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January 2017 Clover Connection

Dear Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you and your family had a

wonderful holiday season! I look forward to beginning

the new year with lots of exciting things happening in 4-

H! Goal setting is a big part of 4-H. We are to set

SMART goals. (Specific, Measure-able, Action, Realis-

tic, Timely) Clayton County has an enrollment goal of

410 members. What are you doing to help achieve this

goal? Are there friends that you can invite to join your

club?

We also want to continue to improve our county 4-H

program. As we begin this new year, think of ways we

can continue to make the 4-H program even better.

What new clubs could we start? What new things do

you want to learn? Is there a place that you would like

to visit? Is there a new project you want to learn about?

or a fair activity that you want to get involved in? Is

there something we should be doing on the county lev-

el to help improve your 4-H experience? Let me know

your ideas. We have staff, committees and volunteers

ready to “Make the Best Better”!

Have a happy, safe new year!

Tammy Muller

CYC

New Member Orientation

New 4-H members and their parents are

invited to come explore “Cloverville” on

Sunday, January 29 at the Extension Office

in Elkader starting at 5:30 pm with a light

supper. We will be having an evening of

sharing information on the overall 4-H

program, communication, goal setting,

projects & exhibits, livestock information,

4honline, and much more! Reservations

required by January 24.

DuPont Pioneer Seed Grants

DuPont Pioneer offers grants to 4-H clubs for local

community improvement projects. The purpose is to

provide “seed money” that clubs can use as a starting

point for their project. Clubs need to find additional

resources in their communities for their projects. If

your club is interested in this opportunity, please visit

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/pioneergrants or

contact the Extension Office for more information.

Application forms are due January 17.

Clayton County Fair 2017 August 2-7

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Calendar of Events January

2 Holiday, Extension Office Closed

7 New Volunteer Training, Calmar

12 Youth Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm

15 4-H Volunteer Leader Appreciation Banquet

22 Citizenship Meeting, 2 pm

22 Livestock Judging, 4:15 pm

24 Clover Kid Day Planning Meeting, 6:30 pm

29 New Member Orientation Workshop

Wanted 4-H Club Shirts

As a fundraiser the 4-H Citizenship group is making

a 4-H club t-shirt quilt to be raffled off. We would

like a club shirt from all the 4-H clubs in Clayton

County. It doesn’t have to be new, just clean with no

stains or holes. Doesn’t have to be your current shirt

design, must have your club name on it. Any color is

fine, prefer adult sized shirts.

The Month of January is: Eye Care Month National Hobby Month National Soup Month National Staying Health Month National Thank You Month National Oatmeal Month

Youth Loans Available

Farm Service Agency has youth loans for livestock

projects available. Check out the website or visit

your local FSA office. http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/

webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=ryl

2016 Clayton County 4-H Foundation

Memorials & Gifts:

In honor of Glenda Henkes 90th Birthday

Larry Landsgard Brian & Koral Harbaugh

In memory of Louie Eberhardt, Elkader

Joe & Suzanne Shirbroun

In memory of Annette Hird, Volga

Trent & Leslie Henkes In honor of family & friends John & Lois Storbeck In Memory of Sharon Miene, Postville Marshall & Leah Lange Trent & Leslie Henkes Larry Landsgard Tammy A Muller Dan & Nancy Moon Glenda Henkes Vernice & Beverly Moon Harry & Dorene Larson Edwin Engelhardt Linda & John Orr Nathan & Jody Nus Clayton County Dairy Promotion Clayton County Holstein Breeders In memory of Deb Reierson, Elgin Joe & Linda Zuercher In memory of Sylvia Spykerman, Elgin Tammy Muller Greg & Deb Schulte Marshall & Leah Lange Joe & Linda Zuercher Trent & Leslie Henkes Dan & Peggy Lane Ron Soppe Greg & Carol Johnson Kenny Orr Family Carol Beier Mace & Kristin Klingman Elkader Veterinary Clinic Woodcenter Eagles 4-H Club Vern & Marsha Spykerman Family In Memory of Vernon Cherne, Guttenberg Joe & Suzanne Shirbroun Tammy A Muller Iowa Cattlemen Steve Schilling Karlene Wonderlich Shelby Preston Connie Backes Dale Linderbaum Angela Killian Sue Dvorak Susan Weller Julie Bayliss Judy & Gary Burrack Peggy Harbaugh Shirley Bohr Carol Koehn Marta Quinn Annette Willenborg Karla Grell Scott Stade Dennis Strum Cindy Petsche Roseann Woerner Layton Hansel Richard Kann Brian McCulloh Barb Arthur Gene Tinker Robert Merrick Deb & Greg Schulte Joyce Cherne

