DAD - The 4-H Kind!

4-H District Activity Day (DAD) is an event that you have to see to believe. Around 200 4-H members (75 first timers), along with about 300 agents, judges, parents, friends & family gathered at Anson Middle School in Anson County to participate in presentation, public speaking and talent contests against 4-H’ers from across the South Central Extension District.

 
Three Richmond County 4-H’ers were on hand for the event. Two competed in presentations and two were part of the talent show. Nathan Ezzell took home the Gold for his presentation on How Bees Affect Farmers in the Bugs and Bees category while Santiago Acuña Robinson also won Gold in the Horse category for his presentation about Care of the Race Horse. Sarah Tyler and Santiago Acuña Robinson both participated in Talent. Sarah mimed to “He Knows My Name” while Santiago sang the song “Let Me Hold You”.

Nathan will be competing at the State Presentation Finals held during 4-H Congress in Raleigh in a few weeks. Santiago will be competing at the State Presentation Finals held during the 4-H State Horse Show in Raleigh, also in a few weeks.

Special thanks to all of the parents and family who support these 4-H’ers as they complete their projects! Good luck to everyone competing on the State level!  Special thanks for Tiffanee Conrad-Acuna for attending DAD with the Richmond County delegation & for writting this. 

Chili Cookoff Rules....

Hey All,

Come out & support Richmond County 4-H, take a tour of the recent improvements made at Millstone 4-H Camp & see the Leadership Richmond Cow Pie Bingo Contest!

Chili Winners will be announced 12:00 noon with tasting for $5.00 until 2:00 pm (or until it’s all gone:)

To enter a chili, send $20 deposit to Richmond County 4-H (we will return deposits upon your arrival at Camp.) For complete rules, see below or stop by the office at 123 Caroline Street in Rockingham.

1st prize Chili receives $100! Taster's Choice receives $50! Doorprizes given throughout the day!

(Contact Michelle NOW to ensure you get your chance to win $1,000 & other prizes in Cow Pie Bingo to benefit the BackPack Pals Program - last day to buy tickets for Bingo is May 19th!!)

Contact Michelle Stumbo at the Cooperative Extension Office at 997-8255 or michelle_stumbo@ncsu.edu with any questions.

Top of Form

The Rules and Regulations for Cooks at Richmond County 4-H Chili Cookoff:

1.     Traditional Red Chili is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients.

Chili Verde is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with green chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients.  You may cook either of these varieties or your favorite spin-off! 

2.     Individuals or teams (up to three people) may entry the Cookoff.  Teams must designate a Head Chef during registration.  Youth under age 18 may be part of a team, but not be named the team’s Head Chef. 

3.     The entry fee will be $20.00 per chili entered.  Contestants may enter more than 1 batch of chili and will receive their entry fee back upon registration at the Event. There will be a 1st, 2nd, and Taster’s Choice cash prize.

4.     All ingredients must be pre-cooked & treated prior to the event – chili is to be brought “ready-to-eat” after the set-up period.  Registration will be from 10:30-11:00.  Judging will begin at 11:30 am. 

5.     Contestants are responsible for supplying all of their own utensils & products relating to their chili submission and maintenance of its proper temperature for serving.  Electricity will be available, however, plan to bring your own power cords.  Spoons and cups for use in serving chili to the general public will be provided. Condiments will also be provided.

6.     Each contestant must cook a minimum of four (4) quarts of competition chili.  Any additional chili (Other than that which is submitted for judging) will be for public consumption.

7.     Each contestant will be assigned a “contestants number” by the Chief Scorekeeper and be given a container in which their chili will be collected at the time of the official judging. Each contestant should verify that the number on the bottom of their container is the same as their contestants’ number assigned to them by the Chief Scorekeeper.

8.     The decision of the judges is final. Judging will be based on score cards which are numbered.  The Taster’s Choice Award will be based on donations collected during tasting.  One vote = $.25.  All tasters can vote as many times as they would like. 

