All Work and No Play....Not With TAE4-HA

I have posted a few of the photos from the fun we had at the Spring 2010 District 9 TAE4-HA meeting.  Most of the photos I have posted are from the training an Shangri La.  Feel free to post any photos you may have taken.  I know you need an account with Shutterfly, in order to upload, if there are any other tricks you need to know, we'll figure them out together.

Enjoy the photos,
Kevin

Where is the new Customer

I am linking to an article referring to the post recession customer and what they look like.  I know your are busy, but I wouldn't post it if I didn't think it was important.  If you read nothing else read the last couple of lines posted here:

"...ask yourself this BIG question: Will your new customer buy from you, or your competition?"


Our business is a competitive business.  Will the post recession kids be coming to us?


Something to think about,
Kevin


http://bit.ly/9yJYvA

Do you really want to be there?

We have entered that retrospective time of the year for the District 4-H Program.  The District contests are over and the summer activities are about to begin.  This is that time when I look back and think, "What could we have done differently?"  Unfortunately it is easy to dwell on the negative when you look back, but it is also important to remember that WE had an impact on the lives of young people with no fewer 1039 entries in district events/contests thus far.

Looking ahead, we have recordbook judging in July, which brings its own set of issues.  Many of us do not like judging recordbooks, and it's really hard to get motivated to read the books if your heart isn't in it.  That being said, as a 4-H professional, it is our duty to give this task the same amount of attention and the same level of care that we give the exciting aspects of our program.  I hope you will join me in opening your mind to the value that this type of reflection (record keeping) has on the growth of our youth.  There are few opportunities available outside of 4-H to have this type of reflective experience.

Enough FLUFF....

We still need Recordbook judges on July 7, 2010.  If we are going to get them judged in a timely manner it is going to take a lot of people.  Please talk to your strong volunteers and your Ag & FCS coworkers and encourage them to sign up for recordbook judging this year.

We can use all the help we can get,
Kevin

S.E.T. ...Did you miss it?

Did you miss the District 9 4-H Science Engineering and Technology Poster Contest? 

If you did, go to the district 9 4-H Shutterfly account to get a feel for what took place.

The young people presented some really cool displays and the committee did an outstanding job of hosting this inaugural event.  A specila thank you goes to committee members:  Sheryl Nolen, Billy Zanolini, and Starla Garlick, for making this contest a success.

Next year this may be a big event!!!!

Kevin

Social Media

Got an opinion about Social Media?  I would bet that we all do.  Some people think it is the new industrial revolution, others think it's just a new way for teens to waste time and annoy parents.  Whatever your opinion, I think you'll find the facts in this video astounding.

Volunteer Orientation

Orientation of new Volunteers is critical to their success (and ours), and in a perfect world we would make this one of our top priorities.  We all know that our world is not perfect and often times when a new volunteer needs our attention is the same time our general program is screaming for our attention:  Technology to the rescue.

Online training is not perfect, but neither are we, and in the absence of one on one training, it is a far cry better than nothing.  The Texas 4-H Volunteer Orientation Course helps us fill that gap.  Before the 4-H summer programs kick off, take a little time to see what this Online Orientation has to offer.  Next time you are in a bind to get a new volunteer started this just might be the ticket!

For instructions for registering for the course and previewing the material go to the enclosure.

For what it's worth,
Kevin

Males Needed

Please remember the Male Chaperon needs for District 9 Leadership Lab.   We must have one male adult for every 8 male youth.  The female side of the equation tends to take care of itself, but we struggle to meet the male chaperon demands.

If boys are coming to Leadership Lab from your county please make sure you have men going also.

Kevin

Silent Auction Shaping Up To Be a HIT!!!

The Texas 4-H Roundup Silent Auction is shaping up to be a HIT!!!  Can you imagine a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Suite for 20 during the 2011 Stock Show, or maybe a Ted Nugent autographed guitar is more your style.

There is even going to be items for your Red Raiders, and Tea Sips.

Help the Texas 4-H Foundation reduce the cost of future Roundups by promoting the 2010 State 4-H Roundup Silent Auction.

Gig 'em,
Kevin

Texas 4-H Outdoor Challenge

Reminder of the Texas 4-H Outdoor Challenge registration deadline of Saturday, May 22.  Please share this information with those interested.

 

The Outdoor Challenge will be held on June 17-18 in Brownwood at the 4-H Center.  More specific details about the contest (rules, costs, what to bring, etc.) can be found on our website at:

 

http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/youth/natural_resources/outdoor_challenge/index_natural_resources_outdoor_challenge.php

 

You can also get to the website from the Texas 4-H main page.  Either search for "Outdoor Challenge" or click on the "Youth" section down arrow, select "Natural Resources", and then "4-H Outdoor Challenge".

 

Kevin

Scholarship Prep

In years past I have conducted Scholarship Interview Preparation training for the 4-H Opportunity scholarship.  For a number of reasons that is not going to happen this year, but I still want our young scholars to be as competitive as they can be.  I also have confidence that each of you is more than capable of preparing your applicants to do their best in the interview.

To assist with that I am providing an agenda for the training that I provided in the past and a list of interview questions.  Over the years I have quizzed members of the scholarship selection committee and from this I have developed the resources you find attached.

Though these resources are aimed at the 4-H Opportunity scholarship I think you will find they can be expanded to multiple formats.

Good Luck Scholars,
Kevin

Congress Deadline is HERE!!!!!

The deadline for submitting Texas 4-H Congress Intent forms to the District 9 Office is Monday, May 17.

For complete details go to the D9 Website.

The short of it is this:  Every county is guaranteed one participant at Texas 4-H congress, but only if the intent form is turned in to the D9 Office.  After Monday May 17, I will begin the process of notifying standby participants of their ability to register.

Once we reach our District quota of 18, registration closes.

Don't let this one slip by you.

Kevin

All in All Done!!!!

District Contest Season is officially over.  Now we can take a deep breath and gear up for State Roundup and the summer camp season... it never ends, but that's why most of us do it.

A few of highlights from this Spring:

• Photography contest - online!!!! No photos to mount and everybody can see the entries in the contest.
• Intermediates give Reasons at Horse and Livestock Judging.  A large step forward in an area that sets us apart from FFA and develops speaking skills in our youth.
• Scientific Poster Contest is a success... There are things to tweak on this one, but the experience has us pointed in the right direction
• Food Challenge goes to State.  We hosted our 3rd or 4th food challenge contest and this year the top teams go to state competition
• Plaques set aside.  The Food and the Fashion committees ditched the plaques as awards, and found creative items for recognition - jury is still out but kids seemed to like the new ideas.

Now on to the next event(s). 

Contests currently open on 4-H Connect:

• Sate Roundup - Closes May 12, 2010
• Leadership Lab - Closes May 30, 2010
• District Horse Show - Closes June 6, 2010

More to come, but I'll let you digest this much first.

Kevin