The Votes have been Counted and the Winners are...

November is traditionally the month for elections. Our 4-H members and volunteers had the opportunity to practice their voting skills while electing our 4-H County Council and 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association members.

The 4-H County Council are 4-H members between the ages of 14 and 19. We prefer youth who have shown leadership skills within their clubs serving as club officers and feel they are ready to handle the responsibility of being an officer on the county level. Officer positions available are President Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, Reporter, and Sergeant at Arms. The officers on the volunteer side who are elected represent the volunteers and conduct quarterly meeting for our volunteers on the county level. the officers elected on the volunteer side include; President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, and Reporter. Each organization also has a President. The President is rotated into office and serves and the President-Elect the year before their Presidential term.

We started with taking nominations from the floor and then headed into voting. The slate of

4-H County Council Officers included; Aljaquon Nixon for President, Laquanda Banks for President-Elect, Korina Pittman and Yazmin Washington for Secretary, Keorie McMillan and Monique Edwards for Treasurer, Christian McRae and Kristen Sealey for Reporter, Jacoya Gathings and Ashley Sealey for Sergeant-at-Arms. When the votes were counted we found the excitement was just starting. Aljaquan Nixon was elected President, Laquawanda Banks President-Elect, Yazmin Washington took her third term as Secretary, Monique Edwards became the Treasurer, and Kristen Sealey will be our Reporter. The Sergeant-at -Arms position was in a dead heat with equal votes for both candidates. Different ways were discussed to break the tie and we ended up flipping a coin to determine the winner. When it was all said and done Ashley Sealey walked away with the officer position and Jacoya Gathings walked away with the coin and a wonderful attitude about the turn out.

The 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Association election was not quite as much of a thrill ride but it was very exciting. There was only one person slated for each position so each was elected to the position which they were slated for. The 2010 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Association officers are Hazel Sumner as President, Nikki Edwards as President-Elect, Susan Floyd as Secretary, Melissa McLean as Treasurer, Joyce Peay as Reporter, and Renee Blue will be the past President.

After the election results were announced Dave Welch, a former 4-H Agent and member of our 4-H Specialized Committee swore in our new officers during the candlelight ceremony. Dave tried to impress on our incoming officers the importance of their office and the responsibility that they have. Congratulations to all of our incoming officers and we are looking forward to your leadership of our Volunteers and Members in the future.

A few other announcements from this evening. District Fall day is coming up this Saturday in Moore County for out Volunteers. Also there is a county volunteer training coming up on the 10th for our Volunteers. It will be a make and take session that will allow our volunteers to leave with all sorts of ideas for club meetings. Also our annual Volunteer Appreciation banquet is coming up on November 13th. Deadline to sign up is Monday November 9th. This is the night that we honor our volunteers for all that they do and we have a special surprise this evening. Dr. Marshall Stewart, our state 4-H program leader will be joining us for this special evening. Also there will be an announcement that will change the face of our 4-H program in Robeson County and our support of our Volunteers. This will be a night that will go down in the history of 4-H so you will not want to miss it!

A couple of other announcements include the new use of technology to make communication easier. Our 2010 program calendar is on google calendars so you can access it year round. We will update regularly and you will have access to it 24-7. You can access it by clicking the link above or you can go to the google website under more click on the calendar. Sign in if you have a google account if not you can quickly and easily make one with your e-mail address. You can search for the 4-H County Programs Calendar and you can link to it and it will show you all the upcoming events. Also we will be sending out reminders on Twitter. If you would like you can sign up for reminders and updates from Twitter by clicking on this link and signing up to follow us. You can also set it up to get updates from us on your mobile phone. If you already have a Twitter account and want to search for us just put in RobesonCounty4H and you will find our page and you can sign up to follow us. To make sure there is no inappropriate material on our Twitter page we will not use it to follow anyone else it will only be used one way to send messages to those who want to know what we are up do. Also mark your calendars for December 11, 2009 which is our Youth Achievement Night. We are looking forward to seeing everyone that night and more details will be coming about this night.

Stay tuned for more announcements and updates as we wind down the 2009 year and gear up for 2010.

