November 2021
Welcome to the new virtual newsletter for Lee County 4-H! We hope that you find the Clover Corner to be a central location to find beneficial monthly updates on what is going on in the 4-H Program. – Ms. Arielle
Give Thanks
We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and are appreciative of each and every one of you! Thank you for making the best better with us.
Definition: Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. While this may seem simple on the surface, it has a deeper impact on both the giver and the receiver, and we are in the middle of the perfect holiday to remind us what giving thanks is all about! This Thanksgiving, practice gratitude and thankfulness in your house and community by exercising some of these ideas:
- Start a “Gratitude Jar”: Grab a container or jar and slips of paper, decorate the jar with things that make you happy. Everyday, write down something big or small that you are grateful for or that made you smile. This could be an experience, an act of kindness performed to you, something that was provided to you, or the way someone made you feel! When you need something to cheer you up, open the jar and read all the things that you were grateful for that month.
- Make Thank You cards: Make Thank You cards that can be used all year long. Make a goal to send out at least one thank you card a month to someone who has helped you. Don’t forget to explain why you are thankful for them!
- Look for the Silver Lining: A silver lining is a sign of hope in an unfortunate or gloomy situation. We all have bad days or things that don’t go as planned. Instead of getting down, look for a silver lining or positive moment that still came from that situation!
- Random Acts of Kindness: Perform random acts of kindness throughout your day. These can look like opening the door for someone, sticking up for someone who is being bullied, thanking your school cafeteria workers or janitors, or just making someone smile!
New and Improved Website
We have been working behind the scenes and are officially launching our new and improved website! The new website will hopefully ease communication and allow for one access point to materials and information for both Volunteers and Families. Within the website, you will find multiple tabs at the top of the page to help steer you in the direction you need. Within each tab there are resources that are available for both view and print.
We will be adding more information in the days/months to come, but please begin enjoying the new resource on our Lee County Extension Page at: https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/lee/
- Once in the Lee County Extension Page, please click the Menu bar in the top right corner (Left image)
- Click on 4-H Youth Development
- Click on any 3 blue links within this page to access the new website (Middle image)
- Within the new website, visit and familiarize yourself with the new tabs (Right image)
What you can find on the website:
- Project and Record Books
- Supplementary information (Ethics classes, Premise ID, and Local Fairs/Livestock Show information)
- End of the Year Awards information
- County, District, and State Events
- 4-H Online 2.0 help
- Club/Club Officer Information
Youth Volunteer Opportunities
Looking for Community Service opportunities? Check out these options below! Please note some are open for clubs as a whole to sign up, if this is the case, please contact your leader if you are interested.
North Fort Myers Parks and Rec Center:
“We set our dates for our upcoming events and wanted to send an ‘official’ request for event volunteers from 4-H. If you need more information about the event, I listed the staff contact below as well. Thanks for helping us out!”
- Breakfast with Santa (Stafford Milligan – ) – December 4, 2021
- 6-8 volunteers
- Spring Fest (Stafford Milligan & Mike Rosario) – March 26, 2022
- 8-10 volunteers
- Senior Prom (Jessy Zukaitis & Stafford Milligan) – March 31, 2022
- 2-4 volunteers
To volunteer, please reach out to Stafford Milligan at SMilligan@leegov.com or Mike Rosario at MRosario2@leegov.com.”
2021 Holidays without Hunger by Meals of Hope
One of our 4-H favorites is back! This is perfect for club or family community service and a great way to give back to our community.
The Mission of Meals of Hope is “To inspire and empower communities to come together to end hunger.” We believe it is our job to feed people. Meals of Hope began as a food packing organization, and we are the only food packing organization with a priority on keeping the food packed within the United States. We developed five meals specifically designed for the American palate with added vitamins, minerals and proteins to supplement an unbalanced diet. Most of our packed meals are donated to the Feeding America Food Bank Network. More than 30,000 volunteers and 18 full and part time staff members assist Meals of Hope in achieving its Mission.
Date: Saturday December 18th, 2021 from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Location: Lee Civic Center, 11831 Bayshore Road, Fort Myers, FL 33917
Livestock Record Books
Updated change! 4-H Livestock Record Books will now be completed and turned in separately from the Fair at the request of the SWFL & Lee County Fair Association. What does this mean for you?
- We are still using the same record books this year, you can find them here.
- Did you know there is a help guide? Follow the guide to help you achieve a blue ribbon!
- There will no longer be Fair Premiums, however ribbons will still be in place and we are working on a Blue Ribbon Club Award. (More details on Blue Ribbon Club coming soon!)
- We will have a record book check in January (think of this as a mid-point check). This check will consist of making sure youth have made significant progress in their books and story. Books should be up to date as of January, and Stories should be no less than half complete.
- Record books will be due in completion on or before June 1, 2022 by 4:30 pm to the 4-H office. Each species shown should have a record book, but youth do not need to do more than one record book per animal in the same species.
- Example: Youth A shows a market steer, rabbits, and poultry. In this case, Youth A would complete a market steer record book, a small animal book for rabbits, and a small animal book for poultry. Youth B shows 2 rabbits. In this case, Youth B will only need to complete one small animal record book for the 2 rabbits.
- If a youth is showing a market animal, they will need to show sale price and the end of their project in their record book. If a youth is showing an animal that is staying in their flock/herd, they will need to show all expenses through June 1st as this is a year long project that doesn’t end after Fair/Livestock Shows.
- Failure to complete and turn in a Livestock Record Book will result in a strike against member in good standing. A youth who fails to become a member in good standing, will either go on probation and will have meeting dates set up to work on record books at the 4-H office, or will be asked to take a break the following year from 4-H.
