Felicia Allen: 2010 4-H Leader of the Year

(Click on photo to open larger format.)

Felicia Allen of Chimacum has been chosen Jefferson County 4-H Leader of the Year for 2010. Felicia leads the Golden Clovers goat club and has been a 4-H leader for over eight years. She owns and manages a herd of about forty goats – all of the Lamanche breed. She has also raised Saanens, which are especially known for their rich milk. 4-H has been a positive focus in Felicia’s life from a young age and the community of 4-H has supported her through some remarkable adversity and challenges in her life.

            At the age of two, Felicia was orphaned when her parents were killed in an auto accident. Her grandparents, who then raised her, were leaders in the 4-H horse project. Felicia enjoyed many happy years with them, riding horses and enjoying all that a rural lifestyle provides. However, at the age of thirteen, she suffered another great loss when her beloved grandparents also died in an auto accident. Throughout all this turmoil, one constant and positive activity that she would eventually return to was her participation in 4-H.

            Felicia became involved in the 4-H sheep project when her first-born child, Jennifer, was young. She and her husband, Jerry, started with Pygmy goats and then when their son, Ben, was two years old it became clear that he could not drink cow’s milk because of an allergy. Patrice Larson, a mom in 4-H, gave Felicia’s family a dairy goat and so began the process that eventually resulted in Felicia’s strong and healthy goat herd. In 2005 the family bought five acres in Chimacum, where they home-schooled their six children and began raising goats. They also joined the Golden Clovers 4-H goat club of Jefferson County.

            The five-acre Allen farm was chosen specifically for raising goats – it is located on a hill and although it has water, there are no sensitive wetlands. Felicia is an expert in raising and breeding healthy, happy animals. She is meticulous in her care of them. She ensures their optimum health and disease-free status by following veterinary specifications at all times during birth, milking, and raising. As a result, her goats have a reputation of quality that includes award-winning breeding stock appreciated and valued by other breeders.

            Golden Clovers’ youth participants consistently score high at the Washington State 4-H Fair, often taking top prizes in their categories. Felicia gently supports her club members through the learning process so that they patiently build their animal husbandry skills over time. Of course, her own children are also members of the club, which gives the entire family a common focus for learning and fun.

            In 2004 Felicia took the WSU Small Farms Class, which gave her a broader perspective about her herd. She then learned about soap making from Diana Dyer from Whiskey Hill Farm. She started successfully selling her goat soaps at farmer’s markets in Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Ballard and Queen Anne Hill in Seattle.

            Through 4-H and other experiences Felicia has become a knowledgeable businesswoman, who understands the important traditions of animal husbandry to a high level. Asked why she continues to find time in her busy schedule to lead a 4-H goat club and also be superintendent of the small livestock barn at the Jefferson County Fair, Felicia will tell you, “4-H has helped me survive some pretty remarkable challenges in my life. The community of 4-H has supported my life-long learning in so many ways – now I love giving back to others as a 4-H club leader.”

4-H boys' Club Corn Club Project, Scott County, Iowa, Nov. 1

This silent film shows Iowa 4-H boys working on their corn club project. Scenes include farm field preparation, selecting corn, drying seed corn, comparing varieties of corn, keeping records, and corn harvesting. Includes footage of 1931 Scott County Iowa corn husking contest.

CLICK ON IMAGE OR HERE TO OPEN VIDEO

2009 4-H Leader of the Year: John Ludwig!

John Ludwig, has been chosen as the 2009 Jefferson County 4-H Leader of the Year. John has been a volunteer 4-H leader for 5 years and heads the 4-H Olympic Peninsula Rocketry Club (OPROC), a free educational program for youth in Jefferson County. John is also completing his third year as President of the Jefferson County 4-H Leaders Council. Because of his genuine enthusiasm for rocketry and for kids, John has inspired more and more youth to join his club. OPROC started its first year with two eager teens, but that number has now grown into a solid group of 12.

John started building model kits when he was 10 or 11 years old. He built plastic car kits, military vehicles, mobiles of U.S. missiles and spacecraft. He was fascinated with science fiction and anything to do with space. He laughed, “My brother’s friends would buy models for him for his birthday and then I would help build them. We also enjoyed blowing them up on the 4th of July!”