Rowland Norment Students in Hand to Hand Combat

You can't help but be aware of the flu epidemic and how everyone is lining up for H1N1 vaccines and doing all sorts of things to try to stay healthy. The first grade students at Rowland Norment Elementary School in Lumberton are no different. Today the EC and first grade youth took charge by learning how to properly wash their hands. Hand washing you might think is a little preventative. However as the students learned today it is probably one of the best ways to fight illnesses and stay healthy.
Shea Ann DeJarnette and Aggie Rogers, with Robeson County 4-H Youth Development were invited to do their Glo-Germ program with the students. Glo-Germ is a neat science type program that allows youth to see the germs on their hands and then, using the proper hand washing techniques, kill the germs. You might ask what are proper hand washing techniques? We're glad you asked. As the youth learned today using warm water and soap are the best tools in the war on germs. The students learned as they lather up and wash their hands (particularly between their fingers) they need to sing (in their heads) the ABC's or Happy Birthday. When they are done they can rinse and the germs should be gone. Of course the fun part is putting on the Glo-Germ lotion and placing your hands under a black light. Then the germs glow a really bright white and you can see just how sneaky those darn germs are. The majority of students got it right on the first try. A few were sneaky and didn't quite wash as long as they needed to so they went back to bathroom and tried again, this time doing a much better job.
Before we left we were able to name each of our students certified expert hand washers and charged them with some new responsibilities. It is their duty to now make sure others wash their hands appropriately and if they see someone who is not doing it right they are going to show them how to do it. Talk about germ warfare!
We must give a special thanks to Ms. Vera Hockaday's class (pictured above). Not only did they invite us to come do this they were kind enough to share their Harvest Festival treats with us, and even gave us enough to bring back to share with our entire Cooperative Extension Staff. We really appreciate the generosity and thoughtfulness. We had so much fun today that we have been invited back to visit with the second and third grades next Tuesday. Stay tuned because we are looking forward to that as well.

Winding Down and Saying Thank You

It is sad, no more cotton candy, funnel cakes, or collard sandwiches. As we finish winding down the fair, cleaning up at the fairgrounds, cleaning out our vehicles from hauling everything around for 10 days, it is time to reflect, smile, and say thank you.

First we need to say thank you to the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair, Coble D. Wilson, Jr. the Fair Board President, and all the members of the fair board, and friends of the fair. The fair board members not only allowed us to celebrate our centennial but really backed us and supported us in our efforts this year. It started before the fair ever opened. This year the 4-H educational booths were placed in a special area in the commercial exhibits building and we had more than 3 times the booths that we normally have.
Then the fair kicked up a few notches with our opening ceremonies and Dr. Thearon McKinney, from our state 4-H office, helping kick off this year's fair. Our Junior Fair Board members handed out centennial pins to the first 100 people through the gate. Each of the fair board members received a centennial pin and wore them throughout the duration of the fair. A few even had 4-H shirts and we really appreciate those who were brave enough to switch from their fair board shirts to their 4-H shirts and wear them during the fair. The fair also had special travel mugs made with the fair logo on one side and the 4-H centennial logo on the other side, which they gave out to principals, and special guests during the fair. A few of our 4-H members released one hundred 4-H balloons into the air. To top off a grand opening ceremony Steve Troxler our state Agriculture Commissioner, Cherrie Berry, our state Labor Commissioner, and Dr. Thearon McKinney all cut the 4-H birthday cake to really make sure this year was extra sweet.

It did not stop there. During the week we had our usual youth activities. 4-H of course was predominate in the Livestock building with nightly animal shows. We also had a centennial scavenger hunt we gave out t-shirts that had the fair logo on the front and a huge centennial logo on the back. The fair board was kind enough to supply the shirts as a prize for this event. J&J Amusements and the Starr Family Circus were also kind enough to help us by keeping answers to the scavenger hunt on rides and stages. The Junior Fair Board which is made up
predominantly of 4-H members was present every night. These teens helped measure youth for rides, gave out wristbands to help children so they would not get lost, and for those who did get lost they helped them find their parents. These very responsible teens also gave out information about shows and other goings on at the fair and helped out some of the fair board members with their events.

Our own Aggie Rogers organizes a ton of other youth events at the fair like Apollo Night, the Step Show, Fair Pageant and Praise Dance Competition. Between these events she is with the Junior Fair board members making sure they have everything they need.

Probably the biggest thank you of all needs to go to our 4-H members and volunteers. To start with the efforts of all of our clubs were evident in their hard work in their booths. The St. Paul's Pony put up a horse skeleton that the members of the club spent a year putting together. The Junior Fair Board, Lighting Electric Club, Inspirational Youth, and Future Leaders put up their first fair booths ever. Voices in Praise, Young Leaders, Horsin' Around and Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardeners stepped up to the challenge of the Centennial theme and outdid themselves again this year. Of course we also have to thank our friends from Bladen County 4-H for all their hard work on the ambassador booth and 4-H booth. They did themselves proud as well and showed that our fair is truly a regional fair, and we all work together to make the best better.

