Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2012)
Special Edition • Morrow County Fair and Rodeo • Heppner Gazette-Times, Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - Page 13 4-H volunteer leaders are awesome! The 4-H program relies on volunteer adult leaders to organize and lead groups o f 4-H m em bers. We currently have 51 trained and active 4-H Leaders in M orrow County. R esearch show s that youth who have a non-parental adult as a friend, teacher and mentor do better than youth without such an adult presence. As a 4-H leader and educator, you are in a position o f great influ ence. You can channel mem bers’ curiosity, inspire new interests, and continually offer new opportunities for them to grow and develop into happy and productive adults. You can be the key to a young person’s success. A recent study showed that most 4-H leaders volunteer because they are interested in making a difference in the lives of young people. While some 4-H leaders have expertise in a particular content area, such as animal science, it is not a requirement. The 4-H program is always looking for quality, committed adult volunteers. If you are interested in exploring becom ing a 4-H volunteer, please call or visit the Exten sion office. Studies show that each 4-H volunteer gives an average o f 200 hours o f time annually to the 4-H Youth Development program. Looking at Oregon’s 6.000 volunteers, that means 1.200.000 hours are given an nually to help youth develop skills for a lifetime. Nationally, the current estim ated dollar value o f volunteer time is about $20 per hour. Not only are 4-H volunteer leaders awesom e, but the value o f their time to Oregon 4-H is more than $20 million annually. INSURANCE ** v What is 4-H? v ence, hom e econom ics and expressive arts project areas. If you can think o f it.. .we will try to make it happen. W hat do you do in 4-H? It de pends on you. 4-H members may be a friend in the same grade or school, or include people from other communities. C lubs decide how often to meet and elect officers to con duct club business. Your club may decide to be active in the community, raise money for charity, become involved in re cycling projects or build nature trails. You can go on field trips or to 4-H camp. The choices grow as you get older. D oes 4-H c o st a lot? There are no national dues or required uniforms. The state requires a $15 per m em ber enrollm ent fee, $30 fam ily Providing M ain S treet Service . v / « • W hat is 4-H ? F rien d s, fun and learning about nature, cooking, growing plants, pho tography, animal care or work ing together to help others. Who can belong to 4-H? Anyone kindergarten through 12th grade. You’ll find 4-H throughout your county, state, country and the world. Kinder garteners through third graders can join 4-H Cloverbud clubs. 4-H Cloverbuds is an infor mal educational program de signed specifically for children in grades K-3. The program appeals to young children’s natural curiosity, enthusiasm for learning and high energy levels by providing an oppor tunity for active learning in a non-competitive environment. In M orrow County, we have about 185 members in grades four through 12. What you can do in 4-H? M embers can be enrolled in anim al science, natural sci m ** Jsr I I Auto Home Life Business Umbrella Rental Watercraft 121 S. Main Street • Pendleton • 541.276.1418 Locations also in Lake Oswego, John Day, Hood River, Milton-Freewater, Baker City, Ketchum, ID & Scottsdale, AZ Online at bisnett.com maximum, which goes to help county 4-H programs, such as lowering costs o f state publi cations. There is an ad ditional $5 per member county enrollment fee that goes toward project materials and insurance in most clubs. Your 4-H club may decide to col lect dues to fund special activities. How do you join 4-H? It’s easy. Choose the project you like. Ask some friends or brothers and sisters to join you. A sk parents, grandparents, ad u lt frien d s or n e ig h b o r hood adults to be your leader. Several adults can share this responsibility. You need only tw o m em bers, but you can have as many as you like. De termine the projects your club would like to enroll in and visit the Extension office or call an agent for help. There are also num erous active clubs that welcome new members. 4-H is Learning Today, L e a d in g T om orrow and “ Learning by Doing.” Learn ing how to set goals and work toward those goals; responsi bility— for an animal, finish ing projects, choosing how much to learn and deciding how involved in 4-H to be— leadership, decision-making, cooperation and how to present yourself and ideas to others. For information about the 4-H Youth Development program, contact the OSU Extension office in Heppner, 541-676- 9642. “As we approach fair time let’s all try to keep in perspec tive w hat we are try in g to accomplish with the 4-H pro gram and projects,” reminds a local 4-H Extension agent. “’W inning’ should not be the goal. Doing the very best we can should be the goal. If 4-H m em bers have worked hard on their projects all year, do ing well in their classes will come.”