John had the benefit of growing up in a family that valued working with their hands. His father, in particular, was exacting when it came to details. John remembered, “My dad created a building out of recycled materials. The concrete foundation had to be carefully shot with a transit to be perfectly aligned and level. From this experience and many more I learned a keen sense of detail and quality.”

Working with his hands on various projects was a constant source of satisfaction for John. He felt strongly that, “ You add your own personality to everything you build. I’m sure that if I looked at what I built then it wouldn’t be up to my standards now, but you have to start somewhere. I know it’s not a Steinway piano, but nothing is perfect - you set a standard and strive to do better next time. It was a stress reliever for me - there was no peer pressure to it - just competing with myself. “

After years away from rocketry while raising his family (along with wife, Bonnie), John watched a television show about model and high-powered rocketry. This rekindled his 30-years previous interest in model rocketry. He had to relearn everything he had forgotten. He started up again and by 2004 had 10 kids from his church learning the basics. By 2005 he became a 4-H rocketry leader.

Asked why he leads his 4-H club even though he has no children in the program, John shared, “The biggest benefit for the kids is the experience of building something with their own hands and getting that satisfaction. Once it’s built, you have to launch it and see it work. I love to see the sparkle in their eyes and the smiles after a successful rocket launch. It’s unbelievable how far you can go with it – the mathematics, scientific concepts, simple aerodynamics, principles of flight and design. Many of the astronauts today started out with model rockets in their youth. I always remind the kids to shoot for the moon, and even if you don’t make it you’ll be with the stars!”

Asked about the positive impact of 4-H, John replied, “A person without a dream ends up working for a person with one. Maybe in some small way I can give them some of the skills they can use in everyday life – time management, responsibility, team work, communication skills, simple electronics, working with paint, glue, wood, etc. They can pass it on to someone else. Pay it forward. Rocketry is the hook – it can create an openness to explore, spark one’s imagination to examine different possibilities in this world. ”

To join OPROC call John Ludwig at 385-0341 after 4 pm. To join 4-H or to become a 4-H leader, call Pamela Roberts, 4-H coordinator, at 379-5610 ext. 207 or go to http://4h.jefferson.wsu.edu.

KRISTINE FAIRBANKS: U.S. Forest Service Officer and 4-H Leader of the Happy Tails dog club - you will be missed...

1957-2008

A public memorial service

for Kristine Fairbanks will be held at:

Civic Field

S Race St & E 4th St

Port Angeles, WA 98362

Monday, September 29th at 1:00 p.m.

Click here for directions

Thank you to everyone who has contacted the Olympic National Forest in recent days. We have received an outpouring of support from local citizens and agencies as well as agency offices nationwide.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Kristine Fairbanks. She was an exemplary professional in every way and she will be greatly missed. Kris has worked for the Forest Service for 22 years, and she leaves behind a husband and daughter.

Letters of condolence are being accepted at any of the Olympic National Forest district offices as well as the headquarters in Olympia.

Cards may be sent to the Fairbanks family at: Pacific District - North 437 Tillicum Lane Forks, WA 98331

Flowers may be delivered to: Harper Ridgeview Funeral Chapel 105 West Fourth Street Port Angeles, WA 98362

Olympic National Forest News Releases:

Sept. 23, 2008 - Public memorial service in honor of Kristine Fairbanks to be held in Port Angeles

Sept. 23, 2008 - Community meeting in Forks to honor Kristine Fairbanks

Sept. 23, 2008 - Olympic National Forest Staff mourns death of Officer Kris Fairbanks

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Details on memorial service in Port Angeles announced

A memorial service with full police honors for Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks is scheduled at Civic Field in Port Angeles on Monday, Sept. 29, at 1:00 pm. The public is invited to attend.

Community members wanting to share flowers or candles have expressed the desire to establish memorial sites in honor of Fairbanks. In Forks, a memorial has been established at the Forks Transit Center, located at the intersection of E Street and Forks Avenue. In Port Angeles, the site is at the Port Angeles Police Department’s front entrance at 321 East 5th Street.

Cards may be sent to the Fairbanks family care of the Pacific Ranger District, 437 Tillicum Lane, Forks, WA 98331. Those wishing to send flowers may have them delivered to Harper Ridgeview Funeral Chapel, 105 West 4th Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362.

Civic Field is located at East 4th Street and South Race Street in Port Angeles. For more information, or questions regarding Monday’s memorial service, please call 360-565-2680.