The work of our volunteers did not stop there. Some of our 4-H volunteers were out there every night (or pretty close to it) and deserve a special pat on the back for all their support of our 4-H program. Marilyn Merritt was by Aggie's side helping with the Junior Fair Board. Bobby Rogers started helping set up booths, offered his carpentry skills all around, and then moved on to hay and helping mentor some of our 4-H members at the fair. Every time I turned around there was Jane Hurst with her camera. Snapping photos and filling any slot where we needed someone. Sandra Cox came out and helped with Senior Citizen day which is always appreciated. Missy McLean and Larry Russ were in the livestock building helping with everything from watering down the ring to weighing in animals, cutting up chickens (grocery store chickens), and even capturing crazed animals that would get loose in the ring.
Allen Monk, a Bladen County 4-H member and his mother Peggy Monk volunteered to help us in the Livestock building and they were wonderful to work with this year and were willing to step in wherever we needed them. Tanya Underwood and Penny McCartney flew in to help with their first ever poultry judging contest. Of course I can't forget one of our best gate keepers, Scott Shaver, a Bladen county 4-H volunteer, who would go to work and then come out to the fair to handle gate duty for our lamb and heifer show. Then there is an entire list of extension agents who came in and volunteered on weekends and on their own time to help with competitions: Livestock Agents Michelle Shooter, Tiffanee Conrad-Acuna, and Becky Spearman; 4-H Agents Michelle Stumbo, Angela Shaver and Lauren Irby; Horticulture Agent Kerrie Roach and Poultry Agent James Parsons.

After thanking all of these volunteers, which our success at the fair is
dependant on their help there is one last group we need to thank, our youth and parents. We had 4-H members from around the state come to compete at our fair and parents who are so supportive they are willing to get up early and drive to our fair to allow their child to be in an environment where they can learn, achieve and succeed. This is why we all do this, is to give that positive hands on learning opportunity to our youth to allow them to grow and become successful adults in the future. the place to do that from October 1-10 was the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair.

One quick follow up to our opening day. I got a call Friday afternoon from a very nice man named Tim Barfield, in Cary, North Carolina. He called to tell me that he and his son were fishing about 10 miles south of Atlantic Beach out in the ocean and saw something floating out there. Being the good environmentalist that they are they thought it was trash and went to pick it up. As they got closer they realized that it was a bunch of balloons. When they fished them out they were able to piece together that it was part of our balloon release and called me to let me know where they found them. I was so thankful that they fished them out of the ocean, and called us that we will be sending him a big thank you note and centennial pin.

The fair may be over for 2009 but we will start planning now for 2010. If you would like to volunteer to be part of the fun just let us know by calling (910) 671-3276 we always need help and are excited to work with volunteers in any capacity. Go ahead and mark your calendars for the 2010 Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair, our 10 days of fun will be September 30-October 9.

One last thank you to everyone who made this fair such a huge success for 4-H. We can't do it without you and we hope you know how much we appreciate everything you do.

Baaaack to the Shows

Saturday at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair is time for our 4-H Lamb and Heifer Shows, and did we ever have a show. The day starts early, around 7 a.m. with the first lambs making their way in around 7:30. We have weigh in and by 10:30 everyone is ready and waiting to go. After a quick calculation of weight classes we were ready to get into the ring.

We started with showmanship. The cloverbuds, our 5-8 years olds took the center stage. This division is non competitive so the youth have the opportunity to show their lambs in the ring and receive trophies for the work they have done. April Baldwin, Hannah Naylor and Tate Naylor kicked things off for us in this division and did a spectacular job showing their lambs.

Next up is the 9-10 year old junior division. Once again their were only three competitors in this division but unlike the cloverbuds these were placed on their showing ability. After a bit of time in the ring our judge placed Ashley Wilson first, Amber Fout second and Hunter Muse third. Each received a rosette ribbon and cash prize for their efforts.

In the 11-13 year old junior division there was a lot of competition. The judge had a tough time deciding with this crowd. When the eight contestants finally stopped moving around in the ring the judge had his placings. Samantha Naylor took home the blue ribbon, Robert Seals took home the red ribbon, and Henry Carter walked away with the white. Rounding out that age division were Sabrina Blake in fourth place, Megan Baldwin in fifth place, Glenn Bill in sixth, Benjamin Herndon in seventh and Olivia Muse in eighth.