- Please note that if you are going for end of the year awards, these books will count if full completed, and the additional materials for end of the year awards are added.
Demonstrations and Illustrated Talks
As spring approaches, we are all working on getting our club level demonstrations or illustrated talks completed. But these visual presentations don’t have to be scary! Think about what projects or subjects you are most passionate about, or what you might be interested in sharing with others.
A visual presentation is a teaching method in which the presenter shares information with an audience with the assistance of visual aids such as posters, models, and computer presentation software (i.e., PowerPoint or Prezi). A visual presentation can be either (1) a demonstration in which the presenter shows how to do something or (2) an illustrated talk that is accompanied by visual aids to help the audience understand the topic.
A 4-H visual presentation teaches you to express yourself clearly, research a subject, organize ideas in logical order, and develop poise in speaking before a group. It can also help instill independence and mastery in a specific subject.
Some quick tips to remember:
- No living specimens may be used for a demonstration either in person or on video at the District or
State Level. This includes all vertebrates and invertebrates (i.e. insects, crustaceans, fish,
amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals).
• Demonstrations/ Illustrated talks must be between 3-12 minutes for juniors and intermediates, and
5-12 minutes for seniors.
• A team demonstration is one in which two team members participate both in speaking and
presentation. No more than two members per team.
• State entries must have competed at the county/district levels. Participation guidelines for
county/district level activities that do not culminate at the state level are at the discretion of
planning committees at the county/district
For more information and help on visual presentations, click here.
To read more about categories and divisions for Demonstrations and Illustrated Talks as well as guidelines, click here.
Oh, and don’t forget to have fun!
Workshops & Events
Luck-A-Lee 4-H Club Holiday Keepsake Workshop
When: Sunday, December 5th 2021
Choose a time: 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. | 1:00 P.M. – 2:30 P.M. | 2:30 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Where: Barrett Farms, 1337 Barrett Rd. N. Fort Myers, FL 33903
What: Create a holiday keepsake with Luck-A-Lee 4-H Club in their annual keepsake workshop! Select from a Holiday Plate, Wooden Reindeer, Wooden Snowman, or make them all!
Cost: $10 per keepsake or $27 for all three. All materials provided!
RSVP to Ann Brock at Avbrock2@aol.com or 239-839-5444. If you are interested in signing up, please RSVP Before November 29th.
Second Executive Board – Open to all Senior 4-Hers
The Florida 4-H Executive Board is the programming body of the Florida 4-H Council. It is comprised of four (4) delegates from each of the 13 districts, up to 30 appointees, and the eight (8) state officers.
Throughout the year, there are three (3) Executive Board Weekends that allow members to come together to plan and support statewide programs while building lasting relationships with one another.
For those senior 4-H members (ages 14-18 as of September 1st of the current 4-H year) that are interested in becoming a member and want to learn more about Executive Board, this open event is a wonderful opportunity to immerse themselves in all things Executive Board. This weekend is a great opportunity to make connections with youth from across the state and experience what it is like to be a part of the state wide programming board!
This is a shift in what has traditionally been the open Executive Board Weekend. By shifting to Second Executive Board, we hope to allow youth from all project areas to attend. We recognize Third Executive Board Weekend in March was amongst a cramped schedule of other statewide project specific events.
Who: 4-H members ages 14-18 (as of September 1 of current 4-H year)
When: January 14-16,2022
Where: 4-H Camp Timpoochee – Niceville, FL
Cost: $115 for members; $120 for non-members
Registration: November 22, 2021 through January 6, 2022 via 4-H Online
Check-in: Onsite check-in will begin at 7:00 pm EST on the first day. We are unable to accommodate anyone prior to 7:00 pm EST
If you are a senior youth interested in attending, please reach out to Ms. Arielle at Ari.pierce@ufl.edu so that she can plan transportation/logistics.
Holiday Treat Bake-off Contest
The purpose of the Holiday Treat 
Bake-Off Contest is to encourage adults and youth to work together on a project while spending time together in the kitchen. This is not a traditional 4-H contest where a 4-H member must do all the work themselves. Mixes, precooked, and non-cooked items may be used in the finished product. Work should be done by the youth with supervision, directions and help of an adult. Entries must have a festive holiday appearance. Judges will be judging products on appearance, taste and display, and food safety qualities.
Find out who has the best dessert recipe in the county! This contest is open to all youth ages 5-18 and each youth may turn in two dishes total, each in a separate category. Cloverbuds will not receive a score, however they will receive a participation certificate. 1st-3rd will be awarded for each 4-H age division in each category, with the 1st place overall winner of each age division receiving the golden spoon.
All baked goods will be due to the Lee County 4-H Office on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. Once the turn in time passes, closed room judging will take place shortly after by our guest judges. Placings & Awards will be announced via Zoom on Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 6:00 PM. All contestants will receive a zoom link invite when submitting their entries. Awards & Placings will also be announce via facebook.
Categories:
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- Cookies: includes bar cookies
- Pies: includes hand pies
- Cakes: Includes cupcakes
- Breads
- Pastries
Rules:
- Youth may enter up to two dishes total: one dish each in two separate categories.
- 4-H Bake-Off Entry Form must accompany each baked good submission when turned into the office.
- Food Safety practices must be followed.
- Baked goods should be delivered in dishes that are disposable. Dishes will not be returned at the end of the event.
- Mixes, precooked, and non-cooked items may be used in the finished product.
- No live plant material (such as holly, poinsettia, boxwood, etc) may be used. Product will be disqualified.
To help you rock Food Safety practices, read the Food Safety tips provided in this fact sheet.
Please turn in a Holiday Bake-off Contestant Form with each entry. Failure to turn in a contestant form with the entry will result in disqualification.
Leadership through the Arts Weekend
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