9.     Each contestant is responsible for policing and cleaning up the area at the end of the day and removing all items from the area. No items shall be allowed to remain after the close of the Cook-off.

10.  In this competition the chili will be blind judged (no one knows the identity of the cook) and scorecards will be based on the following six characteristics:

A.     Texture: The texture of the meat shall not be tough or mushy

B.     Flavor: The chili should have good flavoring and chili pepper taste (not too hot or not too mild)

C.    Consistency: Chili should be a smooth combination of meat and gravy not too thin or too thick

D.    Spice and taste: Blending of the spices and how well they have permeated the meat

E.     Aroma: This will be a personal preference of the judge

F.     Color: The submitted chili should look appetizing

·       Chili may be distributed to the public only after judging has commenced.

·       The decisions of the Chief Judge are final.

·       The Peoples Choice Award is determined by the public.  The public will purchase chili.  It is up to you to entice them to try your chili and cast their vote for you.  The more chili you have the more votes you can get.

·       All cooking is to be done in a sanitary manner.  Conditions are subject to inspection by the Chief Judge.  In addition, failure to comply is subject to disqualification for that team.

·       Each team will provide all ingredients, utensils, and accessories necessary to cook chili.   This includes cook stoves, warmers and fuel.

·       At no time should you leave cooking chili unattended (for safety and integrity reasons).

·       Chili must be made from scratch: cooking beginning with raw meats, vegetables and spices; complete commercial chili mixes are not permitted.

·       Beans, pasta, rice, etc. are approved ingredients for this chili competition.

Extension Needs Your Help!

As I believe we are all aware by now, our State is facing a budget crisis.   Up until this week Extension was looking at a possible 10-15% budget cut state wide which would effect programs, positions, and ultimately the future of Extension as we know it. Yesterday, Dr. Joe Zublena, Associate Dean and Director of North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service (CES), has said that the cuts being discussed are between 25-30%.  That means the loss of almost 400 positions across the state and programming cuts across the board.

If Cooperative Extension programs, including 4-H, have affected your life in a positive way, we are asking you to make contact, either through phone calls or emails, to elected officials. Below are the names and numbers of the people we elected to serve us and who are ultimately the people who are making decisions about our budget. The Cooperative Extension budget is in the Higher Education Line item, specifically the agriculture section of Higher Education.  Cooperative Extension is budget code 16032.  Please take a moment to share that Cooperative Extension is important to our farmers, our youth, our families and our communities.  In 2010, Richmond County Extension made contact with more than 11,000 people (nearly 25% of our county population) and Extension volunteers donated more than $75,000 worth of volunteer service to our community.  Let lawmakers know that Extension includes helping traditional agriculture such as farmers, livestock producers, and poultry producers but also let them know we help families and youth. Extension is the only organization that can adapt to the needs of a county and offer solutions with research-based materials that improve the health/well being of our citizens, protects our food chain, and increases the profitability of our agricultural economy.

If you are a resident of Richmond County, you are represented by:

Representative Ken Goodman (Dem):  910-997-2712, 919-733-5823, Ken.Goodman@ncleg.net

Senator William R. Purcell (Dem):  910-276-7328, 919-733-5953, William.Purcell@ncleg.net

If you live outside of Richmond County, please visit the website listed to find out who represents you.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/GIS/RandR07/Representation.html

Dr. Zublena sent some key points about the work that Cooperative Extension does in North Carolina for you to think about & hopefully share with those representing you. 

