Looking Back

Although I am not one who likes to dwell in the past I must say that looking back at our accomplishments over the past year is really exciting. When you can do it in photos it is even better. Each year Robeson County 4-H publishes a photo book showing what we have done. Needless to say we have done that again this year. The book is used for marketing purposes and one stays in our library and we often take them with us when we set up displays. Of course you can view the electronic version of the book and even order your own book by clicking on the link.

This year the book has a family theme, because 4-H is really another family for many of us. Over this year we have seen many changes. Our Extension Director, Everett Davis retired, after 28 years of service. We dedicate this book to him as a thank you for his support of the 4-H program. Before his departure Everett set up two endowments for 4-H to support our volunteers and 4-H members and ensure the future of our program.

Keith Walters, the Hoke County Extension Director, served as interim until our new director Dr. Cathy Graham was chosen to replace Everett. Cathy served as a 4-H Agent in Robeson County when she first started her career and is thrilled to be home.

During the year we served a record amount of youth, more than 6,000. We had more than 900 youth take part in embryology. Our first ever etiquette day camp was a huge success. Our Junior Master Gardener Day camp brought in more 4-H members than ever. Not to mention our growing numbers at County Activity Day and District Activity day. Of course none of this would be possible without our growing posse of volunteers. Their enthusiasm and excitement is what drives our club program.

2010 has been a great year for Robeson County 4-H and now we are excited about the possibilities in 2011. Give us your ideas, tell us what you think, and of course, as always thank you for being a part of our Robeson County 4-H family. See you in 2011.

Spread a Little Holiday Spirit

This morning, our first day back in the office, we have been sharing the highlights and special details of our holiday celebration. In many cases the phrase, my children our blessed, I am blessed have been repeated over and over. The spirit of the season has brought us back to center and in many cases we want to share our blessings.

Our Robeson County 4-H members, volunteers, and family know that Robeson County 4-H is a United Way Agency. In other words our funding for county programs (not salaries, overhead or typical office needs) which directly impact our youth and volunteers come from United Way. Without this money we would not be able to offer the variety of programs and trainings that you see highlighted here on our blog. 100% of our county budget is dependent on United Way.

I say all of this because this morning we had our quarterly United Way Agency Meeting. Robeson County 4-H is one of 17 agencies that receive funding from United Way. Each agency is different in how much funding they get and what it is used for. The one constant is that the funding is needed by all the agencies and makes a difference in our community. United Way has rigorous reporting guidelines to ensure that the money they give to these agencies is being used in the best way possible to make the largest difference in our community. You may be familiar with some of the agencies; Red Cross, Church and Community Center, Southeastern Family Violence Center, Rape Crises Center, Christian Care Center, Hospice, Hospice House, Protective Services for Sexually Abused Children, Foster Children's Christmas Fund, Communities in Schools, Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts. Others you might not be as familiar with such as the Radio Reading Service which provides reading services for the blind, the Born Learning Program run by the Partnership for Children which helps parents help their children prepare for school, the Mayor's Committee for the disabled which builds and moves wheelchair ramps for those in need, and Southeastern Industrial Center JOBS program which helps developmentally disabled adults find jobs in the community. All of these agencies and programs make a difference in our community, but all of us could be facing cuts. You see the United Way is $200,000 short of their goal for this year.

It has been a hard economic year for all of us, and that is reflected in the amount of money given to United Way this year. The problem is in hard economic times the need is even greater and provider costs are going up. If a dollar were given for each child who was touch by 4-H in 2010 United Way would be $6,204 closer to their goal. Would you miss a dollar a year? Two dollars? Five dollars? Just think about it.

United Way Agencies touch the lives of one out of every five people in this county. If you are part of our 4-H program, you have been touched by United Way. If you would like to give to Robeson County United Way please contact them at (910) 739-4249 or you can mail a donation to P. O. Box 2652, Lumberton, NC 28359 or drop one off a donation at their office at 202 N. Chestnut Street, Lumberton, NC 28358.

This is just our opportunity as we count our blessings to bless someone else.

A Christmas Poem

The following is an original poem from those excellent equestrian entrepreneurs in St. Paul's. Yes, they created their own Christmas poem as part of a contest in the Fayetteville Observer about their 4-H club and we could not help but share it with you.

Santa Needs Help!