Forks Articles
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Forks Forum photo

Kris Fairbanks at a 4-H dog show event.

Kristine Fairbanks Memorial Fund set up

An account has been set up for donations to the Kristine Fairbanks Memorial Fund at First Federal in Forks. The mailing address at the Forks Branch is P.O. Box 1467 Forks WA 98331
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Community meeting Wednesday night to honor Kris Fairbanks

The Olympic National Forest is hosting a community meeting to honor Forest Service law enforcement officer Kristine Fairbanks at the Forks High School Commons, Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in Forks.The public is invited to attend.

The meeting will feature presentations by the Forest Service highlighting Fairbanks’ accomplishments and her contributions to the different agencies with whom she worked during her 22-year Forest Service career. Also, the meeting will include briefings by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and a dedication to Fairbanks by Forks Mayor Nedra Reed
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Chris Cook Forks Forum photo

A memorial to Kris Fairbanks was on display Tuesday, Sept. 23 at the flag poles fronting the Forks Transit Center. The center houses an Olympic National Park-Olympic National Forest information center.










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'A wonderful peace officer': Forks neighbors, friends mourn slain forest officer

Kristine Fairbanks was a 4-H leader of the Happy Tails dog club in Clallam County on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. She was killed in the line of duty as a U.S. Forest Service Officer.

By Jim Casey, Peninsula Daily News

FORKS — As Nedra Reed turned Saturday onto U.S. Highway 101, she spotted a familiar sight in her rearview mirror:

U.S. Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks also pulling onto the highway and heading east.

"We just went on our way," said Reed, mayor of Forks, about her trip with her husband, Phil, "never knowing that was the last time we would see her."

Fairbanks eventually drove to the Forest Service's Dungeness Forks Campground south of Sequim, where she was fatally shot after she approached a Dodge van that had no license plates.

Clallam County sheriff's officials believe she was killed by Shawn Matthew Roe, a man with a history of domestic violence.

Roe was shot to death by a Clallam deputy about seven hours after Fairbanks was last heard from.

Fairbanks, a wife and mother, was a 15-year veteran of Forest Service law enforcement who credited her forestry professor father, John Willits, now a leader in the North Olympic Land Trust, with teaching her a love for the outdoors.

'A wonderful peace officer'
"This community has lost a wonderful person," Reed said Sunday, unable to keep from crying.

"A wonderful peace officer, a wonderful wife, a wonderful mother, a wonderful friend."

Fairbanks' husband, Brian Fairbanks, said Sunday that he had no public comment to make then.

Marcia Bingham, director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce, was Fairbanks' neighbor along the Bogachiel River about six miles north of Forks.

"She moved onto the street I live on about six months ago," Bingham said, "and she absolutely loved living on the river."

Bingham said Fairbanks, her husband and her daughter, Whitney, were a close-knit family, with the adults involved and active in their 15-year-old daughter's life.

"She attended all the games," Bingham said.

Her daughter, a Forks High School sophomore, is on the junior varsity volleyball team that played in Centralia on Saturday morning.

Mother and daughter also were regulars at the annual Christmas bazaar of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.

"She and Whitney sat at the table and took money every year," Bingham said.

"It was sort of her tradition."

PDN article
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Slain Forest Service officer left mark of caring on many lives
Slain U.S. Forest Service officer Kristine "Kris" Fairbanks left a mark of compassion, generosity and inspiration on many other lives.

By Elizabeth Rhodes

Seattle Times staff reporter

Related

• Forest Service officer's killer was violating probation

There's no evidence slain U.S. Forest Service officer Kristine "Kris" Fairbanks knew her alleged assailant, Shawn Roe, a sometime tree-trimmer with a history of domestic-violence-related convictions.

But Fairbanks, 51, who died of a gunshot Saturday after stopping Roe's truck, knew well the trauma domestic violence can wreak, and she spent years — and money — helping salve the wounds of victims.

"She pretty much saved our lives," former neighbor Rachel Williams, 20, said Sunday. "My sister and I were going through a domestic-violence situation, and she came over and got us out of the house and called for backup."

That's just one example of the intertwined courage and compassion those who knew Fairbanks said she so freely displayed.

It was about six years ago when Fairbanks rescued Rachel and her twin, Andrea, then entering their teens. They lived across the street from the Fairbanks family — husband Brian, 15-year-old daughter Whitney — in the tiny Olympic Peninsula town of Forks.

