 March 2009Newsletter Editor: Associate Editor: Anna Potts Contents:
I pledge my head to clearer thinking…A significant part of being a good citizen is staying up to date with local issues, and sorting through complex information to figure out how you feel about those issues and how they may impact your life. Take a look at this article and discuss it at your next 4-H club meeting. Consider:
State 4-H Fair 2009 Patch Design Contestby Tom Gwin, State 4-H Fair Manager The State 4-H Fair Board is currently asking for designs for it's 2009 Patch Design Contest. Contest rules and judging criteria may be round on the State 4-H Fair website. Entries are accepted only from current 4-H members and are due by May 1. The winning design will be made into this year's commemorative fair patch and sold as a fair novelty. The creator of the winning design receives a basket of 4-H and fair novelties. For more information, call the State 4-H Fair Office at 253-445-4630 Know Your Government Jayme Hunt, Washington State 4-H Ambassador (center back) Photo taken at the KYG Legislative Breakfast. We are proud to announce that Oak Harbor High School sophomore student Jayme Hunt was recently elected as a Washington State 4-H Ambassador. The election took place at the annual 4-H Know Your Government (KYG) conference held in Olympia February 14-16. Jayme was elected to one of the two positions available to represent the NW district, which includes eight counties in our region – Island, Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, Kitsap and Pierce. The 4-H State Ambassador program consists of youth who excel in the areas of leadership and community service, and have been selected to serve the Washington State 4-H Youth Development Program in roles that promote leadership through education and service. The state ambassadors program was designed to bridge the youth gap between state and county 4-H programs. They also plan and coordinate three annual conferences available for teens to attend: KYG, Teen Conference (in June), and the District Rallies held in the fall. The State Ambassadors also ferry information between counties and the state level, contributing ideas on how to improve the program. A message from Jayme… Hello Everyone! I just got home from my first State Ambassador meeting Sunday night. The meeting was great- we did a lot of leadership activities and worked on meeting facilitation. We also worked really hard to plan Teen Conference, which will be held this June in Pullman. The conference will be held Sunday, June 28th through Tuesday, June 30th. It is open for teens who are currently enrolled in seventh grade and above. This years' attendance looks like it will be around 400. It would be really great to get a large group from Island county to go, since it is a great conference to 'get your feet wet' with. I know every county will be getting a CD of promo items for the Conference around the tenth of April, but I think we need to find more creative ways of recruiting teens to attend. Teen Conference is open to non-4Hers too, I've heard of schools sending their ASB officers as a leadership retreat. We will have three charter busses to transport the west side delegates thanks to a grant from Boeing. This year, the conference is really important because it is at WSU, and the presidents usually attend the banquette. The more kids we have attend, the bigger the impact it will have on the WSU, and keep our ties with the university in good standing. Also, our main goal for the State Ambassador program this year is to get every county a County Teen Representative program. The position would be probably be appointed, and in most counties, interested members fill out a short application. The program is designed to help fix problems facing our county. I think that our CTRs should focus on recruitment, retention, and county-wide activities to strengthen the 4-H program. The State Ambassadors put on a training every January for CTRs, and I could help them out, too. All we need is interested teens and an advisor for them. I think this is a great year for change and if the 4-H youth took a higher leadership role. Please know that I will be available to attend your club meetings and would like to talk with you further regarding your interest in the above. Have a nice day! Meet the Staff
Each month we will highlight one of our WSU Extension staff to give you a better insight as to who we all are and what we do. With this information, we hope that you will be more familiar with Extension and what goes on behind the scenes to keep it all working smoothly. Stacey Neumiller
Stacey Neumiller is the WSU/Island County Master Gardener Coordinator. She is also responsible for the WSU Extension website. Although much of her time at the Extension office is dedicated to these two functions, she is also a talented artist and graphics designer and is often called upon to provide her artistic talents to the extension. Here is what she says on her own website about her art: A friend once asked how long it took me to finish a painting. Instead of giving the obvious answer of how many hours, days, etc... I told them You may have noticed I am smitten with farm life. Well, I grew up on a farm, albeit a small non-working farm but we had plenty of manure none the less. And I was (am) horse crazy. I was (am) animal crazy. There wasn't an animal I didn't adore. But it was horses I drew and drew and drew and drew. My drawings overflowed my bedroom and eventually ended up in two large Hefty bags stored in the basement. My parents, realizing my constant drawing wasn't a passing phase or an attempt to avoid homework, enrolled me in workshops and classes with local artists. It was during this time that I graduated from pencil to pastel and discovered the glorious world of color. I dashed along through my high school years happily creating horse paintings with pastels, garnering a number of amateur art show awards along the way. With college looming, I decided to pursue my love of animals and become a veterinarian at the University of California, Davis. Unfortunately, college-level chemistry and I met head on and I lost. Not long after this I became an art student at U.C. Davis and studied under the celebrated Californian artist, Wayne Thiebaud. What a wonderful colorist he was and a joy to have as a teacher. But I was convinced I would be a starving artist. So, looking for a more lucrative career, I enrolled in the Graphic Design program at California State University, Chico. I graduated and spent eighteen plus years as a graphic designer in San Francisco and Napa, California. Whenever possible, I incorporated my illustrations into my designs. My illustrations were used in national in-store advertising campaigns. Despite my success as a graphic designer and illustrator I still felt the need to paint and create fine art. 