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4-H Creates Opportunities

Beef Weigh In Thank you to everyone who helped with the annual

market beef weigh-in on December 17! We weighed

and tagged 213 animals, but still have a few families

yet to weigh in other counties. After the animals are

entered into the 4-H online system 4-H families must

confirm the data entered into the system. This verifica-

tion must be completed by February 1. Instructions for

verifying livestock in the 4-H online system may be

found on our webpage at http://

www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/page/4honline-

information-families-and-leaders

4-H'ers: Apply for state recognition

and trips!

You deserve to be recognized for your efforts and have some fun, too! If you are a ninth through twelfth grader, there are many opportunities available to you for recog-nition awards or to represent Iowa on the state and na-tional levels. These include National 4-H Conference, National 4-H Congress, State 4-H Council, National 4-H Dairy Conference, and State 4-H Project Awards. Learn more about applying for these opportunities at www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/page/recognition-opportunities. Submit online applications no later than 11:59 PM February 1, 2017.

Scholarships Available Are you an Iowa 4-H'er planning to attend college? Consider applying for an Iowa 4-H Scholarship, funded by donors through the Iowa 4-H Foundation. Designed to encourage Iowa 4-H members to continue their education beyond high school, our current scholarship program offers over 90 scholarships worth more than $90,000. Scholarships range in value from $500 to $10,000. Certain scholarships are open to students pursuing any field of study, while others are open to students pursuing degrees in agriculture, food and nutrition, ag business, animal science, journalism and STEM relat-ed studies. Former and current 4-H members graduat-ing from high school or currently attending college are eligible applicants. While a majority of the 4-H scholar-ship opportunities are available for students attending Iowa State University, scholarships are available to students planning to attend an Iowa Regent university, Iowa private college, Iowa community college, or any land-grant university. Applicants must enroll as a full-time student to receive scholarship awards. Information and applications for the 4-H Scholarships are available online through the Iowa 4-H Foundation at www.iowa4hfoundation.org/scholarships. Applications must be submitted online no later than 11:59 PM, February 1, 2017 for consider-ation. Only one application form is needed for all Iowa 4-H Foundation Scholarships. Eligible students may apply for more than one scholarship, however, only one scholarship per individual will be awarded per academic year.

Livestock Judging

Practice has begun for our

livestock judging team. If you

are in grades 9-12 and interested in being part of a

livestock judging team, please contact the Extension

Office. The next workout is scheduled for Sunday,

January 22 at 4:15 pm at the Extension Office.

4-H & FFA Members & Families SAVE on

World's Toughest Rodeo 2017

Location: Wells Fargo Arena; Discounts Available for Groups of 10+; Call early to get the best seats. Groups of 20+ will receive 2 comp tickets for every 20 purchased. Contact Carrie Fick at 515-564-8146 or email carrie_fick@comcastspectacor.com.

Friday, Jan. 13th 2017 7:30pm

FFA and 4-H members and families save $10 off of the $20, $30, $40, and $60 tickets

Saturday, Jan. 14th 2017 7:30pm

FFA and 4-H members and families save $10 off of the $20, $30, $40, and $60 tickets

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Central Lego League Competed December 3 in

Cedar Falls

The Central 4-H Cyborg Narwhals participated in their 3rd

FIRST competition on December 3 in Cedar Falls. This

year’s theme was Animal Allies. The youth participated in a

research project on helping better animal and human rela-

tions by creating an app that gives guided tours of a zoo but

also gives an alert when kids are too close to an animal

exhibit. The youth also participated in the robotics game and core values competition.

The team was coached by Jim James- Robotics, Shannon Durbin- Project, and Stacey

Weber- Core Values. The youth reported learning a lot more this year on their robot,

including sensors, interruptions, loops, switches, and actuators.

Ed-Co 4-H Junior FIRST Lego League

Three youth from the Ed-Co 4-H Junior FIRST Lego League participated in the FIRST

Showcase in Dubuque on December 10. Ella Beyer, Rylan Gaul, and Nolan Gaul were

part of the team Bee Monster Spaceships. They created the habitat of the park to

house a bee and a beehive as well as two other animals the group had to research and

add to their habitat. The two animals the group decided to add to their LEGO habitat

was the butterfly and the spider.

