Marketing on the Club Level

4-H Volunteer training went high tech and just might reach millions of people. Almost a dozen volunteers came to the Robeson County 4-H office for quarterly training. The topic this quarter...marketing.

We broke the ice with a fun listening exercise and then read the signs about marketing. We actually started with a mix of high tech and low tech to make club signs that could be hung up in front of meeting locations to let everyone know where and when our clubs meet in the community. The signs will cost less than ten dollars to make and can include the entire club in the process of making it.

We also explored some more high tech ways to market such as blogs, Facebook, and You Tube. Volunteers were also exposed to other ways to communicate with members and volunteers including text messaging, phone trees and Twitter.

All the way around we learned something new and came up with some new ways to include our members in marketing our club programs, giving them a little more responsibility and opportunity for leadership. After all that is what we are all about in 4-H

It was a Berry of a Day!

So getting up early to sell plants, and turning around to plant plants as a community service project was just the beginning. The next step was to travel to Floyd's Farm in Fairmont to enjoy a particular plant, strawberry plants.

It was the annual kids day at Floyd's Strawberry Patch.
Not only were there a bunch of 4-H members present enjoying the day, there were Extension staff members everywhere enjoying the ripe red berries that had pulled us all there. Another draw for the day, was that a percentage of the proceeds went to our local autism society.

Kids and adults enjoyed homemade ice cream, got to pick fresh berries, and enjoy a day on the farm. The youth also had the opportunity to ride on a trackless train, bounce in bouncy houses, and check out a real fire truck and the Sheriff office's command center. What a way to end a day center on plants. It was really sweet!

Digging Up Good Will

The plant sale was hard work. The next step in the day was even harder work but more rewarding if you ask the "Dirty Rascals" Junior Master Gardener Club members and the families of Hospice House residents.

Since Robeson County 4-H is a United Way of Robeson County Agency each year a group or groups of 4-H members complete a community service project for the United Way Day of Caring which will be held May 7th this year. The project this year was conducting a planting project in a picnic area at the Southeastern Hospice House. This is the second year the youth have completed this project.

As Master Gardener Connie Locklear and Club Leader Missy McLean set out the marigolds, salvia, and other flowering annuals the youth got their trowels ready to dig in to turn a drab area into a place that looked like it was blooming into spring. As soon as everything was laid out Ms. Messy Missy gave everyone a quick planting lesson. Then it was time to dig in and beautify. The more experienced gardeners helped those who have not done a great deal of planting. Within forty minuted almost one hundred plants had been planted and a new area is growing for Hospice patients and their families to enjoy.

After thanking Ms. Vicki for letting us come, everyone had the opportunity to dig into ice cream as a reward for all our hard work. We hope that everyone will enjoy this area during the year to come.

Selling...Selling...Gone by 8 am

It is one of the earliest days of the year and one of the most profitable at least for the Robeson County Master Gardener Association and the "Dirty Rascals" Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club. The two organizations come together annually on the last Saturday in April for a plant sale. All the plants are raised by Members of the Master Gardener Association and the herbs are raised by members of the Junior Master Gardeners 4-H Club.

Each year the sale starts at 7 a.m. This year the sale took place in the parking lot of North State Optics. Every plant, no matter the size or type, costs two dollars. At 6:45 a.m. there was already a line waiting to get at the plants, and some anxious buyers offering to help unload cars as they viewed what there was to buy. When we looked up at 7:40 a.m. there were but a few plants left and a majority of the herbs had been sold.

It is a great opportunity for our youth to show off what they know about plants and raise money for their club. The money will be used to help offset the cost of the club's fair booth at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair in October. The rest of the money will be used to help support a club field trip after the fair. For those of you who helped support the youth this year, thank you! For those of you who missed the sale this year, go ahead and put it on your calendar for next year. We look forward to seeing you there.