“Below are some additional key points that may be useful. Keep in mind every program we provide is at risk. When interacting with your legislators speak from the heart and about the programs you believe in and support within their and your districts.
• The CES budget is only 0.23% of the General Fund. The Research Budget is 0.30% of the General Fund. Combining these two with NCDA CS (0.31%) and NCA&T SU, the primary research, extension, marketing and development organizations supporting agriculture are only 1% of the General Fund. Agriculture is the #1 industry at $74.3B and more than 688,000 jobs in the state. This data clearly shows a very frugal, effective and efficient system of support for such a significant and important industry in our state.
• A recent (March 2011) Council on Agriculture Science and Technology report showed North Carolina is among the states that has seen the greatest growth from 1960 through 2004 in agricultural output. In addition the report showed nationally that agricultural productivity is largely responsible for the fact that the percentage of U.S. household income spent on food has decreased from 22.3 to 9.5 percent at the same time that total food consumption increased. The report also points to studies that conclude that each dollar spent on public agricultural research returns $32 to society. Information from this report validates that agricultural research and extension is a significant value to society and our efforts in NC have been one of the best in the county. This was not by accident, we’ve had a state that understood the importance of agriculture and invested in its future through CES and ARS.
• Research today provides adaptability, economic development, competitiveness and sustainability for our state’s future. Most research takes 4-10 years to provide reliable outcomes. Adoption of that research by producers and adaptation of the research for local conditions occur though Extension.
• 4-H is one of the Nation’s premier youth development programs. Compared to their peers, youth engaged in 4-H: stay in school longer, have higher graduation rates, have higher college attendance and graduation, smoke less, have significantly lower rates of criminal conduct and arrests, and are more involved in their communities. In 2010 NC 219,000 youth and 22,000 volunteers participated in 4-H. Youth in 4-H make significant contributions throughout the state and will be our future leaders just as many of our 1,000,000 4-H alums are leaders in their communities today.
• Since the early 1900’s NC communities have had strong leadership though the efforts of rural women participating in home demonstration clubs and now Extension and Community Associations. We will be celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and their accomplishment are many including the development of rural libraries and book mobile programs, establishing hot lunch programs in NC rural schools, selling more than $2M in war bonds for the WWII hospital ship, Larkspur whose total cost was $4M and helping bring electricity to rural NC. Today’s Family and Consumer Sciences Extension programs train women in leadership development and empower them to publicly address family and community issues, provide education for their families on financial management, energy conservation and nutritious and safe food preparation.
We appreciate your continued support for Extension and Research within your College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Your efforts today will shape the future!”

On a slightly more personal note, I wanted to end by sharing part of a letter that I recently wrote in support of my “home” Cooperative Extension program in Jackson County, Ohio.  The words hold true for programs across the state of North Carolina as well.  

“4-H is the largest youth development organization in the United States and began in Ohio more than 100 years ago.  Since then, the idea of Extension Staff and trained volunteers working together to impact the lives of youth has expanded into every state of the Union and more than 60 countries worldwide.  No two 4-H programs look like one another, because 4-H meets the citizens where they are and helps them to reach their own goals. 

On a personal note, I am a product of 4-H.  I was a member at age 9, showed livestock at the Fair, went to 4-H Camp as a camper and a volunteer counselor, became a 4-H Volunteer when I aged out of the program, interned with 4-H in Tennessee and currently work as a 4-H Agent in North Carolina.  In a recent conversation with my mother, she actually told me that I was so shy as a child that I was, “painful to watch.”  Even into junior high and high school, I would seldom speak to people unless I was talking about 4-H.  4-H provided me with my first public speaking experiences and even though I was shaking as I spoke to groups of 3^rd graders and announced shows at the County Fair, I did it.  And I learned to enjoy speaking and sharing what 4-H had done in my life. 

Through my time in 4-H & grace alone, I have gone on to obtain both a BS and MS in Agricultural & Extension Education.  I have traveled around the world and spoken to thousands about my experiences.  I have seen 4-H do the same thing for others that it did for me – my time in 4-H gave me a voice.  It gave me a voice and the ability to use it to help others.

My hope in writing this is not to brag – far from it!  My purpose in writing is to implore you – keep 4-H & Cooperative Extension in Jackson County.  Without it, I hate to think of where I would be today.”  You can insert any county name there - because I truly believe that Cooperative Extension makes a difference in the lives of our citizens!   

