June 30, 2010
The newly crowned Miss Delaware, Kayla Martell, has been a 4-H’er since she was 5 years old. She credits the skills learned through 4-H with helping her prepare for the future, and face health challenges that might hinder most pageant contestants.
“4-H helped me become comfortable in my own skin so when I was diagnosed with alopecia areata, I didn’t feel like I have to hide the condition,” said Martell.
Alopecia areata is an auto-immune disorder that causes hair loss, and affects more than 4.7 million people in the United States alone.
“Delaware 4-H was where I learned poise and self-confidence,” said Martell. “Sometimes I wear a wig, but sometimes I don’t.”
 Kayla Martell appears on the CBS Morning show to discuss alopecia and her Miss Delaware win. Photo courtesy CBS. See her appearance on the show here: http://bit.ly/9xn8AU Martell competed in support of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation and will continue to support the organization during her reign as Miss Delaware. In 2006, she created a program called Caps for Yaps - Caps for Youth Alopecia Patients. She taught youth how to design and create hats for young people with alopecia. More than 2,000 hats, caps and scarves have since been distributed.
“The mission of 4-H is to be a catalyst for positive change and I can’t think of anyone who epitomizes this better than Kayla Martell,” said Dr. Jan Seitz, associate dean and director of University of Delaware Cooperative Extension. “She is such a force for good in the community.”
Before winning her title as Miss Delaware, Martell devoted more than 2,500 hours of community service to the Health Rocks program, a 4-H curriculum that teaches at-risk youth about the hazards of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. She was inspired to become involved in Health Rocks! ® and other Delaware 4-H initiatives combating youth and teens substance abuse by the loss of a childhood friend to a drug overdose. She even started a group in high school called PLEDGE - People Learning to Eliminate Drugs by Gaining Education.
“Kayla’s life has always been about giving to others and serving as mentor and supporter to those in need,” said Seitz. “I cannot think of an individual more suited to be named the new Miss Delaware.”
“4-H provided Kayla with opportunities that not only enhanced her public speaking and communication skills but helped her to develop leadership, citizenship and community service skills,” said her mother, Rhonda Martell.
Martell is currently a student at Marymount University in Arlington, Va., and will take a year off from school to commit to her responsibilities as the new Miss Delaware. On Jan. 15, 2011, she will compete in the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas.
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April 29, 2010
 Samantha Jo Riddley accepts the Youth Action Award at the 4-H Legacy Awards Gala. |
 Former US Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman (left) recieves the Abraham Lincoln Vision wa |
National 4-H Council hosted the first Annual Legacy Awards Gala April 22, honoring extraordinary individuals and corporations that have made a lasting impact through work in 4-H. And Youth Action Awardwinner Samantha Jo Riddley is just one of those people.
Samantha joined North Dakota 4-H in 2006, and became involved in the archery program. As a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, she brought the Native American tradition back to her community, where it has promoted teamwork and respect.
The high school senior, whose Lakota name is Oyate Wiyanka Pe Win, credits the values and skills that she has learned through 4-H with helping her overcome several challenging obstacles, including illness and poverty. Samantha accepted her award in full Native American dress, and announced that she will take on the next challenge this fall: She will be the first in her family to attend college, and will study medicine at Dartmouth. She hopes to again return to her tribe with the knowledge of medicine to improve the lives of the people in her community.
Former United States Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and JCPenney were also honored at the Gala, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC. Glickman received the Abraham Lincoln Vision Award for a life-longcommitment to youth advocacy. Glickman, current president of Refugees International and former Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., began his career in public service as School Board president and has served as Kansas Congressman and eventually the Secretary of Agriculture. Glickman is a member of National 4-H Council’s Board of Trustees.
JCPenney’s strategic partnership with 4-H on 4-H Afterschool programming has impacted millions of youth across the nation for more than 50 years, providing a safe place to learn and grow. Because of their support, Chairman of the Board and CEO Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III accepted the 4-H Corporate Leadership Award
It was an exciting evening hosted by Virginia 4-H alumna Nancy Redd, and filled with tributes to the honorees, a keynote address by National 4-H Council president and CEO, Donald T. Floyd Jr., and a celebration of 108 years of preparing young people to step up to challenges and take the lead in their communities and their world.
 National 4-H Council President and CEO Don Floyd Jr. with (from left): JCPenney Chairman of the Board and CEO Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III, recipient of the Corporate Leadership Award; Samantha Jo Riddley, recipient of the Youth in Action Award; Dan Glickman, recipient of the Abraham Lincoln Award; and James Borel, DuPont executive vice president and Chair of the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees. |
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April 15, 2010
On 4-H National Youth Science Day, October 6, 2010, hundreds of thousands of youth nation-wide will engage in a hands-on lesson in water quality and climate change - two very important issues facing our global community.