4-Hers Talk their way through County Activity Day

Do you know how to make a horse first aid kit, or how to train a dinosaur, or who Rosa Parks is? If you had attended the annual Robeson County 4-H County Activity Day on Saturday you would have learned all about these topics and more. About twenty youth took part in this event which is the first step to District Activity Day and then 4-H State Congress.

There are two separate competitions for County Activity Day, Public Speaking and Presentations. In the Public Speaking Competition youth research and write their own speech which is approximately five minutes in length. In Presentations the youth demonstrate how to do something such as cooking their favorite dish or how to raise a puppy. The youth use visual aids such as posters or PowerPoint presentations to help illustrate what they are doing.

In Public Speaking the speeches ranged from funny to emotional. In the Junior 9-10 Age division Michicko Hill, of the Inspirational Youth Leaders was the winner with her speech on teen drug abuse. There was more competition in the Junior 11-13 year age category. Kyasia Simmons of the Spiritual Generations 4-H club and Alexis Jones of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club went head to head. In the end Simmons placed second for her speech on family while Jones received the blue ribbon for her speech on citizenship. In the senior division (our 14-19 year olds) the judges had the hardest time. There were four competitors in this division. Nakerah Baxley, of the Inspirational Youth Leaders received a participation ribbon for her first time competing. She delivered a speech on "Rosa Parks". In third place was Aljaquon Nixon of the Voices in Praise 4-H Club. Al delivered a speech on "Jr ROTC". Sierra Johnson also of the Inspirational Youth Leaders took home the red ribbon for her speech on "Alcohol". In first place from the Young Leaders 4-H Club was Christian McRae for his emotional speech on "Seizing the Opportunity".

It was not any easier for our judges in presentations. First up were the cloverbuds, our 5-8 year olds. The cloverbud category is non competitive. Each youth who competes receives a green participation ribbon. First up was Nadia Bennet of the Spiritual Generations 4-H Club. Nadia showed us how to make fruit kabobs. Mya Mitchell, also of Spiritual Generations, was next with her speech on how to make banana pudding. She was followed by Cameron Pipkin, also with Spiritual Generations 4-H Club, who showed us how to train a D-Rex. Christian Tice of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club followed with another yummy cooking demonstration of how to make fruit salad. Rounding out the cloverbuds was Kyleigh Smith of the Spiritual Generations 4-H club. She showed us how to make a filling ham sandwich.

The cloverbuds were followed by our compeititive age divisions. Megan Butler and Brianna Cryer, both of the St. Paul's 4-H Horse club went head to head in the 9-10 year old, horse division. Brianna placed second for her presentation on horse coloring, while Megan took first place for her presentation on horse markings. In our 11-13 age division we had another fun division. David Hair and Jayln McNair, both of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H club were competing in outdoor cookery. David received first place in the pork division for his grilled pork chops and Jayln received first place in the chicken division for his grilled chicken breasts. Caylee and Taylor Holden did a team presentation on how to build a first aid kit for horses. They received the blue ribbon in the horse category. In the open division Megan Hurst of the Horsin' Around Horse Club and the "Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-h Club, received first place for her presentation on how to take care of orphaned puppies. While Kyasia Smith of Spiritual Generations received second place for her presentation on herself. In the senior division Shawndora McNair of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club walked away with the blue ribbon in health for her presentation on Asthma.

The first and second place winners, in each age division, in the public speaking competition will have the opportunity now to compete at District competition which will be held in June. The first and second place winners in each category and age division of presentations will also have the opportunity to compete at District. The District Competition will be held in Lee County on June 24th.

We would also like to give special thanks to our judges this year. In public speaking, Jerome Billups, Tanya Underwood, and Jimmy Williamson. In presentations, Katrina Williamson and Joyce Russ. Also special thanks to our volunteers who helped us set up, Jane Hurst and Larry Russ who also handled the outdoor cooking area. Also a very special thanks to our club leaders and parents who helped and supported these youth while they got ready for the event. Stay tuned as we let you know how they do at District Activity Day competing against the best of the best in 15 counties. Winners from district will move forward to state competition.

