Dirty Dozen Knock them Down

The weather was nice and May is busy so the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club met for a second time today and focused on one thing...their aim. Getting serious on narrowing their sites...the members who attended the meeting found themselves shooting at small targets. By small what I mean is take a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Cut it in half. Cut that half in half. Cut that half in half and that is where they started. From 15 yards the two club members found themselves grouping their shots in a much smaller area to hit the target. Then the paper got cut in half again, forcing them to shoot in a tighter pattern. After all that practice it made the next task seem almost easy and fun.

Club leader Larry Russ set up a board that held clays upright. The boys took turns trying to knock each clay down, one shot per clay. Dillon was up first and to his surprise and delight hit each target, which as he said seemed rather big now that they had been shooting at scraps of paper. Then it was Allen's turn. He took his time, aimed, pulled the trigger 10 times and hit 10 targets. Tied the two felt the need to try again. They set up the clays and Dillon took position with rifle in hand, he aimed and ten trigger pulls later, he had hit each target. Allen took a deep breath before his turn and concentrated. Timing paid off because by the time the magazine was empty, he too had hit each target. The club leader was getting ready to change the format a little to shake things up but Dillon and Allen agreed to call it a draw saying they both won, rather than keep shooting it out. However I do believe they both said next time the other one is in trouble. After such a display of sportsmanship the meeting was adjourned and the group cleaned up the range and helped load equipment before heading home.

Junior Master Gardeners Dig into the "Day of Caring"

After selling away it was time for the "Dirty Rascals" to live up to their name. The club with parents, and a few Master Gardeners in tow headed down the road (less than a half a mile) and quietly pulled in to the Hospice House. Each year the Dirty Rascals partner with Hospice House to plant a garden area for families and patients to enjoy. This year the Master Gardeners helped placed the plants in the garden area and the youth (sometimes with a little help) dug into the pine straw and made sure the plants had a new place to grow. At the end of the planting the Dirty Rascal JMG club members gave a representative of the Hospice House a piece of garden art, a glow in the dark frog stake. One of the logos for this club include a frog and the club members thought this would be a nice way of leaving their mark, and hopefully a smile on the face, of those who enjoy this lovely garden.

The activity is actually one of the first United Way, Day of Caring activities that take place. The actual 'Day of Caring" will take place on Thursday, May 12. A variety of activities will take place including canned food drives, back pack buddies, and a knit in at O. P. Owens. If you would like more information on the Day of Caring or would like to volunteer for one of the more than a dozen activities that will be going on that day please contact the United Way of Robeson County at (910) 739-4849.

Master Gardener + Junior Master Gardeners=Green

The last Saturday in April is a tradition for the 4-H Junior Master Gardeners. Not holiday where they kick back and relax but a tradition where they work to better their club and the community. About four years ago the "Dirty Rascals" Junior Master Gardeners 4-H Club joined forces with the Robeson County Master Gardeners Association to offer something that the Master Gardeners were not offering as part of their plant sale, herbs. For years the Master Gardeners have held an annual plant sale where everything is priced at $2. Long time patrons have bought flowers, fruit bushes and even trees (such as Japanese Red Maples) to beautify their spaces, and supported the Master Gardeners in their educational efforts. The one thing they did not offer were herbs and the JMG's stepped forward to fill the void and raise money for their educational activities.

It is not easy as the set up team is on site at 6:30 am and other club members arrive by seven when the sale starts. As part of their sales the Junior Master Gardeners teach patrons about the care of the herbs and how to use them. The youth even give their customers recipes so that as their plants grow they can actually use the fresh herbs to season dishes. This is one of the major fundraisers for the club which helps support their fair booth efforts, which in turn supports their annual club field trip.

The Junior Master Gardeners meet the second Tuesday of each month. If you are interested in learning more about this club or others, please contact the Robeson County 4-H office at (910) 671-3276.

Cutting Up and Pasting Down, Watch Out District Here we Come!

As you can tell from the blog I am a real shutter bug. Not an actual bug but someone who like to take pictures. Photos are a great way to document history and remember stories. That is one reason Robeson County 4-H has a blog. Another thing we try to do is create a scrapbook each year that goes into district level competition. Last year, thanks to the guidance of volunteer Libby Burney Robeson County 4-H won the district scrapbook award. Which means we are now in the difficult position of defending our title.