(Brian Fairbanks is an officer with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The family could not be reached Sunday.)

As the years passed, Kristine Fairbanks unfailingly stepped in to become "like our second mom," Rachel Williams said. It was a role she never stopped playing.

When Rachel lacked the money to attend her senior prom, Fairbanks helped her buy a glittery turquoise gown. When the girls needed computers, she bought each a laptop. There were frequent dinners at the Fairbanks home, where Kris would sometimes cook her specialty, Cornish game hens, and entertain the girls with what Rachel describes as a "really goofy" sense of humor.

Also served up were gently delivered life lessons: Stand up to abuse. Make your life better.

"She inspired us to go to school to get good jobs so we could be better people," Rachel said.

Empowerment was a strong theme running through Fairbanks' life, too.

As a Forest Service officer, she had to have confidence in her skills as she patrolled many miles of the Olympic Peninsula forests alone, save for her K-9 companion, a strapping German shepherd named Radar.

"She had a very dangerous job," recounted Chiggers Stokes, a retired park ranger who found her "direct, compassionate, humane" and unflinching in doing her job.

Much of it involved protecting federal property from timber poachers or clandestine drug labs. "She was out there in very secluded places," Stokes recalled. "She'd go up against hunters who all had weapons, or salal hunters who had sharp knives."

Aiding her always was her K-9 partner. He'd get between her and others. "The teamwork with her dog is the stuff movies are made of," Stokes said.

Known as something of a "dog whisperer," Fairbanks' passion for canines propelled her into volunteer leadership of Forks' 4-H dog club, called Happy Tails.

Twenty-two kids, from elementary age through high school, belonged and not all could afford to participate, said Kayla Hansen, whose daughters were members along with Fairbanks' daughter.

Hansen said Fairbanks and Whitney were especially close, and helping Whitney and her Jack Russell terrier compete in 4-H brought her joy.

With Happy Tails members, Fairbanks again opened her heart and her wallet, for leashes, food and grooming, and once, a $300 vet bill.

"She wanted the kids to have a good time and learn something about their dog, and if you happened to win something ... great," said Lori Hanson, the 4-H club's assistant leader. "She is going to be hard to replace."

But in their own ways, the Williams sisters are going to try.

Because of Kris Fairbanks' mentoring, Rachel Williams developed a love of dogs that's led to a job with a veterinarian. Her sister Andrea's goal is to become a law-enforcement officer.

"I loved her," Andrea said Sunday, breaking into tears. "I'll make her proud."

Seattle Times researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this story.

Elizabeth Rhodes: erhodes@seattletimes.com.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Seattle Times article

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Officer Down Memorial Page

National Park Service

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Seattle PI Article

Sequim Gazette

Washington State Department of Corrections

Washington Trails Association

4-H Loses a Leader...Terry Heineman.. you will be missed

(Terry Heineman was a member of 4-H Big Quil Enterprises,
the youth entrepreneurship program that works
in collaboration with the Quilcene School District.)

Family, school associates mourn Quilcene teacher

By Erik Hidle, Peninsula Daily News

CHIMACUM — The death of a Quilcene teacher has left two families mourning in Jefferson County.

Terry Heineman died March 10 at his home in Chimacum after leaving Quilcene School early after falling ill.

At 6 p.m., he phoned the school to say it would need to find a substitute for Tuesday morning.

Later in the evening, his wife, Flavia, found him in a chair downstairs. He was dead of a heart attack at the age of 60.

Now both the Heinemans, and the Quilcene students and staff who cared about him, have begun a healing process which is becoming far too familiar for both groups.

Quilcene School
David Andersen has been a school administrator for 23 years and, before the 2007-'08 school year, he had never had a faculty member die.

This year there have been two.

In October, German and English teacher Burt Babik died of cancer.

Now the school has lost Heineman, a social studies teacher, a drivers education instructor, a football coach and, as Anderson he put it, "Mr. Knowledge Bowl."

Heineman was the coach of the school's Knowledge Bowl team. In the last 21 years, he had taken the team to state competition 20 times — making the team the most successful at the school ever.

The team, which just lost its coach, decided to go to the state event in Spokane this year without him.

"It's what Terry would have wanted," Andersen said.

"The problem was that they were going to miss his memorial service."

