - Sneak Peek

The District 9 4-H Leader College Committee has met and here is a sneak peek into the plans for the August 14, 2010 event.

The plan is to host the event in the Huntsville area.  Kristi Titzman is providing leadership for finding a location.

We are adding a 4-H Officer Training to the agenda.
The District 9 4-H Council Officers will host workshops in the afternoon to prepare 4-H club officers for their upcoming role.  Some counties may see this as a substitute for county level officer training, but more likely you will see this as an opportunity to send your county council officers and have them glean information for a club officer training at home.  Either way, this is going to be a youth teaching youth activity.  The District 9 Council Officers will be leading these sessions.

Topics we plan to offer include:
Fashion Story Board
Leaders 4 Life
Consumer Decision Making
Healthy Lifestyles Sweepstakes
FCS (food and fashion) Community Service
Share the Fun
Dog Project
Rabbits
Poultry
Meat Science
Entomology
4-H Connect for you (focused on Club Managers)
Nuts and Bolts of Recordbooks
4-H Opportunity Scholarship
Wildlife Skill-a-thon

If you have a passion for one of these topics and would like to volunteer your services, let us know.  The committee asks that you also start talking about the event early.  The goal is 200 or more leaders in 2010 at the event.

Any other ideas to make this event even more successful are welcome.  Feel free to post them here.
Kevin

Dog Project Opportunity for Volunteers

We are need of some adult volunteers to serve on Dog show committees.  We are needing volunteers (agents and/or leaders) for the following committees: facilities, awards, management, tabulation, marketing, set-up/clean-up, registration, risk management, and publicity.

 

Volunteers are also needed to serve on the NEW Dog Project Advisory Committee.  Applications are below along with a description of the roles and responsibilities of the committee.

If you or any of your volunteers are interested in the exciting area please let me know or go to the State 4-H Web Site and complete the Dog Project Advisory Committee Application.

Michelle Mihalek

District 9 4-H Discover Scientific Method Research Poster Guidelines

The Rules and Guidelines for this contest are now posted on the D9 Website!

Good luck with the research projects!
Kevin

Taking a new perspective on old tasks

Excerpt from: Twice as Much in Half the Time,
by Amy Jones

What does it mean to manage your time (and life) better? Simply put, it means to live your life in such a way that you are able to accomplish more, so that at the end of each day you can realize measurable results and enjoy a sense of fulfillment. This often involves learning to do things differently so that the outcomes are more efficient and effective (and even less time-consuming) than before. After reading from countless resources and speaking to over half a million people on the subject of time management, I have come up with a simple truth. Learning to manage your life and your time isn't rocket science. Anyone can do it! In fact, it is often the simple things you can do that will make profound differences. Sometimes you even have to go backward in order to go forward; so let's go back-to-basics with this example.

First, grab a pencil and paper. Think back to the time you started school, all the way back to kindergarten. One of the first things you learned was how to identify shapes. Next you learned to draw them. On that sheet of paper I want you to do something very simple. Draw one triangle. That was simple, wasn't it? Now, draw as many triangles as you can in twenty seconds. Stop. Count how many you were able to draw. Write down that number. Do you think there might be another way to complete this activity and draw more in less time?

Start at one side of the paper and draw connected W's all the way across the page. Now put a line across the top and the bottom. See how many you can draw in twenty seconds using this method. Wow, that creates a lot of triangles! In only a few seconds you have learned to do this activity more efficiently and effectively in a much shorter amount of time. A seemingly insignificant change can make a significant difference in what can be accomplished in a given amount of time. In fact, you most likely made up to four or five times as many triangles the second time around.

What if you could do four or five times your sales volume by making a simple change? Or what if you could get four or five times as much done each day by making a simple change? Would that work for you?

If so, always be on the lookout for "new" ways to do "old" things, and keep your mind open to using alternative methods and plans of action.

4-H FCS 101

The Texas 4-H and Youth Development Program places great value on the 4-H Family and Consumer Sciences projects. These projects expose 4-H members to the academic disciplines of family and consumer science and help them gain valuable skills and knowledge that can be applied to daily life. These projects also teach leadership skills.

Under the 4-H FCS 101 Initiative, resources and training have been developed to support new county Extension agents (Family and Consumer Science and 4-H and Youth Development). The purpose of this resource guide is to help agents understand the 4-H Family and Consumer Science projects and how to manage them. 

OK, that was the official mantra regarding 4-H FCS 101 here is what you need to know.  The information designed to help new FCS agents is also "good stuff" for the seasoned employee.  At the 4-H FCS 101 website you will find quick giudes with the essentials to managing each of the FCS projects and guides to conducting things like the county food show or fashion show.

For some of you this may be "old hat" but I'll bet at the very least you'll find something that makes your 4-H FCS programing a little easier.

Happy cooking,

Kevin

Food Challenge Photos

Hey it's been a while since the D9 Food Show and Food Challenge, but it's not to late to share photos from the event.... Plenty of time to get the photos for the Recordbook.

Since the District is now using Shutterfly for the photography contest, it made since to use this service for sharing district photos from events.  The old photobucket site is not going away, we are just transitioning to using this new Shutterfly account.

The website I have linked to is open to the world so post responsibly.  If you have a shutterfly account you can receive notices when pictures are added.