So I began taking I woke up in the middle of the night with the image of a large, colorful rooster dominating a simple, brightly colored landscape where the house, trees and barn were dwarfed by its stupendous size. The next morning I went to my studio and created the image in my dream. I liked the results so much, I painted a large cornstalk in the same style. Forty years of experiences, living, studying, and drawing culminate in what I create today. Gleaning Project
Good Cheer Food Bank has announced the 2009 Hello Good Cheer GardenersBrrrrr, it's been cold. But great progress has been made! The south and west sides of the fence are almost done. We will continue the work at the Wednesday work party, March 18th. Enormous thanks to Angus Buchanan for being our fence master!
Janet Hall, WSU Extension
There are too many rocks and grass clumps in the soil, and we need to remove them. To do this, we'll sift the soil, a time-consuming, but very satisfying task, and one that will save countless hours of weeding re-sprouting grass later on. We have three large sifters, but if you have one, we can use some more.
To do this, we'll sift the soil, a time-consuming, but very satisfying task, and one that will save countless hours of weeding re-sprouting grass later on. We have three large sifters, but if you have one, we can use some more. So, in addition to our weekly Wednesday work party, we are adding a work party on Saturday, March 21st to get this one-time job done. The time to plant is coming soon, and this is the big push to get the beds ready for those seeds and starts. Work party schedule Come anytime, for as long or short as you'd like. We appreciate your help! Coming Events
Holland Happening Parade - April 25, 11:00am, Oak Harbor Spring Show - May 16, Saturday, Island County Fairgrounds Alpaca 4-H Division Spring Show - May 23, Saturday, M-Bar-C Ranch, Freeland Memorial Day Parade - May 23, Coupeville Regularly Scheduled Meetings
Island County Fair Association Scholarship
Each year the Island County Fair Association awards a $500 scholarship to a graduating student which can be applied towards tuition costs to attend a community college, technical school, or 4 year university. The criteria in considering applications include completeness and neatness of application packet, and community service/involvement (especially Island County Fair involvement). For additional information, please contact the Island County Fair Office at (360) 221-4677 or Club Reports
No reports this month. Committee Reports
No reports this month. Looking Back
Even though we've all been going through some uncertainty lately, there are always the events that make us smile here in the office J. Many of those smiles are due to the fact that we have been receiving very uplifting emails, calls of support, and volunteer time from many of you who are able to do so. Sometimes change is difficult for many but in all, we seem to be rallying together and I personally feel a stronger networking group that will be able to work through additional changes this year. All I can say is Special thanks to Cathi Mann-Fisher and Marilyn Gabelein who headed up Public Presentations this past month. Their committees were so very helpful and from the reports that were received, everything went quite smoothly in both areas. We also thank those who stepped up to assist with judging and for those of you who have never participated with this sort of thing before, the office will be more than glad to help with training so that you can help out next year! Never too early to start thinking about it! Super Saturday was a hit as always and we've already begun compiling information and ideas for new classes for next year. For those who taught classes this year - thank you! What a treat to see so many people helping out with a variety of duties from setup to cleanup and a huge THANKS! goes to Jackie Larsen for pulling this event together. One thing that we do need to look at for next year is how to make better use of the classrooms and PAC area and registration as rental fees have gone up considerably. But more on that later as we discuss this issue at Leaders' Council next month. Food For Thought
We have no article this month. If you have an article that would be good for the WSU Extension Program Updates
Master Gardeners Livestock Advisors Waste Wise Beach Watchers Go to the WSU Extension programs website and Advertisements
THINK
THINK
If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you're lost, you're lost
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
Life's battles don't always go 4-H is in the business of growing kids! We do this by working in our community to offer a wide range of opportunities for K-12 youth. Our goal is to support kids as they discover their talents and interests and then provide them with experiences to help them deepen, strengthen, and use those talents and interests! In addition to the club structure that many are familiar with, we also offer activities for families that can be done outside of a commitment to a club, and resources for educators to use in their classrooms. |