The service for Heineman is planned for 4 p.m. today at Quilcene school.

Shelley Barton, a teacher at Quilcene, offered to pay airfare for the 12 students heading to state so that they would be able to attend the service.

"Terry was a great teacher and great person," Andersen said.

"We have gone through a lot this year at the school with the deaths of our teachers and some students.

"But we are coming together as a community and a family, becoming more resilient and becoming stronger."

Andersen said that when a death occurs at the school, counseling is provided for students and staff.

"It's still hard though," Andersen said.

"It doesn't get any easier."

Heineman family
Flavia Heineman will tell you that she only remembers fragments of memories of her husband.

That just isn't true.

If she has the time and you are willing to listen, Flavia can tell you the exact time the train left the station for Kingston, Jamaica on the day that she and Terry met.

She remembers the clothes they both were wearing and the exact location where he and a friend were sitting when he asked her for help deciphering the train schedule.

Eventually, she will tell you about how he moved to Canada to be with her and she will remember the way he packed all his belongings into little car to make everything fit.

She remembers what he said when they bought the land on Egg and I Road in Chimacum.

She remembers the old outhouse they used to have on the property, and the first day they got electricity.

She remembers all the one liners he would use to win an argument.

"I remember he was a man among men," Flavia said.

"And I won't forget it."

Flavia also remembers the last day she was with him.

"The moment that I found him, I knew I had lost a treasure," Flavia said.

"Some people look for gold and silver and diamonds, but I had my treasure right in front of my nose."

Sudden death is "something you can't prepare your family for," she said.

In addition to his widow, Terry Heineman leaves behind three children: Aaron, 33, Jason, 30 and Lydia, 25.

He was preceded in death by his son Gabe.

Gabe also died suddenly. He was in a fatal motorcycle wreck in 2003.

"My family really has had it kind of rough," Lydia said.

"Losing Gabe was hard on my dad. He loved all of us so much, and we loved him."

"I'll always remember the things he taught me."

Lessons were a big part of growing up in the Heineman house. From learning how to work or how to appreciate the work of others, their father required a love of learning.

Jason said that he learned so much from his dad that it would be impossible to pick out the most important lesson.

"It's more than just one thing," he said.

"It was the way he lived, and the way he lived for us, and now through us.

"He said he would live forever through his kids and his kids' kids."

Aaron said that that was true.

"As I work on the eulogy, I remember so many things, but they are all tied together into a simple way of living."

Flavia said that living simple and loving the land was what Terry was all about — from the one room cabin where the family of six originally lived, to the giant pond which he created in the backyard, "he loved it here."

His children agreed.

"It's sad that he is gone, but in a way I was glad that he died in the place that he loved and not in a hospital or a home," Aaron said.

"It's just sad that he's gone."

4-H Leader of the Year 2007: Linda Gately

Linda Gately, Cedar Tree Performers club leader, shares a special moment with a young 4-Her at the 2007 Jefferson County Fair. Linda is a vital part of the 4-H Building experience at fair, where she guides youth in their presentations, building hosting, kitchen activities, and more. Linda is also instrumental in the maintenance of the Laura Short Memorial Garden pictured below with the Becker family from the Healthy Helpers home arts club.

4-H: A Touching Moment of Community

Pictured are grandchildren of Laura and Norris Short, revered 4-H leaders in Jefferson County, WA. Photo donated to Jefferson County 4-H Historical Project by Sandy Short, daughter-in-law. (Names and details related to the pictured youth to follow.)

Linda Gately, 2007 4-H Leader of the Year

Linda Gately has been named the 2006-2007 Jefferson County 4-H Leader of the Year. Linda has been a 4-H leader for 18 years. She currently leads the Cedar Tree Performers club, which meets at the Cedarbrook Adventist Christian School. Initially the club studied clowning for a couple of years and then, because Linda likes to garden, they began sponsoring spring plant sales. Now they have a beautiful garden at the school. It is 1600 square feet with raised beds, flowers, and edible plants. It also has fruit trees and berries. Linda stated, “We do a lot of math related activities figuring out square footage, how many seeds to fill a certain area, etc. We have also conducted science process activities, including seed germination tests where we establish controls and then variables such as amount of sunshine, amount of water, soil types, etc. to see how the plants react.”(Read More)

Honoring Dorothy Duncan's 65 years as 4-H leader

Norris Short - You Will be Missed

Norris Short, 4-H and Fair Leader from Jefferson County, WA, passed away on March 24, 2007.