"Dirty Rascals" Go High-Tech

The "Dirty Rascals Junior" Master Gardener (JMG) 4-H Club met this week to plan for their upcoming fundraiser. They also took the opportunity to go high tech and plant the AeroGarden that they helped purchase, along with the Master Gardeners for the Robeson County Office.

As part of the planting project they planted all three AeroGardens. The top one will grow cherry tomatoes, two red and one gold heirloom. The middle one will grow a variety of herbs including mint, basil, dill, oregano and thyme. The bottom AeroGarden is loaded with basil. All the herbs and tomatoes can be used as part of the the nutrition cooking programs that take place at the Extension office. The youth did a great job planting and covering the pods with their greenhouse caps. They also put nutrients in each planting system and made sure each was full of water. In just a few days we should be seeing sprouts and taking off the caps to let our herbs and tomatoes grow.

The members are also getting ready for their annual plant sale in partnership with the Master Gardeners. This is the clubs big fundraiser every year. The money they raise will be used for their fair booth and for their annual field trip. The Master Gardener Plant Sale will take place on Saturday, April 24, in the North State Optics parking lot. The sale begins at 7 a.m. All of the plants are sold for $2 each. The Master Gardeners raise and donate the plants for the sale. In past years buyers have gotten Azaleas, blackberry bushes, Japanese Red Maples, Dogwoods and much much more. The Junior Master Gardeners will be selling herbs and grow cards. With each sale of their herbs will come a recipe card to allow participants use the herbs as part of their culinary lifestyles. If you have a chance and are looking for some great deals come out and see us next Saturday. The youth will be happy to tell you all about their herbs and will be more than happy to sell you some in support of their club and club activities.

For more information about the plant sale please contact Kerrie Roach, Horticulture Extension Agent at (910) 671-3276 or Kerrie_Roach@ncsu.edu.

Finding a way to Always Say Thank You to our Volunteers

4-H has a long history in Robeson County. As part of that history we have had some incredible 4-H Agents who have gone on to shape Extension and 4-H on the state and national levels. One such agent is Dr. Eddie Locklear. In November we made a big announcement at our 4-H Volunteer Appreciation Night thanks to Dr. Eddie Locklear and his wife Brenda. The Locklears agreed to help establish an endowment that would fund a Robeson County 4-H Volunteer Hall of Fame and honor a special 4-H volunteer each year. This is a huge honor for our 4-H program and volunteers. It is something that will last for the lifetime of our program (which is currently 97 years old). In other words it is a gift that will truly keep on giving.

Our County Extension Director, Everett Davis wrote an article that appeared in today’s Robesonian. Below is the article.