4-H Brunch is March 12

The Clayton County 4-H Omelet Brunch

will be Sunday, March 12 at Johnson’s

Reception Hall in Elkader. We are also

having a silent auction. Clubs, families, and individuals

are asked to donate items for the auction. Be creative!

Proceeds from the auction help with the county’s share

of the 4-H Development Fee and offset some of the

county 4-H program costs

4-H Citizenship Group

The 4-H Citizenship group will be meeting Sunday, January 22 at 2:00 pm at the Clayton County Jailhouse. They will be touring the facility and having a short meeting. This 2-year project commitment is open to all 4-H Intermediate and Senior members choosing to participate. We are starting year one. Year 1 requires enrollment in the 4-H citizenship project, participation of local level citizenship education with 4 monthly meetings, a tri-county meeting and a trip to the Iowa State Capital in Des Moines. Plans are to visit the state capitol in Des Moines on March 8, 2017. A trip to Washington DC is planned for 2018. All 7

th-12

th graders

are encouraged to participate.

Winter Sports Waivers and Insurance

‘Tis the season for winter recreation. Remember that

four activities are not covered by the standard $1/

member/year accident injury policy through American

Income Life: downhill skiing, tobogganing, sledding and

tubing. Those can be covered by a Special Activities policy through AIL.

See their webpage for additional information http://

www.americanincomelife.com/who-we-serve/4-h-insurance

Those four activities plus ice skating also require a special participation

waiver. Use the special winter activities waiver below: http://

www.extension.iastate.edu/4hfiles/

RMIowa4HWinterSportsPermissionAgreementJan2010.pdf

Pizzazz Night Awards

We’re sorry! A few names were omitted in

the 2016 4-H Pizzazz Night program for

receiving a second year Junior

Record Keeping Award. Our deepest

apologies. Congratulations to Sam Schil-

ling, Woodcenter Eagles; Schyler Meyer,

Woodcenter Eagles; and Delaney Scherf,

Worthwhile.

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WANTED: 4-H Club’s Programs

Club programs for the 2017 year are REQUIRED and due at the Extension Office by January 1. Please include the time, location and general de-scription for each meeting. The Risk Management Policy and insurance covers those events that are listed on the club program or called in to the Extension Office prior to the event. The Extension Office is available to type your programs or you can email or drop them off copy ready.

… and justice for all

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of

race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status,

religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s

income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with

disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape,

etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimina-

tion, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-

9410, or call 800-795-3272 (voice) or 202-720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Tammy Muller –County Youth Coordinator

tamuller@iastate.edu

ISU Extension and Outreach—Clayton County

563-245-1451

Position Open—K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator

Holly Loan– Executive Coordinator

Michelle Moser –Office Assistant

Leader’s Corner

New Volunteer Training

The Iowa 4-H New Volunteer training program is de-signed to be flexible for volunteers, with an online learn-

ing component as well as a face to face component; both

are required within your first year as a 4-H volunteer. The online learning consists of 4 training sessions that

should be completed prior to the face to face New Volun-teer Training (NVT). The 4 online trainings can be taken

at any time prior to the face to face training and are de-

signed to be short, 15 minutes or less per session via 4H Online. The face to face training will be offered in an

area near you and will be approximately 3 hours. Click http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/page/training-

registration-new-volunteers to register for an upcoming face-to-face training in your area. Training will be held

January 7 at NICC in Calmar. Check out the website for

other dates and locations.

Must be enrolled as a leader and status must be

“active” to view training sessions

www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/Clover

Annual Leader Appreciation Banquet

is January 15

The annual 4-H Leader Appreciation Banquet will

be Sunday, January 15 at Johnson’s in Elkader at

7:00 pm. Reservations are required. Clubs and

leaders will be receiving more information.

2017 Clover Kids Fun Day

“Pajama Jam”

Saturday, February 25 9:30 am - 3:30 pm

Johnson’s Reception Hall, Elkader

A Day Filled With Fun & Educational Activities!

Open to all K-3rd grade students.

Watch for registration information!

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 122

Clayton County Extension

120 S Main Street

PO Box 357

Elkader, IA 52043

January 2017 Clover Connection

Business Meeting Agenda

1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Roll Call & Introduction of Visitors

4. Minutes of Previous Meeting

5. Treasurer’s Report

6. Committee Reports

7. Unfinished & New Business

Leader Banquet—Jan. 15

New Member Night– Jan 29

Clover Kid Day –Feb. 25

8. Adjourn/4-H Pledge