Norris Short's passing truly marks the end of an era for Jefferson County
4-H and the Jefferson County Fair Association.

Norris and his wife, Laura Short, were the heart and soul of 4-H in our county for many years. As a team they led the development of the wonderful 4-H youth programs and Fair that we enjoy today. Their legacy of volunteerism and commitment to youth will continue to inspire our county community for generations.

Norris' memorial service and reception will be held on:

April 14 at 2 pm

Jefferson County Fairgrounds

All 4-H families are invited to attend and pay their respects to Norris and his family.

About Laura and Norris. Laura Short served as a 4-H leader for nearly 50 years. She and Norris impacted the lives of hundreds of youth in the Dairy 4-H Club. They gave major leadership to the development and growth of the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. In the early 1950s Norris and his father built the 4-H building on the fairgrounds, with the help of 4-H members and their families. In 2000 the 4-H Exhibit Building was dedicated in Norris' and Laura's name. Laura served as County 4-H treasurer and as State 4-H fair bookkeeper for years. She spent many years as the expert in the Home Economics Department and was very involved in the Food for all Occasions contest, bread baking, and clothing activities. She worked as 4-H building superintendent for more than 30 years, with Norris as her assistant.

In 1999 Laura and Norris received the Washington State Volunteer Excellence Award and in 2000 they received recognition at the Western Regional Leader Forum in Hawaii. Laura preceded Norris in death.

Rochelle Orton: 1987-2006; You Will Be Missed

The memorial service will be held Saturday, October 28, 2006 at 7 pm at the Quilcene School.


Rochelle Orton, 19-year-old 2006 Quilcene High School graduate and former 4-H member of Big Quil Enterprises, died Wednesday, October 18 of injuries she suffered during a crash on U.S. Highway 101 in Mason County on Tuesday. Rochelle's north-bound car was hit head-on by a south-bound vehicle that crossed the centerline when the driver of that vehicle fell asleep at the wheel. Rochelle's high school sweetheart, Kevin Vandenberg of Quilcene, was with Rochelle at the time of the accident and thankfully survived with minor injuries.

Rochelle was a shining light of goodness in this world. She loved working with children and was pursuing her post high school studies to become an expert in early childhood education. Rochelle touched the lives of everyone who met her. She always had a smile and positive attitude despite life's challenges. She will be sorely missed in this world that especially needs people sincerely devoted to children as Rochelle was.

Rochelle is survived by her grandfather Bill Purtle, father John, brother Kyle, and sister Tanya, all of Brinnon. The Jefferson County 4-H organization expresses its deepest sympathies to all of Rochelle's family and close friends for this terrible loss.

Bill Purtle will be making arrangements for a memorial service possibly to be held at Quilcene High School.

The service will be held Saturday, October 28, 2006 at 7 pm at the Quilcene School.
Peninsula Daily News article

Partners Video Magazine: The 4-H Centennial Video

Partners Video Magazine

Partners is a video magazine produced by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). It highlights the programs and accomplishments of the partnership between CSREES and the Land Grant University System in the areas of research, education, and extension.

Watch Partners Video Magazine The 4-H Centennial Video.
NOTE: Real Player and Windows Media are required to view Partners episodes.

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Local youth participate in national 4-H video


By Beth Durbin,
Mount Vernon News Staff Writer
April 06, 2006

MOUNT VERNON, OH — It was “Lights, camera, action!” at the 4-H Center on Monday evening as several local 4-H youth participated in the making of a national video for the United States Department of Agriculture.

Members of the USDA public affairs office were in Mount Vernon to video a segment for Partners Video Magazine, a video magazine produced by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service under the USDA. It highlights the programs and accomplishments in the areas of research, education and extension.

In an upcoming episode entitled, “Our Children,” local youths’ involvement with Operation: Military Kids will be one of four segments featured. NOTE: The “Our Children” episode will air sometime in 2007.

Several local 4-H youth are involved in Operation: Military Kids as camp counselors and assemblers of “hero packs.” (Read More)

Dolly Dwyer chosen for 4-H Hall of Fame

Great Falls volunteer chosen for 4-H Hall of Fame: Dolly Dwyer got started in the organization as a 10-year-old in 1930 and remained involved for decades

GREAT FALLS (AP) — An 85-year-old woman here is set for induction into the national 4-H Hall of Fame and hopes her fractured wrist doesn’t prevent her presence at the ceremony Friday near Washington, D.C.