As always, please contact us with any questions or concerns.  Have a wonderful day!

Change is Coming... But That's OK!

Please find below some directions for switching over Photoworks Accounts to ShutterFly Accounts that was originally published by Shea Ann DeJarnette, the wonderful 4-H Agent from Robeson County.  She gave me permission to copy this to our Blog.  THANKS SHEA ANN!!!

Well we have a little announcement to make for all of you who follow the Robeson County 4-H blog. As you know when you click on the links to our photos you find them at photoworks.com. Our organization has had a decade long partnership with this company even before it was photoworks and was known as Seattle Film Works. In the last day or so photoworks has announced it will be closing as of April 4, 2011. They are transferring our photos to a similar service at shutterfly.com.

This will effect you in two ways. For those of you who look at photos or download photos for project records etc., you will now be taken to our Shutterfly account where you will have to create your own free account as you did on photoworks. You will be able to save entire albums to your account or specific photos. You can download them to your computer and print or order prints from shutterfly just as your did photoworks. If you have photos stored at photoworks you can log into your account (up until April 4) and ask them to transfer your photos to your shutterfly account which you can do for free.

The second way this will effect you is through the blog. All posts prior to this one are linked to photoworks. After April 4, we will replace the links in reverse chronological order so the photo links will be through shutterfly. This is not an overnight task, and may take some time but we will work diligently to update all of our posts with new links to the new photo sight.

If you would like to order any of the photo books we have made in the past now is the time. The last post of each year has a link to the books that were made. After April 4, these books will no longer be available. We are working with Shutterfly to build our own share page that you will be able to access all our photos separately without a specific link from the blog and will keep you updated on that process as it happens.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we go through this process. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me at michelle_stumbo@ncsu.edu.

Happy Hatching!!

Hello!

Almost ready for the brooder box.

Miss Michelle helping West Rockingham students be better hand washers.

The week has finally arrived! When I got to the office on Monday, I heard the faint sound of chirping coming from the incubator. Several hours later, our first chick hatched! Overnight, many followed suit and we now have more than 20 here at the 4-H office! I have gotten reports from many classrooms of chicks hatching there as well.

As fun as being there for the chick's birthday is, the 4-H Embryology project is about more than just hatching chicks! Through this project, 11 Richmond County 1st and 2nd grade classrooms have cared for eggs for the past 21 days. After the teachers attend a training with Miss Michelle, they are ready to receive equipment and eggs. During the course of the project, students learn about life cycles, agriculture, biosecurity, record keeping and more! Students have written stories, made books and completed timelines to help them learn more about the chicks and why we treat them like we do.

Farm Bureau partners with us to help ensure success of 4-H Embryology! Special thanks to Farm Bureau for assisting with this program.

Time for Teens

3 Richmond County 4-H teens started their 4-H year off by attending Winter Enrichment recently.  The event was held on the campus of Sandhills Community College in Moore County.  It brought together 4-H'ers from the South Central Extension District which includes 15 counties.  Nearly 70 youth from across the district gathered to conduct business meetings, attend workshops, meet new friends and have a good time.  

Katie working on her Electric Project Kit. 

Nathan Ezzell, Courtney Miller & Katie Miller represented Richmond County well at the event.  Courtney taught a workshop on Health Rocks, a healthy lifestyles basics curriculum.   Other workshops offered included Scrap booking, Electric and Personality Testing.

This, and other 4-H events are supported by contributions to the United Way of Richmond County and fund raising events  

We are very proud of our teens and look forward to a great 4-H year to come.  To take a look at all the pictures from Teen Retreat, click here!

I Hear Noises....

I have had a new sound in my office for a past week.  The gentle hum of an incubator has been in my office and 11 Richmond County 1^st and 2^nd grade classrooms.  The students are participating in the 4-H Embryology project by hatching out a group of chicks in their classrooms. 