However to create the 10 pound book takes lots of photos and lots of work. So Christopher Bullard our 4-H County Council Reporter worked with Libby Burney our 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association reporter to start working on the book. they created two workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and asked 4-H members to come in and put pages together.

We had lots of hands involved in this year's book. Helping during the workshop were, Libby Burney, Christopher Bullard, Tryange Gerald, Caylee Holden, Chasity McClay, Christian McRae, Aljaquan Nixon, Korina Pittman, Ashley Sealey, Kristen Sealey, Shabreya Vample, and Yazmin Washington. For two days they arranged, captioned and pasted photos as a reminder of what we have done. However the book is not done yet and Mrs. Burney took it with her to make sure it gets done.

We have heard that several clubs have turned in pages but of course we are hoping for 100% participation. If you need scrapbooking supplies or would like to help finish the rest of the pages, please contact the 4-H office at (910) 671-3276.

Pasta Leads to Leadership?

Members of the Titan's 4-H Community Club met yesterday to be creative while exploring leadership. Club members used dry pasta to decorate shoe boxes to be used as their own "Treasure Box" during their May 4-H club meeting. Aggie Rogers, 4-H Program Associate conducted the workshop and Emmarld Jackson and Debbie Rogers conducted the club meeting.
While making their shoe box treasure chests the members talked about various things they might put in their boxes. This lead to a conversation on other treasures people have that may or may not fit in a box. Things such as character, ethics, values and morals. The conversation carried on through the project which offered some very fun and creative treasure boxes that expressed each person's unique character.
Members attended the meeting included;Sicily Ekwunoh, Darian Ekwunoh, Maurice Rogers, Darius Brown-Rogers, Amaria Rogers, Sky Robinson,Tyshantae Barnes, Taraya Broadway,LeeTrrione Barnes, Natiya Barnes, and Javonte Barnes. The club also hosted two guests, Gabby Worley and Mauraine Clark. We were thrilled to have them take part in our monthly meeting. Along with our youth we had several volunteer leaders take part as well, they included:Bobby Rogers, Emmarld Jackson, Debbie Rogers, Madeline Carol Lewis, Retha Ekwunoh,Karine Harris, and Susan Floyd.

Lights, Camera, Active!

It was high tech, something new, something that will make a difference in our community and our 4-H members were a part of it. "Lights, Camera, Active!" was a state wide initiative with the Health Department allowing youth to start a conversation with adults about the issues they face getting active. The purpose of the event was to help youth understand the link between their physical environment and their ability to lead healthy lives. The youth had a chance to make video messages with the best being chosen to be part of a documentary and winning gift cards to a retail athletic outlet.

Each organization received a free video camera and tripod for the youth to use to video their message. The videos were then uploaded and a panel picked the best entries from across the state to be part of the documentary. The documentaries premiered in each district and we were lucky enough to have the premiere for our district at our own Carolina Civic Center in downtown Lumberton.

More than 500 youth across the state of North Carolina took part in the event with just over 40 Robeson County youth took part in the video opportunity. They came from Lumberton Senior High School, Red Springs High School, Purnell Swett, and Robeson County 4-H. Two groups from Young Leaders 4-H club highlighted the needs of accessible recreation spaces. While a group of teens from Voices in Praise 4-H club highlighted the inaccessibility of healthy recreation opportunities for youth in rural areas. The producers of the program even asked Lundan Dinnerson, and Zaire Baker to preform as part of the premiere.

The premiere was more than just the documentary unveiling, it also created a conversation between the community and those who have the ability to plan useful recreation spaces for us. Questions were asked about cost, safety, range of hours for public spaces to be open to the public and more. It was a good start for the community to take their health into their own hands. That is just the beginning of this adult and youth partnership.

This was a great opportunity that was open to all of our clubs and is just another example of how our youth are making a difference in our community to make all of our lives better.

Cooking Up and Speaking Up=Blue Ribbon Affair

In case you missed it, Robeson County 4-H's County Activity Day was a flurry of success. We dodged storms (and later found out tornadoes) to give our 4-H members the opportunity to compete for a chance to go to 4-H District Activity Day. Our 4-H members brought out some of the best speeches and informative as well as tasty presentations ever, making the day a big success.