Up next is the toughest group of competitors each year, the 14-19 year olds also known as the Senior division. With 10 in the ring at one time the judge had his hands full watching our competitors as they did their best to show their lambs. Taylor Black must have wowed the judge taking home first place, while Heather Goodrich came in a close second and Ian Ridenhour rounded out the top three spots. Following closely behind our top three leaders in this division were Courtney Dotson, Hattie Furr, Jacob Faggart, Danielle Blake, Mariah Graham, Steven Boudreaux, Jr., and Cooper Locke.

That was just the first round in the ring after that our competitors went in the ring for the 4-H market lamb show. This show is centered around the lamb. The divisions are divided based on the lambs' weight. This year our lightweight division was 65-111 pounds, our middleweights were 113-127 pounds, and our heavyweights were 129-147 pounds. Each division had 12 -13 competitors making the judging difficult for our judge. Below are the standings for our divisions:
Lightweight

Glenn Bill with Snowflake-11

Cooper Locke with Sissy Girl-10
Hunter Muse with Allie-9

Olivia Muse with Snow-12

Steven Boudreaux with Lilly-8
Olivia Muse with Zoe-7
Henry Carter with Aggie-3
Sabrina Blake with Mary-1
Megan Baldwin with 270-6
Hunter Muse with Combo-5
Smantha Naylor with 107-2
Amber Fout with Spout-4
Middleweight

Benjamin Herndon with Alexander-9

Glenn Bill with Annie-10
Henry Carter with Merle-11
Samantha Naylor with Wildman-4
Hunter Muse with Carlie-12
Ian Ridenhour with Bella-6

Olivia Muse with Bozo-13

Hattie Furr with Lucy-3
Heather Goodrich with Clyde-5
Mariah Graham with Bo-7
Benjamin Herndon with Bucephalus-8
Glenn Bill with Bo-1
Heather Goodrich with Blue-2

Heavyweight

Courtney Dotson with Spice-11
Danielle Blake with Pickles-12
Jacob Faggart with John Boy-10
Samantha Naylor with Lambo-5

Samantha Naylor with 723-1

Robert Seals with Sinbad-3
Hattie Furr with Sugar-4
Robert Seals with Sarah-2
Ashley Wilson with Buddy-6
Hattie Furr with Duke-7
Ian Riddenhour with El Diablo-8
Taylor Black with Troy-3

After the weight divisions were decided our first place winners from each got back into the ring to chose the best of the best. Sabrina Blake with Mary, Glenn Bill with Bo and Samantha Naylor with 723 were vying for Grand Champion. When it was all said and done Samantha Naylor with lamb number 723 took Grand Champion while her ring replacement Robert Seals with Sarah took home Reserve Champion.

After a short break and time for everyone to get photos in the ring it was time for our 4-H Steer and Heifer shows. As always we started with showmanship. There were no cloverbuds this year to kick off the festivities so we went straight to the Junior division. There were two competitors in this division, Vinnie Grazino who took first and Abigale Montcreif who placed second. In the Junior 11-13 age division Austin Cameron and Anthony Bullard went head to head with Austin taking home the blue and Anthony the red. In the Senior division Sable Scott and Dennis Bullard squared off in the ring with Sable edging out Dennis for first place.

Next we had our 4-H market heifer show which is done by birth dates of the heifers. In the 3/1/2009-4/30/2009 division there were three competitors. Austin Cameron with Double C8/50, Anthony Bullard with April, and Abigale Montcrief with Agnes. Austin and his heifer took first while Abigale and Agnes were a close second and Anthony and April rounded out the top three spots. In the 1/1/2009-2/28/2009 category Vinne Grazino with Lucy took first. Austin Cameron racked up another blue ribbon with Double c 8/21 in the 9/1/2008-10/31/2008 division. Sable Scott and Annie Oakly also took home blue in the 11/1/2007-12/31/2007 division.

After that our first place winners took center stage competing for Grand and Reserve Champion. When it was said and done Vinnie Grazino with Lucy took home the Grand Champion prize while Sable Scott with Annie Oakley took home the Reserve Champion title.

After that we had two contestants with steer so we had an impromptu steer show. Usually steers are shown by weight but since we only had two we thought we would combine and weight classes into one and let them go head to head. Once again Vinnie Grazino had a blue ribbon to take home while Dennis Bullard walked away with the red in our first ever 4-H steer show.

As if all of this was not enough fun for one day we had someone else to recognize for their support of our 4-H centennial. We chased down Coble Wilson, Jr., President of the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair to present him with a certificate for the entire Fair Board for all of their support of 4-H. They helped us promoted our centennial through the fair book, on coffee mugs, with t-shirts and by allowing us to have extra special activities for this fair. We could not have had such a wonderful celebration if it weren't for their support and we really appreciate it.