“Eddie Locklear was my first mentor when I began working with Robeson County Cooperative Extension almost 30 years ago. I have to give him a lot of credit for getting me started on a long and rewarding career.
When you first begin a new job, you need someone who you can really trust that will tell you what you really need to know. Although there are lots of rules, policies, and procedures, sometimes the real world requires instructions that just don’t fit the book.
Eddie was a local boy. He had graduated from Pembroke College and came straight to work with Cooperative Extension as a 4-H Agent. In addition to being highly organized and having a very strong work ethic, he knew almost everyone in the county, and he knew how to get things done.
In addition to being the 4-H Agent, Eddie had been handling the forestry responsibilities for several years before I got here. He knew the ropes, and he had developed a very strong and highly reputable program. It amazed me that he was able to get so much done in one day and that he had convinced so many volunteers to help him with whatever he was trying to do.
I quickly learned from personal experience how effective Eddie was at recruiting and training volunteers. In no time at all, he had me helping him with his forestry meetings, making signs for his forestry demonstrations, helping judge 4-H projects, cooking meals for 4-H events, helping raise money for his 4-H program, and helping set up tables and chairs for his meetings.
I guess Eddie was sympathetic to me and felt like he needed to help me become a good agent, because I was so gullible and so easily convinced that his projects were more important than mine.
I had the opportunity to become County Extension Director just a short time before Eddie chose a different career ladder. His goal was to become an Extension 4-H Specialist. He chose to move to Raleigh, get his master's degree and ultimately his doctorate, and to serve not only those in Robeson County but to serve on the national and international levels as well.
After he retired in 2003 while leading the national 4-H After school Initiative, which was funded by the JCPenney After school Foundation, he accepted a full-time position at the National 4-H Council as National Director of 4-H After school, and in 2006, was appointed National Director of 4-H SET, which is the acronym for science, engineering, and technology.
The advantage of this national position was that Eddie could work from home. So he and his wife Brenda returned to their real home. They moved back to Robeson County and built a beautiful home in Lumberton.
I share all this information about Eddie with you, because I realize that many of you probably did not have the opportunity to be involved in his 4-H and Forestry Extension educational program back some 25 years ago. You most likely would not have been aware of his highly successful efforts for youth on the state and national level. You probably would not know of his passion for volunteerism and the potential that everyone has for personal development.
Because Eddie and Brenda have such strong feelings for our youth, they recently agreed to establish an endowment that provides support and recognition to the more outstanding adult volunteers who work with these youth. I am pleased to share with you the Dr. Eddie and Mrs. Brenda Locklear Endowment for Robeson County that will be used to establish the Robeson County 4-H Volunteer Hall of Fame. This endowment will be managed by the North Carolina 4-H Development Fund, a 501(c)(3) entity of the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation at North Carolina State University.
When endowed, perpetual funds will be available to select the most outstanding 4-H volunteer each year and provide that person with a monetary award and public recognition. One wall inside the auditorium of the O. P. Owens Agriculture Center, where Cooperative Extension is housed, will be properly decorated to serve as a public display for the 4-H Volunteer Hall of Fame. The volunteer selected to receive this award each year will have their picture and appropriate biographical sketch displayed for all to see.
We are currently soliciting donations in order to complete this endowment. If you do not have the time and ability to serve as an adult volunteer for a youth group, hopefully, you will see an opportunity to create financial support that will recognize and say “thank you” to those who do.
Possibly, you would like to make a tax deductible donation yourself. Possibly you are like many adults today, you already have everything you want and need, so if extended family members or those from outside your immediate family try to give you a gift, it is going to wind up being something you don’t want and don’t need. More than likely, it will wind up in the yard sale or donated to a charity. Why not suggest they make a donation to this endowment in your honor.
This endowment may be the perfect opportunity to honor a deceased family member with a token that, unlike flowers, will last forever. Tax deductible donations in memory of those who loved children and the youth of the county are very fitting memorials.
For more information about how to support his endowment, please contact Robeson County Cooperative Extension by calling 910-671-3276.”

Which Came First?

In our case the egg always comes first when we start a round of 4-H embryology in the schools. Today we gave out more than 30 dozen eggs as part of round two of this incredible hands-on school enrichment curriculum. This time we have incubators at Deep Branch, East Robeson, Flora McDonald, Janie C. Hargrave, Long Branch, Magnolia, Parkton, Rowland Norment, and St. Paul’s Elementary Schools. We also have a special addition to this round of embryology. Thanks to one of our 4-H member’s parents, we were given pink and blue eggs (the chickens lay eggs this color-they were not left over from Easter). So in the incubator at our office, and at a couple of the schools we have some different chickens hatching. I am getting a lot of questions wondering if the chicks that come out of the eggs will be pink or blue. I guess we will just have to wait and see. Feel free to come by and check out our eggs. We are expecting the eggs to hatch the week of May 2. You can always get updates right here on our 4-H blog and we will let you know how it is going at the schools, as we receive updates as well.

