Don't let the TRAINing leave the station without You!

Are you a community, church, 4-H, or school volunteer or teacher who works hard to do your best to keep youth on the track to a successful future?  Do you sometimes find yourself dragging your caboose because of the energy it takes to keep things from derailing? You are invited to get “On Track to Volunteer Success” at the annual Montana 4-H Leadership Forum, which MSU Extension and 4-H in Teton County are helping to plan with other counties in District 3.  The event is September 30-October 2 in Lewistown, Montana.  There are tickets available to several topic tracks and there are OPI (Office of Public Instruction) renewal units available for certified teachers.  Jump on board now and register by August 31 to receive a discounted ticket for $80.  If you need more time to consider, you can get a main cabin registration between September 1 and 14 for $100, and for those bringing up the caboose, registering between September 15 and September 23 the cost will be $150.

On Friday, September 30, the train leaves the station for several different tour locations. Tours at Bear Gulch Pictographs, Bos Terra and a tour of three manufacturing businesses in the heart of Montana, are just three of the eleven tours that should capture the interest of volunteers who serve in a wide variety of roles.  On Saturday, October 1, there are educational tracks including Family Consumer Science, Art, Agriculture, Communications, Science, Natural Resources and some general track items such as curriculum exploration and leadership.

Holly Hoffman, Keynote

Holly Hoffman, Survivor

There will be keynote speakers to keep some steam in your volunteer engine.  Holly Hoffman will help you not only survive, but thrive as a youth volunteer or educator.  Hoffman is the author of Your Winner Within and was a contestant on the Survivor television show.  Hoffman teaches how to focus thoughts, emotions and energy to succeed.  She offers encouragement and optimism and lays the tracks for self-discovery and enlightenment.  She will be the keynote speaker on October 2, as well as teaching one of the workshops on Saturday called, Lead Simply. 

Be sure to get your ticket on the Track to Volunteer Success. Contact MSU Extension in Teton County for more details or look online at www.montana4H.org.  Consider this message your first boarding call.  Thank you to all of you out there who are the conductors and engineers of educational opportunities for youth in our communities.  We appreciate the tracks you are laying with youth as they are fundamental to our future. 

Unwrapping the Gift of 4-H

On December 23, youth from Teton County shared in the gift we call 4-H at a project day event.  Older 4-H members had been invited through the county 4-H newsletter to teach classes for the project day planned for the afternoon of Wednesday, December 23, a time when all schools in the county were closed for holiday break.  4-H members who provided leadership included Daniel Asselstine, Delaynie Beadle, Michaela Gunderson, Ben Roeder, Watson Snyder and Annie Townsend.  Each of the older 4-H members either planned and taught or assisted an extension agent teaching a class.  The learning was also supported by 4-H alum, Katie Townsend, and MSU Extension Teton County Administrative assistants, Jamie Smith and Rhea Brutosky.

After 20 youth had sewn tote bags, sewn owl-shaped rice bags, baked and decorated cupcakes, learned about synthetic vs. natural fibers, made felted wool canning jar cozies, sheared sheep, learned jitterbug and two-step moves, made survival bands, painted chalkboard coasters and decorated gift bags, the group of 4-H members talked about the way people give their gifts to others.  One of the 4-H members learned her cake decorating skills from a volunteer 4-H leader and brought the gift forward to share with others.  Another 4-H member learned her sewing skills from her mother and with the help of evaluators/judges at sewing contests and was sharing that skill not only at 4-H project day, but also by helping younger 4-H members individually and through her club.  Another 4-H member gained dance skills from his parents and neighbors and then continued self-study using internet resources.  We talked about how important it is when someone shares the gift of their time and talent with you to wrap up that gift and present it to others.  4-H is one way to keep gifts giving well into the future.

 

To complete the project day, Extension Agents Brent Roeder and Jane Wolery discussed with youth that the 4-H members already contained the necessary gifts to excel on a local, state and national level.  However, 4-H members need to know what is available and how to unwrap a larger goal into smaller pieces.  Several 4-H members had personal experiences they shared related to opportunities, such as Rec Lab, interstate and international exchanges and National 4-H Congress.  The group discussed about 30 different 4-H opportunities and events just waiting be unwrapped by Teton County 4-H members.  

We invite you to think about the gifts you can give to others in 2016.

Here is a small sampling of opportunities available through 4-H (listed in no particular order).  To learn more, contact your local MSU Extension agent in your county.

1.  Ambassador program
2.   State officer
3.   Interstate Exchange
4.   State 4-H Congress
5.   Camp Counselor
6.   Rec Lab
7.  Winter Teen Camp
8.   State Leadership Forum
9.  State Award
10. National 4-H Congress
11. National 4-H Conference
12. Citizenship Washington Focus CWF
13. Leadership Washington Focus LWF
14. Make It with Wool MIWW
15. IFYE Program
16. Japanese Exchange
17. Natural Resources Camp
18. Nile Merit Heifer
19. Ag Youth Loan programs
20. Livestock judging and evaluation
21. Fall Ambassador training
22. Communications Contest
23. Alberta Leaders Forum
24. Citizenship Seminar
25. Horse and Livestock Leaders Forum
26. State Horse Show
27. Western Heritage Shoot
28. County Textile Show
29. Range Camp
30. Western National Round Up