Smile,
Kevin

Outdoor Challenge

Agents should have seen the email from Derrick Brutton regarding the upcoming Wildlife Challenge Webinar.

What may not have been obvious is that this webinar is also available for Volunteers.
We are all busy, and keeping up with all of the 4-H opportunities is almost impossible, so don't try.
Forward this one directly to volunteers and let them tell you what's going on.

Here is the original note from Derrick Brutton:

I wanted to take a brief moment and re-introduce you to the Texas 4-H Outdoor Challenge.  It is a great summertime contest for 4-H members to showcase their knowledge and skills in outdoor education projects.  Think of it like a decathlon, but instead of hurdles and long jumps, it has events like wildlife ID, shooting sports, sportfishing, and the like.  Also, instead of competing as an individual, members pair up with a buddy and earn points as a team as they work through the various challenges.

 

To learn more about this year's contest, please join in on Tuesday, March 23 at 10 a.m. for a brief webinar overview of the contest.  This will also be a great time to have any questions you might have answered.

 

Centra link:  http://165.95.250.7/GA/main/0000004764a100000123527bb461b1ce

Let me know if you have any questions regarding the Wildlife Challenge,

Kevin

District Shooting Sports Contest Change

The District 9 4-H Shooting Sports Contest is open on 4-H Connect and is available for entry.  Summaries of teams and individuals are due in the District 9 Office by March 29, 2010.  Entry deadline on line for youth, is April 4, 2010.

Now for the changes:

• There will no longer be an open division for competition.  Counties can enter as many teams and individuals as they like in the "Qualifying" division, which negates the need for an open division.
• Counties will need to enter a team name for each person entering the contest so we can determine how to group the scores on the day of the contest.  The system will ask you for a team name even if the kid is not on a team (I can't fix this).  If the child is not on a team, just state that in the blank for team name.

Take Care,
Kevin

SET and Forestry Opportunity

The forests of the southern United States are a vital natural asset for the region, the country, and the world. Southern Forests for the Future seeks to raise awareness about this important natural resource and the ecosystem services forests provide, such as fresh water, timber and recreation. You can learn more about these forests by exploring data, maps, and other information to highlight key features and trends for southern forests.

All of this can feed into a research project for a young person interested in Forestry and considering the SET initiative...I think we are calling it a poster contest in D9.

To see more and to share with youth go to:  http://www.seesouthernforests.org/

Wildlife...The 4-H kind of wildlife

District 9 4-H will be hosting a Wildlife Skill-a-thon during District Roundup!!!!

Before you roll your eyes and say how can I support another contest, I would like to share with you what our plan is.

Yes we will be hosting a Wildlife Skill-a-Thon "Contest" but the format will be appropriate for those young people that are interested in wildlife as well as competitive in the subject area.

We will work hard to make sure that youth with little to no experience with wildlife learn what this contest is all about and go home with a positive experience.

In short, if you have kids that want to try this out, but have not taken the time to study and become proficient, SIGN 'EM UP. Aaron Sumrall and the crew running this contest will make sure they learn something!

Please promote this opportunity to the general 4-H population and especially your shooting sports, and field and stream groups.

Take Care,
Kevin

The Qualities of Skillful Leadership by Jim Rohn

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent. I call leadership the great challenge of life.

What's important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective. Here are some specifics:

1) Learn to be strong but not rude. It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It's not even a good substitute.

2) Learn to be kind but not weak. We must not mistake kindness for weakness. Kindness isn't weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

3) Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you've got to walk in front of your group. You've got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble.

4) You've got to learn to be humble, but not timid. You can't get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is almost a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we're part of the stars. So humility is a virtue; but timidity is a disease. Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem.

5) Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes pride in cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant. In fact I believe the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It's when you don't know that you don't know. Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's just too much to take.

6) Develop humor without folly. That's important for a leader. In leadership, we learn that it's okay to be witty, but not silly. It's okay to be fun, but not foolish.

7) Growth.  Don’t join an easy crowd. You won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform and achieve are high.

Lastly, deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony. Just accept life like it is. Life is unique. Some people call it tragic, but I'd like to think it's unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It's fascinating. And I've found that the skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. But the fundamental skills of leadership can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.

Recognizing Two Great Volunteers!!!!

Each year District 9 has the opportunity to recognize two of our finest 4-H volunteers on the state level as Salute to Excellence Awards Winners.  These two honorees are given special recognition during State 4-H Roundup at a ceremony in the George Bush Presidential Library.

We only get to recognize two, so there is a selection process.  First we encourage you to submit a nomination for both of your most previous County Outstanding Leader Award Winners.  In addition to this we encourage you to submit nominations at large on any other Adult Leaders in your program that deserve state wide recognition.

The nominations are due on March 12, 2010, in the District 9 Office.  For complete volunteer award program details and nomination forms go to: 

http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/volunteers/recognition_volunteer/index_recognition_volunteer.php#handbook

If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, give us a shout,

Kevin

Bang Bang!!!

Did you know we had a shooting sports workshop scheduled in District 9?  I'm not sure I did either, but the good news is, if you haven't yet promoted the workshop the date change will not affect you much.

The new date for the District 9 4-H Shooting Sports Workshop is September 18-19, 2010.  The training will be held at the Fort Bend County 4-H Shooting range.

Look for registration information as the date draws nearer.

Take Care,
Kevin