Getting it done on the County Level

Monday night at 6:30 p.m. can only mean one thing…time for our quarterly 4-H County Council and Volunteer Leaders’ Association meeting. This meeting was jam packed full of information. We had the announcement of two new clubs, the Orrum Church Rascals 4-H Club and the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club. We also introduced members of the 4-H Specialized Advisory Committee, Dave Welch, Betty Maxwell, Jessica Drake and Jane Hurst who set their meeting prior to our meeting so they could attend and see our clubs, volunteers and officers in action. The clubs represented at the meeting included;Future Leaders, Horsin' Around, Voices in Praise, Dirty Dozen, Dirty Rascals, St. Paul's Pony Club, Young Leaders, and Inspirational Leaders. The St. Paul’s Pony club won the high attendance award. Miss. Shea Ann also let the club leaders in attendance know about the new deadline to file taxes (for those clubs with EIN numbers) by Friday April 16, with our office. This is a firm deadline and cannot be changed. Hazel Sumner, President of the Volunteer Leaders’ Association encouraged those on committees, and leading committees, to meet and have reports ready for our next meeting. Our next meeting will be August 30th, and include the elections for the officers for 2010-2011.

Robeson Teens Get Leadership Opportunities at District Teen Retreat

If you ask our teens what their favorite thing about 4-H is, 9 times out of 10 they will say the trips. As you get older in 4-H you have more opportunities to mix and mingle with other 4-H members in other counties and around the state. This weekend provided our youth with one of these opportunities.
The 2010 South Central District teen retreat was held at the Days Inn in Moore County. Almost 60 youth from 15 counties turned out to take part in leadership workshops, elect district officers, compete for the spirit stick and just have a good time with their peers. Representing Robeson County at this year's retreat were
Laquawanda Banks, Christian McRae, Keheria RichardsonAshley and Kristen Sealey, The event started with a district meeting conducted by our outgoing officers, President Dixie Acorn, Vice President Luke Hill and reporter Courtney Miller. The officers
laid out the ground rules for the event, and gave everyone a heads up on what gets you spirit stick points. Spirit stick points including everything from behavior to participation, appropriate dress and enthusiasm. This year it also included the amount of canned food donated as part of the state 4-H project. More than 70 pounds of food were donated by our youth, at this single event, to go to area food banks. Robeson County brought in the second highest amount of food behind Bladen County. After the opening meeting it was a brief break for lunch before we headed into our workshops.
The teens had the opportunity to choose from three workshops. In the first session, past officer Allen Monk and Bladen County 4-H Agent Angela Shaver taught Health Rocks!. This is a curriculum that lets youth know about the dangers of drugs and alcohol as well as ways to manage stress and peer relationships. You could also
conquer their fear of public speaking in a workshop lead by Luke Hill. At the same time Dixie Acorn showed people how to use cabbage leaves, clay and spray paint to make butterfly puddles. After an hour the youth switched workshops and in round two could take Health Rocks!, butterfly puddles, or a workshop on icebreakers. The Ice Breaker workshop was taught but our own 4-H Agent Shea Ann DeJarnette and her colleague (or partner in crime as they say of each other) Michelle Stumbo. The two conducted several types of icebreaker activities with the group that can be used to start of meetings, or other events that don't need to be started to formally.
After the workshops it was time to move into our hotel rooms, get changed and head to the bowling alley. Everyone had a good time knocking down the pins in a friendly competition. We had the chance to play two games and relax with our new friends before heading back to change and have dinner.
Dinner concluded and we went right into campaigning. Only one person was
running for President, Vice President, and Secretary. However there was a little competition for reporter. Andrew Tuso from Moore County and Jordan Purser from Union County were in a head to head showdown for this position. The youth set up campaign booths and talked with all the delegates, giving out reminders of who to vote for.
Campaigning was followed by our traditional dance. Youth crowded onto the dance floor to socialize to the music, while others filled our game room to play cards, checkers, and anything else the 4-H agents picked up along the way. After the dance it was off to bed to get ready for an early morning.
By 8:30 our youth were checked out of their rooms and downstairs enjoying a hot breakfast. As soon as that was down it was time to vote for our new district officers. Each county has a certain number of votes based on the size of the 4-H program in their county and may split their votes however they like for candidates. While the votes were tabulated it was time for the skit portion of the spirit stick. Each county was to preform a skit based on 4-H and the state theme. the different counties were awarded points based on the skits which went to their overall total of spirit stick points.

