Growing News

See below for the latest updates!

Record Books and Journals will be due to club leaders October 1st.

Stop in or call the office and we will print you paper copies otherwise email the office for any PDF versions to be sent to you.

All record book, journal and award form paperwork can be found on the Extension website you just must scroll down a ways until you hit the documents written in green text.

Award applications are also due with your books. There are a variety of awards to apply for—Member year pins: Agriculture, Personal Development, Shooting Sports, Home Economics, and Horse Sweepstakes; Farm Bureau Award; Dillion Jolley Award; County Citizenship, Leadership and Achievement Medals; Key Award; Overall Award; Molly's Award for dog members; Joe Mil-lette Outstanding Horse; and Outstanding Club Award.

Call or stop in the office to if you need help deciding which awards you are eligible for.

Remember– no record book or journal submitted mean no premium money paid.

Thank you to Cheryl with Danish Girl Marketing for taking pictures during the 2023 Clay County Fair. Fair photos can be found on our Facebook page or email the office to have them sent to you.

Click the button below for a link to the page!

The State Livestock Judging event will be held Friday September 15 and Saturday September 16th at the SDSU Animal Science Arena in Brookings. Registration is now open and will close on September 7th at 11:59pm. Click the button below for the contestant packet. Click here for the fair Entry registration link.

Open to 4-H'ers in grades 6-8th, Junior Fall Conference is an opportunity to meet 4-H'ers from across your region, attend cool activities, participate in service learning experiences, and attend other fun and engaging experiences. Lighting the Way with South Dakota 4-H at Junior Fall Conference is the place to be this Fall to make memories that last forever! Parents: Our event is led by youth professionals who have several years of experience in planning and managing events for youth! We will focus on creating an environment where your child will make many positive memories while also learning life skills and content that will help them throughout life. Located at beautiful Prairie Shores Resort and Events outside of Madison, SD!

When: September 29 – October 1.

Cost: $320 which includes two nights lodging, six meals and snacks, educational and program materials, and any local transportation needed.

Deadline to register: September 8, 2023 at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Register through 4-H Online!

Open to all counties East of the Missouri River except Brule, Hughes, and Sully.

For more information contact the extension office or email sdsu.4h@sdstate.edu.

National 4-H week is quickly approaching mark your calendars for October 1-7 2023. This years theme is “I❤ 4H .” Take advantage of this important week to highlight the remarkable 4-H youth in our communities and showcase the incredible experiences that 4-H offers young people. If you need promotional supplies or materials, please contact the office. We are able to print several things from the national 4-H website. If you do promote 4-H in some way, please send photos to the office to be highlighted in the next newsletter!

The new 4-H year (2023-2024) begins October 1. Members can start re-enrolling in 4-HOnline 2.0 any-time after October 1. Members do need to re-enroll every year. Returning members– please do not set up a new profile! Call the office if you need help!

Club leaders & Volunteers– don’t forget to re-enroll, too! You do not have to complete a new volunteer application but do need to pay the $10 fee by December 15 2023. Checks payable to Clay County 4-H Leaders Association

Mark your calendars 2023 4-H Recognition Event will be held Sunday November 19th at 2pm at the Clay County 4-H Center!

September 7 - Deadline to register for State Livestock Judging & Skill-a-thon

September 8 - Deadline to register for 4-H Junior Fall Conference

September 8-10 – Fall State Shoot – Mitchell

September 12 - Joint Fair Board/Leaders Assoc. Meeting

September 15 - State 4-H Livestock Skill-a-thon - SDSU, Brookings

September 16 - State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest - SDSU, Brookings

September 23 - Sate Dog Show: Western Championship - Rapid City

October 1 - New 4-H Year begins, Re-enroll in 4-HOnline!

October 1 - Record Books Due to Club Leaders

October 3 - Leaders Assoc. Awards Meeting

November 19 - Recognition Event 2pm 4-H Center

Calling All 4-H Photographers! South Dakota Farmers Union 2023 Photo Contest has a category designed to highlight the work of South Dakota 4-H’ers. Division winner receives $100! Visit www.SDFU.org and click on the Photo Contest link under News & Events tab to learn more. (You can also visit this link:

https://sdfu.org/news-events/ photo-contest/) The contest is

open July 1 - October 1, 2023

The 86th Annual Western Junior Livestock Show will be held October 3-7 2023.

The printable application is available in the rule book.

Mail your application and payment by the postmark deadlines of :
September 25th.

https://www.westernjuniorlivestock.com/rule-book/

Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist and wisdom extraordinaire, said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” The same applies to effective youth development programs. It is no secret that for many decades a community has formed around what many know as Teen Leadership Conference. This is a community of likeminded individuals, with a desire to be lifelong learners. That desire has not changed even in the young people we serve today. Therefore, we find it crucial to continue providing these individuals with a meaningful experience that allows them to grow personally, while developing their skills. However, to continue recruiting participants to the same conference, we once recruited teens to in the 80’s, is indeed the definition of insanity. Young people have changed and evolved. They have different intrinsic needs and values. What was once catchy to their parents, is lackluster at best to them. Therefore, this year a special rebrand committee comprised of Teen Leadership Conference planning committee members

and their advisors was formed to evaluate how we can better market to teens of the 21st

century. The solution that they discovered to be effective is a rebrand. This means the

conference we all know and love is not going away, nor is it drastically changing. However, we

are making ourselves more attractive to our target audience.

Without further ado, we present to you SkillsX by 4-H (formally Teen Leadership Conference).

SkillsX by 4-H provides all teens with an opportunity to develop their leadership and life skills,

while working to learn, grow, and express themselves through an educational on-campus

experience. The concept behind the new name is that our conference focuses deeply on skill

development, whether that be leadership skills, soft-skills or career and industry specific skills.

We feel that the new name better represents the experience (hence the X in the name) we offer

to young people, while being trendy. Please hold your calendar for the first ever SkillsX by 4-H

on June 3-7, 2024! Event details and registration will be forthcoming next Spring.

Contact Hilary Risner (hilary.risner@sdstate.edu) or Vanessa Hight

(vanessa.hight@sdstate.edu) with questions.

This is the last Project Challenge for the year! Be sure to fill out any quarters challenges that you completed and return with you record book on October 1.

Challenge winners will be awarded at Recognition Event!

Raven Jensen

Secretary

Lauren Hollenbeck

4-H Youth Program Advisor

Email: clay.county@sdstate.edu
Website: https://www.claycountysd.org/extensionoffice4h.cfm
Location: 515 High Street, Vermillion, SD, USA
Phone: 605-677-7111
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/332499696769521