 

Day 3/4 of Development

Students at Monroe Avenue, West Rockingham and East Rockingham Elementary Schools are participating in the project now, with Fairview Heights, Washington Street and L.J. Bell, Mineral Springs and Cordova Schools participating in March.   

 

During the 21 days that it takes for the chicks to develop and hatch, students help to ensure healthy growth by turning the eggs, monitoring temperature and keeping water in the incubator.  Students learn about many different areas during this project, including life cycles, growth, agriculture, and bio-security. To see more pictures from my incubator, click here. 

 

Lilo waiting for her classroom visits. 

1^st grade classrooms were offered a visit from 4-H Agent Michelle Stumbo to learn how important it is to wash hands by looking at where germs like to hide under the black light.  2^nd graders could get a visit from one of the 4-H Program Rabbits to help discuss agriculture and how important that is for us. 

 

Richmond County 4-H receives support to offer programs like these to Richmond County School Students at no cost through the generosity of Richmond County.  Farm Bureau has donated money in order to purchase new incubators.  You can also support Richmond County 4-H by contributing to the United Way of Richmond County. 

Volunteers Get A Day!

I often write about trips and conferences that our 4-H members participate in, but recently our wonderful Volunteers got their chance to have fun learning when they travelled to Volunteer Leader’s Conference in Raleigh. 

 

Volunteers from across the state gather each year to learn new information, share what they are doing in their counties, celebrate the work that has been done over the past year and meet other volunteers who can understand the challenges and successes that they experience.   

 

Richmond County 4-H Volunteer Mamie LeGrand and 4-H Program Assistant Cynthia Little took the trip with me last weekend and went to the conference to learn how to better serve the youth of Richmond County. 

If anyone is interested in becoming a 4-H Volunteer, please contact Michelle Stumbo at 997-8255 or michelle_stumbo@ncsu.edu.  Volunteering is a great way to affect youth in a positive way by allowing them to form learning relationships with caring, screened, trained adults.  You can also support Richmond County 4-H by contributing to the United Way of Richmond County. 

Support Stitch!

Stitch, and his girlfriend Lilo, are 4-H's newest program rabbits.  Stitch has been doing such a great job getting ready to meet Richmond County's youth that we decided to enter him into a photo contest.  Check him out...

You can find the entry here:
http://rcdailyjournal.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?contestid=25143&pagetype=APPROVED&SubmissionID=6721248

JCPENNEY CUSTOMERS “ROUND-UP” $1717.41 FOR RICHMOND COUNTY 4-H

Thanks to funds raised through a recent “Round-Up” campaign at the JCPenney at Richmond Plaza, more Richmond County children in need will benefit from the educational opportunities offered by quality programming. From Dec. 1-14, JCPenney customers were invited to round-up their JCPenney purchases to the nearest whole dollar and donate the difference to JCPenney Afterschool. Donations raised at JCPenney’s final “Round-Up” event of the year generated $582.08 for Richmond County 4-H. The program has set $1717.41 to 4-H in the county this year.  One hundred percent of the proceeds collected directly benefit 4-H in an effort to build and sustain afterschool educational programs in Richmond County. 

Thanks to JCPenney & Richmond County Citizens for making this partnership work!!

Now Introducing......

Lilo & Stitch! 

Lilo & Stitch are Richmond County 4-H's newest Program Rabbits.  They are American Fuzzy Lops, which is a small breed rabbit who are proving to be very funny!  For more information on the breed, visit their website at http://users.connections.net/fuzzylop/.  The first time Lilo & Stitch will get to see the kids of Richmond County will be during 4-H Embryology starting in a few weeks. 

For those who have been visited by the 4-H bunny before - no worries - Carolina Bunny is just fine!  She is our current program rabbit and had contact with more than 1200 youth in Richmond County in 2010 and it was time to get her some help so she can get a day off occasionally.