After tabulating votes and spirit stick points it was time for all the big announcements. This year the spirit stick went to Scotland County. They will take it home with them and bring it back at next year's teen retreat.
The South Central District officers for 2010-2011 are Darren Lefler of Moore County, President; Laura Ashley Willis of Bladen County, Vice President; Jordan Purser of Union County, Reporter; and Tatiana Price of Cumberland County, is our new Secretary. Congratulations to all our new officers and we are looking forward to their leadership when they are installed at the end of Congress. If you would like to see some of the highlights from Teen Retreat please click here for our video of the event.

Digging In to Help the Community

The Orrum Church Rascals 4-H club members are hitting the ground running. In one of the first meetings the group decided that they wanted to create a community garden to help feed low income and senior members of the community. Thanks to a little help from a neighbor to the church the group is digging in to meet one of their goals.
The club broke ground Thursday on a set of raised bed gardens that they plan to grow vegetable in. The youth and adults staked out the land and made their plan of what they will grow and where. The youth at the meeting included Kirby Calder, Robert Allen, Alex Calder, Garron Henderson, Hannah Henderson, Kaylee Bebe, Justin Allen, Melanie Allen, Denny Calder and their organizational leader Barbra Cain. There were also a whole host of parents on hand to support these youth in their efforts, and our own Aggie Rogers went out and supervised everyone having a really good time.
As we get more reports from this club we will keep you informed of the progress with this 4-H club.

This New Club is Right on Target

It is one of our favorite things to do in 4-H and I love when I can yell it out to the world (or write it for all to read). Today we can officially announce a new club in our county. This is a speciality club (meaning it focuses on one area) that will be known as the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club. What makes this speciality club unique from our others (besides the shooting discipline) is that it is a cross-county club meaning youth from both Robeson and Bladen counties are making up the membership. So far 12 youth have signed up to be a part of the club. Eight attended the first organizational meeting in March and four attended the last meeting. Not only did the youth get to pick a name this past meeting but they also went over the introduction to rifles, proper sight alignment, how to load the rifles, and practiced target shooting. At the end of the day, to reward them for their hard work, the club leader, Larry Russ even let the members play the .22 caliber version of tic-tac-toe. It is much harder than it sounds but they all had a really good time. According to one club member, "it was even better than video games."

The club focuses on gun safety, proper handling of firearms, and helps youth learn about responsibility, and gain self esteem. The club leader says that he hopes to have the team ready to shoot in competitions sometime next year. He is also planning field trips for the club members and lots of time on the firing range to practice everything they need to know, and get them comfortable with this awesome responsibility. Russ, is a certified through 4-H shooting sports to teach riflery to our 4-H youth. Missy McLean, another 4-H volunteer, is also certified in archery and hopes to start that discipline soon.

This club will meet monthly in Fairmont, and the meetings are scheduled from 9-12. Due to equipment and range limitations this club can only accept a limited amount of members. If you are interested in learning more about this club please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette, 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu or (910) 671-3276.

How many Eggs Can we Hatch?

When I left the story of the chicks on Friday we had one still trying to make its way out of the shell. On Saturday morning, when I went by the office for a club meeting guess what? That one had not only made it out but another one to keep it company. I quickly fixed up a new brooder box and put the two chicks in their new temporary home. When I looked in the incubator, you guessed it there was one more trying to peck its way out. So I left the office that morning to carry on about our business and when I made it back that afternoon, there was the precious little chick. So I quickly added it to the two in the brooder box. In case you are wondering that takes us up to 26 chicks. When I looked back in the incubator, there was one more, pecking away (it has never taken this long to hatch eggs...of course I staggered the entry into the incubator as part of an experiment as well). So I went home and waited a few hours and called the wonderful person who agreed to take our chicks. She met me at the office and when we got there, you guessed it one more had arrived. She took all four to her father's house who is keeping the little ones happy and fed. This time when I looked back into the incubator that was it no more pecking their way out and no more showing any signs of life. So for our first round we have had an excellent hatch rate and we are looking forward to doing this again after a week off. If you would like more information about this project, or 4-H please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette, 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu or (910) 671-3276. Stay tuned for more Embryology news from 4-H.

