Special Edition • Morrow County Fair and Rodeo • Heppner Gazette-Times, Wednesday, August 7, 2019 - Page 19
What is 4-H?
What is 4-H? Friends,
fun, and learning about na-
ture, cooking, growing plants,
photography, animal care or
working together to help oth-
ers; 4-H is Positive Youth
Development.
Who can belong to 4-H?
Anyone kindergarten through
12 th 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 are an infor-
mal educational program de-
signed specifically for children
in grades K-three. 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 Morrow County, there are
roughly 250 4-H members and
volunteer leaders.
What you can do in 4-H?
Members can be enrolled in
animal science, natural sci-
ence, home economics, lead-
ership and public speaking,
sciences and expressive arts
project areas, just to name a
few. A project list is available
at the 4-H office. If you can
think of it, 4-H will try to make
it happen.
What do you do in 4-H? It
depends on each individual and
what they make of their 4-H
experience. 4-H members may
be a friend in the same grade
or school or include people
from other communities. Clubs
decide how often to meet and
elect officers to conduct club
business. A club may decide
to be active in the commu-
nity, raise money for charity,
become involved in recycling
projects or build nature trails.
Members can go on field trips
or to 4-H camp. The choices
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and opportunities for leader-
ship and advancement grow as
members get older.
Does 4-H cost a lot? There
are no national dues or re-
quired uniform. The state
requires a $18 per member
enrollment fee, $36 family
maximum, which goes to help
county 4-H programs such as
lowering costs of state publica-
tions. There is an additional $5
per member county enrollment
fee that goes towards project
materials and insurance in
most clubs. A 4-H club may
decide to collect dues to fund
special activities. Scholarships
are available for enrollment
fees if needed.
How do you join 4-H?
It’s easy. Choose the project
you like, ask some friends or
brothers and sisters to join you.
Ask parents, grandparents,
adult friends or neighborhood
adults to be the leader. Several
adults can share this responsi-
bility. Only two members are
needed, but there can be as
many as you like. Or members
can also study the project inde-
pendently on their own with
the supervision and assistance
from an adult leader. Deter-
mine the projects your club
would like to enroll in and visit
the Extension office or call the
4-H agent for help. There are
also numerous active clubs that
welcome new members.
4-H is learning today, lead-
ing tomorrow and learning by
doing. Learning how to set
goals and work toward those
goals; responsibility for an
animal, finishing 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 4-H Agent
Erin Heideman, at the OSU
Extension office in Heppner,
541-676-9642.
4-H projects are a
family affair
My boys’ 4-H heifers were
out this morning frolicking in
the new grass Deacon and I
put it. I was grateful he was
harvesting somewhere else
and not here to see it or hear
me. The small things. I debated
waking up my younger two
boys to help me get them back
in and decided that it would be
less work if I just did it myself
and let them sleep. After all, it
was 5:15 a.m.
It’s time like this, when
I’m exhausted, up early, to bed
late and with lists upon lists
leading up to county fair that I
am reminded that 4-H projects
are a family affair. It’s an “all
hands on deck” kind of event.
Until you have participated and
experienced it, it’s really hard
to explain. There is a level of
fatigue that is unmatched by
nearly everything else once
you’ve completed a week at
county fair. And the prepara-
tion is staggering. Months and
months and months. Couple
that with harvest that may or
may not be done and maybe a
sport practice or two in there
as well during the week, and
we’re all pooped.
But I will always support a
multi-dimensional kid and try
to be flexible with my plan-
ning; kids that do more than
that one event/sport. The kids
that when you look at their
resume, you’re blown away
by the
number of things they’ve
participated in. Not that they
were numero uno necessarily,
but they have learned how to
juggle and work and keep all
those plates in the air. Impres-
sive.
These involvements will
help them be tremendous em-
ployees, employers and com-
munity members that can
relate to more than just a gym
or field. So thank you Morrow
County 4-H parents for sup-
porting the youth of our county
in their 4-H participation and
working harder to help guide
and push them to do more
because we know they can.
Especially when the whining
surfaces about having to feed
their heifer again. You know,
because they eat everyday…
Erin Heideman, Morrow
County 4-H