4-H Centennial Year Follows a Year of Achievements

             As Pennsylvania 4-H moves into its Centennial year, Clinton County 4-H is also moving forward as strong as ever.  Current 4-H members are getting their final registrations done for the new year and looking ahead to the projects and activities of the busy months to come.  New members are also welcome to join 4-H by calling the Extension Office at (570) 726-0022.   With such a big year in front of us, it seems like the perfect time to remember some of the accomplishments of the past year.

One life skill that every 4-H member has the opportunity to gain is goal setting.  They learn at a very early age that the best accomplishments in life stem from the goals they have set for themselves along the way.  Each 4-H member set some type of goal for themselves in 2011.  Some may have been as large as winning Grand Champion at the Fair.  Some may have been to complete a quality project for Round Up or to participate in the County Public Speaking Contest.  Some may have even set out to learn a new skill or make a few new friends.  No matter what their goals were, Clinton County 4-H members had many accomplishments throughout the year. 

In November, a few very prestigious awards were given to 4-H members, volunteers and friends of 4-H.  Through an application and interview process, Kayla Kimble was chosen as Clinton County’s 2011 Outstanding Junior 4-H Member and McCartney Register earned an Honorable Mention for her excellent interview as well. Charles Walizer was nominated and named Clinton County 4-H Leader of the Year.  Hoofbeats 4-H Club earned the title of 2011 4-H Club of the Year and Friends of 4-H Awards were given to the Clinton County Community Foundation and the Clinton County Fair Association.   Hunter Andrus and Vanessa Barner also received 4-H Scholarships to aid them in their college endeavors.

4-H members should also be commended for the variety and quality of 4-H programs they participated in throughout the year.  Members wishing to improve their leadership skills participated in activities such as the 4-H State Leadership Conference, 4-H Regional Teen Retreat, 4-H Camp Counselor Training, 4-H Capital Days and several served on the 4-H Teen Leader Council.  39 members went to Regional 4-H Camp.  Nine 4-H members participated in the County Public Speaking Contest in June and three members even gave presentations at the 6^th Grade Field Days in September.  One member went to the State Livestock Judging day at Penn State and represented Clinton County very well.  One member also represented Clinton County on State 4-H Team Horse Power.  A majority of the 183 4-H members raised and showed livestock or horses at the Clinton County Fair and many of those went onto District and State Shows.  To top it off, 4-H members are constantly participating in community service and events within their club, all year long. 

For some 4-H members, 2010-2011 was either their first or last year as a 4-H member.  Clinton County had 40 new 4-H members and 11 who had put in their final year of 4-H.  Each of these places in one’s 4-H career brings very different goals and challenges.  The new members are learning all about 4-H and the projects they take on while the outgoing members have put in 10 or 11 years with the program and have spent many of those years helping younger members.  These 4-H alumni are now pursuing their futures using everything 4-H and the volunteers working within it have taught them.  Welcome to all new 4-H members and good luck to our alumni.  Finally, thank you to all Volunteers and supporters who make it possible for the youth involved in 4-H to achieve their goals and master the life skills this program has to offer.