Dolly Dwyer is ‘‘exactly the kind of person who should be in the national Hall of Fame,’’ said Kirk Astroth, the state 4-H program director.

‘‘Her record of achievement over the past 60-something years is above and beyond the call of duty.’’

Dwyer broke her wrist in a recent fall and underwent surgery, said her husband, Terry Dwyer, a former managing editor for the Great Falls Tribune.

She hopes her doctor gives her a green light Wednesday to head for the East Coast on Thursday.

‘‘This award will never happen again for me,’’ Dwyer said. (Read More)

Former 4-H’ers still use skills learned from clubs

By Karrey Britt
The Lawrence Journal-World

Rural Lawrence (Kansas) resident John Pendleton, 50, still recalls the Boys in the Home project that he took as a member of the Meadowlark 4-H Club.

“It was like a home ec for the guys to help them with the basics,” said Pendleton, who operates Pendleton’s Country Market with his wife, Karen.

He said he learned to mend a holey sock, clean and cook. His favorite 4-H project was photography, and he earned a state award for it. Pendleton said he still uses those skills when he takes pictures of his family and business. He uses photos of his market’s plants, flowers and vegetables in PowerPoint presentations when he speaks before other growers.

“I learned what makes a good picture,” he said. “Back then the saying was ‘film is the photographer’s cheapest tool.’”

That meant to take plenty of photos so you could get the best one, he said. Pendleton said in today’s digital age, photographers don’t even have to worry about the price of film.

Like most former Douglas County 4-H’ers, Pendleton said the life lessons he learned through 4-H have been priceless. (Read More)


An earthen work to celebrate 100 years of 4-H in Kansas

4-H clubs reach, teach beyond farm or ranch

It has been often said, "The best way to induce change in adult's practices is through their children." This was the theory upon which the 4-H youth development program began back in the early 1900s, and it provides for reflection as we celebrate National 4-H week this week.

The Land Grant Institutions, such as Oregon State University, were established back in 1862 with the first Morrill Act.

The original mission was to teach agriculture, military tactics and the mechanic arts, as well as classical studies, so members of the working classes could obtain a liberal, practical education.

In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act created a Cooperative Extension Service associated with each land-grant institution.

The purpose of the Extension Service was to disseminate information gleaned from experimental stations and university research, and it continues to be instrumental in working with families and communities in developing agriculture businesses.

The 4-H was created as part of the original establishment of the Extension Service because the adults were slow to test new farming techniques. (Read More)


DEREK GODWIN
Statesman Journal

Video Clips of Volunteers Talking About Their Service to 4-H

Kelley Beverly of Kentucky answers a question about Generosity, one of the Essential Elements of 4-H. Hear Kelley describe a community service project engaging 4-H youth that impacted a real need in her community. Watch Video

See More Volunteer Videos

Bite Of Seattle: 4-H Alumni Interview

Category: Special Reports



Seagren, a 4-H Alum, tracked our film crew down at the Bite Of Seattle. Filmed and edited by Robert Price, Bainbridge Island.


Resource

King County 4-H Programs

The History Of 4-H

Folklife: Rebecca Wolf Was A 4H-er Back In 1954

To see more 4-H Network News Folklife 2006 videos and cell phone Podcasts, go to our Special Report Blog

Miss Nebraska out to change perceptions of 4-H, pageant

Category: 4-H National

There's more to 4-H than just cows, Miss Nebraska Kelly Keiser said in McCook on Wednesday, and Miss Nebraska is not just about beauty, both perceptions she wants to change in her attempt to visit all 93 counties across the state.

Keiser will be the first Miss Nebraska to visit every county if she succeeds.

Driving by herself across the state, she estimated she will finish her tour across Nebraska around May 11 in Fairbury, just in time to pass her tiara on to the new 2006 Miss Nebraska in June.

The 21 year-old from Gothenburg, who used to show cattle and hogs in 4-H, wants to get the word out that 4-H and the Miss Nebraska programs are both focused on education and scholarships, she said.

Many of the scholarships 4-H offers go untouched, she said, as no one applies for them, with grants also available for school programs and other organizations. (Read More)

Lorri Sughroue