They Keep Hatching and Hatching...

I realize it is Easter and maybe that is why our chicks are hatching like Energizer Bunnies. Every time I look in the incubator or open an e-mail, they are hatching and hatching. Yesterday after we posted to the blog we had three more hatch in our office. This morning when I came in I looked in the incubator and two more were waiting for me. It looks like there is one more on the way. For those of you keep count we have hatched 23 so far. The sweetest thing was seeing them sleeping this morning.
Most of them were curled up together but two were away from the group nuzzled up against each other
while another seems to have fallen asleep whileeating. It is tiring work being so cute.


When I checked my e-mail Mrs. Armstrong at Pembroke elementary e-mailed me. In the six classrooms they conducted this project in they have had a total of 55 chicks hatch. All I can say is WOW!

Mrs. Davis from Rex-Rennert said they had about 9 hatch per incubator or a total of 36 in their classrooms. She said this is the most she has ever had hatch.

I have also gotten a handful of thank you notes from students at Knuckles Elementary. I can tell you each and everyone of them learned so much that they almost filled up the page with what they learned. While I appreciate their thanks I must give a special thank you to the teachers who were brave enough to implement this project and curriculum in their classrooms and to the principals who are so supportive of this project and encourage their teachers to do it.

I hope everyone has had a great time doing it and stay tuned because we will be giving out incubators again April 12 and eggs on the 14th. One of our 4-H parents is even giving us a few blue and pink eggs to hatch as part of this experience. If you would like to come by and see our our new babies as we get ready to hatch them they will be located in the lobby of the O. P. Owens Building. As far as our chicks we have hatched, they will be leaving us today headed to their new home with a teacher from East Robeson, who has a backyard flock. She came by today and saw them and fell in love with them and we know they are going to a very good home.

Our Last Night Together

I think I might cry. It was our last night of Strengthening Families and as our group came together for the last time to celebrate accomplishments and review what we had learned making it a bittersweet evening.

As always we had a special dinner, fried chicken, Christy's very special mashed potatoes (as prepared by Penny with only one Emergency call to make sure they were right-and oh boy were they right!), green beans, biscuits and a very special dessert.

After we ate we broke into our parent and youth groups. The youth worked with Aggie Rogers reviewing our commitments to walk away from peer pressure, walk away from bad influences, and try to communicate with our families. The parents discussed the tools that they have implemented and how well they work. The parents also discussed how asking for help during stressful times can make families stronger. They worked on exercises that included how different agencies to suggest in helping other families and how, as friends and neighbors, they can make a positive difference in their lives.

In the family session we reviewed what we had done over the last six weeks and watched a slide show of our different meetings. After, parents and youth completed evaluations that will give us the data we need to show what a positive impact this program can have on their lives. Last but not least the parents and youth wrote letters to each other that have been sealed in envelopes to be mailed to them in three to four weeks. We hope this reminder will encourage them to keep up the hard work, and be an example of how far they have come as a family. To cap it all off we had our graduation ceremony with certificates for each family. After graduation we celebrated with our closing circle, and cut up our special dessert, a blue ribbon cake because all of our families are blue ribbon families.

We hope to offer a followup session in November for all of our participants over the last two years. The followup session will give everyone a chance to come together and share the tools that are working for them and other things that they have found that are making a positive difference for their families.

If you would like more information about the Strengthening Families Program please contact Christy Strickland, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent at (910) 671-3276 or Chrsity_Strickland@ncsu.edu.