It was fourteen days, till Christmas, that we knew.

All the reindeers, and elves came down with the flu.

Poor Santa, he just didn't know what to do.

"Now Santa!" said Mrs Claus, "don't worry,

I know who to call!

The 4-H Club in St. Paul's."

When the 4-Hers got the call, they grabbed all the ponies,

then took off, so they could help out Santa Claus.

They got to the North Pole just in the nick of time,

because they knew Santa, was getting behind.

"Now! Alicia, and Brianna, Now! Caylee, and Chasity,

Now! Christian, Daniel, Meagan, Taylor and Paiton too,"

Santa said, "we have lots of work to do!"

They washed all the ponies, and the sleigh too,

They knew there was two more weeks, of lots of work they had to do.

They helped with all the wrapping and packaging too.

They hitched up the ponies, so they can go on a journey.

With Star, Sally, Sweetpea, and Honey to.

Now , then there was Turbbie, to lead them all

Because, he knew how to help them jump over the walls.

Santa, and the 4-Hers are all in the sleigh.

Turbbie is all ready to lead the way.

they went all over the world that night, in a very fast flight.

Santa said, :This was a funny sight, for this is a very special night!"

So if you need any help, we know this is true,

that there are 4-Hers waiting to help you.

Good Morning 4-H

Of course anytime we have the opportunity to highlight something special about 4-H we will. If it is something about 4-H in North Carolina you better believe we will toot the horn of our fellow 4-H'ers. For those of you who watch Good Morning America you may already know what I am talking about. This video link will take you to a segment on the show. A group of 4-H'ers from Graham County taped a little snip it that made the edit this morning. If you are wondering which ones they are check out the piece around the 54 second marker. Congratulations Graham County 4-H!

Naturally, it's Christmas

It was all about nature as the members of the Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H club meet last night. Nature and Christmas were the main topics of this meeting right after they got done with a little business. The club members elected officers that will serve through September of 2011. Dillon McCartney will be President, Tyson Alford Vice President, Tyron Alford Treasurer, Andra Turbok Secretary, and Kieren Hatcher will be Reporter. After getting done with the difficult business of elections the group spread out to make some really neat and natural craft projects

Club leader, Missy McLean worked with the youth to make some really neat mouse ornaments. They used acorns, gumballs from trees, straw, google eyes and pom poms to make the unique creatures. With a ribbon placed strategically between the body and head during construction they had some really cute, yet personal tree ornaments.

The youth also worked with Kerrie Roach who volunteered to come play as she calls it. They used clementine oranges and whole cloves to make pomanders. Usually these are hung with ribbon and elicit one of the most wonderful Christmas smells. Many people will remember this as a craft they learned with their grandparents and our youth had just as much fun learning how to do it.

Tanya Underwood, a club co-leader worked with the youth to make some festive candles. Each got a vanilla candle and a bottle of cinnamon sticks. They glued the sticks on their candles in whatever pattern they liked then tied ribbon around it. The candles are not only festive to look at but smell good whether or not they were burned.

Shooting with the Stars

Rain nor snow nor sleet would keep the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports club from their appointed field trip with shooting stars (a.k.a. shooting legends). Yes, shooting legends who could all be found at the Annie Oakley Boom Days in Pinehurst, NC. For those of you not familiar with Annie Oakley, she was born in the 1860's and is considered the first female superstar. Travelling with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Oakley was a sharpshooter and exhibition shooter that was known for her fast shooting, and trick shots with a mirror. In 1922 at the age of 62 Oakley apparently competed in a shooting contest in Pinehurst and shot 100 clays at 16 yards. Thus the contest of this legend continues today as the Annie Oakley Boom Days.

This year the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports club worked with the promoters of the event to visit and meet some of the best in the field. They knew they were right on target meeting two members of the USA Olympic Shooting Sports team. Caitlin Connor and Jaiden Grinnell took a few moments to talk with our 4-H members, sign autographs and even take photos. Jaiden shared with us that she started shooting at the age of 12 as part of her local 4-H program. She has been shooting competitively for the past four years. Caitlin was also introduced to shooting as part of a local 4-H program at the age of 15. She has been shooting competitively for the last three years. The group also got a chance to see both of them shoot as part of the Annie Oakley Competition. This is a competition where competitors stand shoulder to shoulder. The first shooter calls pull to release the clay and has one shot to hit it, if they miss the second shooter can shoot at it. If the second shooter hits the clay the first shooter is out. If the second shooter misses it is up to the third shooter. If he or she hits it then the first two shooters are out. If they miss it then no one is out and the competition continues with the next person in line calling pull. This rotation will continue until one person, the winner, is left. Although Caitlin and Jaiden did not win they definitely held their own.