In Public Speaking we had nine competitors who gave original speeches ranging from diabetes to how to play the piano. In our cloverbud division, which is non competitive and made up of 5 to 8 year olds. Patrick McBryde of the United We Stand 4-H Club spoke on the Seven Wonders of the World. He received a participation ribbon and a five dollar gift card for his hard work. In our 9-10 year old Junior Division D'Myaia Stribling of the Young Leaders 4-H Club took first place and Elizah Leach of the Voices in Praise 4-H Club took second place. In the 11-13 year old Junior Division judges had some difficult decisions to make with four competitors vying to go to District Activity Day. In the end Antenecia Hill of the Young Leaders 4-H Club took home a participation ribbon, Brianna Hayes of the Voices in Praise 4-H club came in third and Michiko Hill of the Inspirational Leaders 4-H club took second, while Camry Ocean of the Voices in Praise 4-H Club took home the blue. In the senior division there was a one point difference between first and second place and judges had to fight back tears as our speakers tugged their heart strings and gave some of the best speeches we have ever heard. When it was said and done, Zaire Baker of the Voices in Praise 4-H Club took home the red ribbon while Alexus Jones of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H club took home first.

The judges in Presentations had tasty and informative decisions to make as well. the difference between a presentation and a speech is that in presentations the youth demonstrate something and have visual aids such as posters or a power point to help illustrate the topic of their presentation. We had 3 cloverbuds who presented in our non competitive division. Kylie Smith of the Spiritual Generations 4-H Club, Paiton Twigg of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club and Nadia Bennett of the Voices in Praise 4-H Club. Each cloverbud received a ribbon and gift card for their bravery and hard work. The 9-10 year old Junior division saw the heaviest competition with four participants. Jamal Bennett of the Voices in Praise 4-H Club took first place in dairy. Christian Tice of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club took first place in fruits with his presentation on how to make a fruit salad. Tyson Alford of the Young Leaders 4-H Club and the Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club, took first place in Health and fitness with his speech on basketball, and Jesjiah Moore of the Young Leaders 4-H Club, took first place in the open division by showing us how to design and paint finger nails. In the 11-13 year old Junior Division Jasmine McBryde of the United We stand 4-H club took first place in the fruit category with her presentation on how to make strawberry delight. Tyron Alford of the Young Leaders 4-H Club and the Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club took first place in Health and Fitness for her presentation on Volleyball. The Senior division showed that it is worth the risk of standing up a giving it a shot. Megan Hurst of the Horsin' Around 4-H club took home first place in plant sciences with her presentation on how to make a container garden. Shawndora McNair of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club took home first place in Health and Fitness with her presentation on Asthma. Shabrya Vample of the Young Leaders 4-H Club took home a blue ribbon in expressive arts for her presentation on drawing. We also had one outdoor cookery competitor. Jaylyn McNair took home a blue ribbon in beef cookery for his incredible burgers.

We would like to thank our judges for taking the time to give positive and critical feedback to our youth. In Public Speaking Mark Moses, Representative Charles Graham and Reverend Jerome Billups took the time to listen to each of our competitors. Charlene Whitted and Joyce Russ enjoyed the results of all of our competitors in presentations. Charles Russ gave great feedback to our outdoor cookery competitor and even tried to get some extra burgers to take home. We must also give special thanks to volunteers who handled the each room for us. Renee Baker kept things together for Public Speaking. Jane Hurst kept things going for Presentations. Larry Russ was our safety and weather reporter for outdoor cookery.

District Activity Day is June 23rd in Anson County. Those who have the opportunity to represent Robeson County and compete for state are: in Public Speaking, 9-10 D'Myaia Stribling and Elizah Leach, in 11-13 Camry Ocean and Michiko Hill, and in the 14-18 age division Alexus Jones and Zaire Baker. In Presentations Jamal Bennett, Christian Tice, Tyson Alford and Jesiah Moore will move forward in our 9-10 age division. Jasmine McBride and Tyron Alford will move forward to represent us in the 11-13 age division. In the Senior Division Megan Hurst, Shawndora McNair and Shabraya Vample all have the opportunity of competing at the next level.

Let's give a big hand to all of our members, parents, judges and volunteers who made this day such a success.

Royal Feeding

The second Tuesday of each month means it is time for the Dirty Rascals to sprout out and create something new and fun. This month with all the hub bub surrounding the Royal wedding this craft couldn't have been more fitting. You know how the British love their tea and a proper tea time? Well club leaders Missy McLean-Wright and Tanya Underwood took a great spin on the proper event by offering it up to the birds on this side of the pond.