This was all the fun we could stand for one day but stay tuned to our 4-H blog for more followups of 4-H events from the fair as we wind down and clean up from this years events.

Friday is a Day of Rest for our Animals

Friday at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair is a day of rest for our animals as they prepare for our last big show on Saturday, the 4-H Lamb and Heifer show. This show will involve youth from all over North Carolina and is second biggest to the goat show each year. As we prepare for that show we are just kicking back and enjoying the sights and sounds of the fair this night.

One of the neat things we were able to do today with a little down time was say thank you to some folks. We presented Star Family Circus and J&J Amusements with official 4-H Certificates of Appreciation for their support of our 4-H Centennial Activities at the fair. Star Family Circus allowed us to put an answer for our 4-H Scavenger Hunt on their fence in front of the stage and J&J amusements let us put two answers up, one on the ferris wheel and fun slide. They were particularly supportive of our efforts and happy to help out in our celebration and we really appreciate their efforts.

The 4-H Scavenger Hunt was 10 questions about 4-H. Each question had clues to find the next answer. Several youth found the answers and will receive a free 4-H t-shirt provided by the fair. The winners of t-shirts include: Maurice R., Tarangie G., Dillon M., Cierra W., and more.

In case you missed it in the Robesonian, our County Extension Director, Everett Davis, did a fantastic article about the fair and 4-H. Make sure you take a moment to read it. It might even make you want to join 4-H.

Stay tuned to the 4-H blog as we give you the highlights of the 4-H lamb and heifer show...coming up soon.

No Eggs Laid During This Competition

What would a county fair be without animals? I don't mean pony or camel rides but cows, goats and the ever popular chicken. Although the chickens may not be the cutest or cuddliest chicken in the building it is a big draw especially on Thursday nights at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair when we have our annual 4-H poultry shows.

This year we had youth showing both laying hens and broilers. Three cloverbuds, Adelmo Wyrtko, Regina Koch and Caleb Jacobs learned how to hold their laying hens as the entered the show ring and got ready for our judge to check out their birds. When they left they all had trophies in hand and big smiles on their faces. Up next was the Junior division. Long time competitor Benjamin Herndon took first in this division with his hen while Mikayla Hecker took first place in the senior division.

The broiler competition was a little more competitive this year. Although we did not have any cloverbuds we had two Benjamin's registered for our Junior division Benjamin Herndon and Benjamin Dial. Benjamin Herndon added another blue ribbon to his collection after this competition. The Senior division allowed for a brother sister match as Kelsy Bullard took on her older brother Sebastian. Kelsy took home the blue while her brother walked away with the red ribbon in this competition.

We will wind down our animal shows on Saturday with Lambs and Heifers. The lamb show starts promptly at 11 while the heifers will start at one. Come by and see us at the Robeson County Fair this year...just two days left for the 2009 fair year.

What an Eggs-cellent Opportunity

What would make teens from across the county flock to the Robeson County Fair? Deep fried goodies? Rides that turn you and churn you? Youth social events? How about the ever popular 4-H Poultry Judging Competition? These FFA and 4-H members flew to the fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon for an incredible competition that included eggs in and out of the shell, live and dead chickens, and chicken parts.

More than 65 youth took part in this years competition. It was a humdinger as they had to judge live past production hens and place them, provide oral reasons on why they placed the chickens in the order they did, name the various parts of a chicken from a grocery store hen that had been cut up, grade eggs that had been broken out of the shell, grade grocery store chickens that had been tied up so they could properly examine them, and judge eggs by their interior qualities by candling them.

Each youth travelled with 9 others from station to station and had 10 minutes at each station. The youth did their best to examine each item and fill in their answers to gain the top score. When it was all said and done Destiny Smith placed first in the individual junior division. Stan Locklear placed first in the Senior Division with Allen Monk a close second and Dillon Dennis third.

In the team category there were 16 teams competing for three slots. The teams included Diamond Trail Academy, Lumberton FFA, St. Paul's FFA, Red Springs FFA and Purnel Swett FFA. When the scores were tallied Diamond Trail Academy went home with the top honors. Two of the St. Paul's FFA teams followed with second and third place.

Keep following all of the competition news and excitement on our 4-H blog as we continue all this ag-fun. Thursday night is our annual poultry show. Our 4-H youth will show laying hens and broilers this year in contention for the top prize.