Another interesting part to this event was learning about different types of hunting. A falconer, Chip Gentry, gave us an educational lesson and demonstration of how different birds of prey hunt. He introduced the group to an owl, different types of hawks, and showed us the grace and beauty of how these birds live and interact with humans.

The group was also introduced to different types of hunting dogs. The Sandhills Pointing Breeds club gave a demonstration on what actually occurs when they hunt with dogs. These dogs don't actually find prey and kill it. Many times they find the prey and essentially point it out to their handlers who flush it animals out for the hunters to shoot. Some of the dogs are trained to retrieve, and when they do they do not bite into the what they are retrieving. The dogs are trained to make sure what they are retrieving is not damaged, so that if it is being used for food, it can still be consumed.

After a brief break to warm up and consume some warm beverages (coffee, hot chocolate, hot cider) we headed back outside in the snow. As we watched the biggest snowflakes anyone had ever seen fall from the sky, we were serenaded by the 82nd Airborne All American Chorus. After a brief concert as the snow turned to sleet and rain they were joined by the Pine Crest High School ROTC for the presentation of colors.

The big event of the day was seeing Tom Knapp, exhibition sharp shooter. Knapp didn't let the rain, cold and sleet stop him from showing the audience how much fun shooting can be. Knapp holds three world records for hand thrown clay shooting. Knapp showed the youth how hard work and practice can pay off. He entertained the crowd by ejecting spent shotgun shells into the air and making them targets, making an omelet by letting youth from the audience trow eggs into the air as he shot then and even made a salad by shooting heads of lettuce and other fixings as he tossed them into the air. Through all of this Mr. Knapp was a gentlemen and stressed safety and responsibility, the traits that are stressed in our 4-H Shooting Sports Program. Probably the biggest thrill came with the youth got a chance to shake Mr. Knapp's hand, get his autograph and take a picture with him. The youth then presented him with a small token; a thank you card, 4-H patch and a Robeson County 4-H portable screwdriver set. Mr. Knapp opened the envelope and read the card telling the youth that he was touched and had a special place in his home for gifts from his fans and he would take this home and put it in this special place. The youth thanked him again for sharing his skill and talent with them to help motivate them as they head back to the range to practice for upcoming events.

As everyone warmed up on the way back they said they would like to come back next year. A few even thought they might be ready for the competition shooting rounds. As Tom Knapp would tell them, with hard work and a love for the sport, anything is possible.

We would like to thank Tim and Carla St. Germain for sponsoring our youth and allowing them to be a part of this incredible event. Tim and Carla organized and promoted this event and worked closely with our 4-H program and our 4-H Shooting Sports club to make this incredible day happen.

The Dirty Dozen plans to take a little time off for the holidays and weather. The next meeting for this club will be in February.

Saying Goodbye and Saying Hello

Today marks a new day of leadership for Robeson County Cooperative Extension as Dr. Cathy Graham joins our team as our County Extension Director. Dr. Graham was previously the County Extension Director in Scotland County. Many of our long time volunteers and alumni may remember Dr. Graham from when she served as a 4-H Agent in Robeson County. Dr. Graham is stepping into the position that was vacated by Everett Davis when he retired in April.

Keith Walters, the County Extension Director in Hoke County, served as interim during the seven months it took to find our new director. On Monday the staff got together to say thank you and good bye to Keith as he returned back to duty in Hoke County. An NCSU graduate, we made sure we gave him a proper send off with an NCSU cake and a photo of his "Team Robeson".

As Dr. Graham started today the staff gave her a breakfast social with fresh baked muffins, coffee cake, fruit and other morning goodies. We sat and talked and introduced ourselves, and then headed back to work to plan our upcoming activities. We know you will have the opportunity to meet Dr. Graham soon as she will be coming to see and participate in our upcoming activities and programs. If you have the chance feel free to introduce yourself and send her a welcome e-mail.