Actually what took place was a quick trip to a local thrift store to purchase tea cups and saucers. After a good cleaning the youth picked which of each they wanted (sometimes it is even more creative when they don't match) and the adults super glued the cups to the saucers. This was not a late April Fool's Day Joke, but a necessary step to make sure our winged friends were not hurt. After securing the two to each other, a rubber cap (usually used for PVC pipe) was super glued to the bottom of the saucer. This is an important step because the cap will fit on the end of an appropriate size of dowel rod. The rods were left natural this day, but could be painted for a little extra flair. The dowel rod actually fits into the ground and will hold the feeder/tiny bird bath up for the birds.

This project is great on so many levels. It is a green project because it allows the youth to recycle something that someone else was getting rid of. It allows birds to have a little haven in your yard, and it is a neat little useful yard art addition to any one's home. Overall the cost was about a $1.50 per feeder.

The Dirty Rascals Junior Master 4-H Club will hold their annual plant sale fundraiser in conjunction with the members of the Robeson County Master Gardener Association on April 30. the plant sale begins at 7 am in the parking lot of North State Optics on Fayetteville Road in Lumberton. That will be followed by their annual community service project at Hospice House. The club will meet again on May 10th at 5:30 pm for more fun activities.

4-H and Smart Start What a Match

Were you at Biggs Park Mall on Saturday? If you weren't you were one of the few, and missed an incredible event. The Robeson County Partnership for Children puts together Smart Start Day to highlight the agencies in the county that can help families in the county. Smart Start works with families to that have children under the age of five to prepare them for school. Of course Robeson County 4-H works with youth between the ages of 5 and 18 years of age to prepare them to be successful adults in our ever changing global society. So can you imagine two organizations better suited to work together?

Smart Start day is an annual event which brings more than 20 agencies together for families to see the resources available to them. Robeson County 4-H is part of the event, and took the opportunity to do a little science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activity with the youth that attended the event. They also learned about recycling and ecology while we made plant people. Peggy and Allen Monk who were happening by jumped in to help us work with the youth to complete more than 100 plant people. We also had the chance to market our 4-H program and let the world know about all that our youth in this county can do. With more than 400 people attending this event it will be something that we do again and again.

Look Who is Riding into the News

Two members of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club had no idea they would be on the front page of today's paper when they went for a ride. Granted it isn't like they got in the car for the ride, or even on the back of a horse. Instead they took their club leader, Libby Burney's, pony out for a stretch with a buggy attached. Turby, as he is fondly called, was minding his own business chauffeuring Megan and Brianna up and down the street when someone decided to take a shot of the sight. Next thing you know they are the featured photo of the day in the St. Paul's Review. Way to make 4-H hit the front page.

Summer Time Fun

It was a full house at the gym that is part of Indian Education last night as parents and youth development specialists for the organization came out to hear about the various summer programs being offered to youth in the county. Indian Education puts the meeting together to share opportunities with parents, and to let them know there is some financial assistance available through their organization.

The University of North Carolina Pembroke (UNCP) offers several summer programs including an upward bound program that gets youth ready for college. The Boys and Girls club of Pembroke offers a variety of programs for youth of all ages. Southeastern Regional Medical Center has a compeititve volunteer program for youth between the ages of 14 and 18. Of course our own 4-H Extension Agent, Shea Ann DeJarnette was there to talk about all the summer opportunities available through 4-H. She even took a slide show from last year's camp for youth to enjoy.

For more information about the opportunities that Indian Education can provide for youth please contact Rita Locklear at (910) 521-2054. For more information about the 4-H Summer programs please contact the 4-H staff at (910) 671-3276.

Dirty Dozen Sits Down and Focuses In

The Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club met at the range for their April meeting. Although the wind provided a new challenge members had a great time. Below is the report on the club meeting submitted by 4-H Club leader Larry Russ.

"It was a really great club meeting, not to cold, not to hot, plenty of sunshine and ammo. What better way to spend a Saturday than getting in a little target practice at the range.

Allen, Dillon,Jed and Christopher were the only members that were able to attend so they got plenty of trigger time. They worked on sight alignment, sight picture and breath control. Now if they could only put all three together at the same time. Guess that means they will have to practice even more.

Our next club meeting will be held on Saturday, April 30th. at the range, (weather permitting). Hope to see you all there."