Designed by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (A&T), the 2010 National Science Experiment, 4-H2O, will use a three-tiered experiment model to engage youth of all ages to learn at the simplest level how carbon dioxide can affect aquatic animals, plants and other living organisms in lakes, streams, rivers and oceans.
“Now entering its third year, 4-H National Youth Science Day will again bring young people face-to-face with a large and complex global issue affecting our society,” said Donald T. Floyd, Jr., National 4-H Council president and CEO. “Involving youth early in fun and exciting scientific exploration is paramount to encouraging their future interest in science and science careers. As the nation’s next generation of leaders, it is imperative that we encourage today’s young people to think about global issues today, in order to engage them in developing the solutions of tomorrow.”
4-H2O features a series of interactive activities and discussions to demonstrate the importance of water quality and its relevance to climate change. Using typical chemistry tools, worksheets, online guides and Web-based demonstrations, the experiment will help youth learn and then connect back to their own lives by encouraging the measurement of their own personal impact on the environment, along with the impact of their families.
“We hope this experiment will help young people understand their environmental relationship to their communities and to the world, and at the same time help create the next generation of new scientists to keep our country globally competitive,” said Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, administrator of A&T’s Cooperative Extension Program that developed the National Science Experiment. “At the end of the day, this experiment may inspire young people to continue their interest in science throughout their secondary education, into college and on into career opportunities.”
4-H National Youth Science Day was created as part of 4-H’s One Million New Scientists, One Million New IdeasTM campaign. It is designed to spark an early youth interest in science education in order to combat a national shortage of young people pursuing science in college and future careers.
This year’s 4-H National Youth Science Day has been jointly sponsored by John Deere, IBM and Toyota.
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March 30, 2010
 From left to right: Marissa Goldberg, Katelyn Schirado, Ada Taylor, and Anna Molosky. In an effort to encourage more young women to choose careers in technology, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and Bank of America have recognized four 4-H’ers, among 33 high-school women nationwide, for their accomplishments and aspirations in computing and technology.
“With technology jobs projected to grow faster than all other job sectors in the next decade, it’s imperative that we nurture the computing aspirations of women, who will make up half the professional workforce,” said Lucy Sanders, CEO and Co-founder of NCWIT. “Bank of America’s support for this award allows us recognize and encourage talent that might otherwise be overlooked.”
The recipients of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing are Alexandra Olivares, Anna Molosky, Ada Taylor and Katelyn Schirado. The NCWIT Award winners were selected from more than 700 applications. Each winner received $500 cash, a laptop computer, a personal engraved award and a copy for her school, and a trip to attend the Bank of America Technology Stars of the Future Showcase & Awards Ceremony, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
About the Winners
Alexandra Olivares, from Dubuque, Iowa, is interested in robotics and attended the Summer Opportunity in Aeronautics for High School Scholars (SOAR) at NASA’s Langley Research Institute. She participated in hands-on, interactive, aeronautics-related challenges. Alexandra has been accepted to the NASA INSPIRE resident internship and is a member of the Computer Science/Robotics Club at Loras College, where she also takes college courses.
Anna Molosky is very involved in her local community in Issaquah, Wash. She is vice president of community outreach for the Student Research and Development Club, which shares materials and guidance with local students who are interested in technology-related projects. She also works at a community center to help the elderly with computer literacy. She has a special interest in biotechnologies and neurorobotics.
Ada Taylor from Durham, N.C., has been hooked on robotics ever since she received her first Lego RCX robotics kit from her dad. She has participated in many science, math, engineering, and technology programs at her high school in Durham, N.C., and Duke University. Her fluency in many different programming languages has helped her in various projects, including one in which she rebuilt computers to give back to the community. Ada plans to study electrical engineering and computer science at MIT.
Katelyn Schirado of Glen Ullin, N.D., loves to design and program robots. She has been a member of the Math Counts team and the Acalympic team, vice-president of FFA Agricultural Education, three-year president of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, and 4-H Morton County Teen Exhibitor of the Year- in addition to many other activities.
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January 8, 2010
 From left to right: Sarah Belder, Danielle Skoglund, Regina Grover, Ashley Hudson at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisc. Four Massachusetts 4-H’ers traveled across the country this fall to attend the National 4-H Dairy Conference and World Dairy Expo, held at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. There, the youth participated in educational opportunities, and competed in an international competition.
Over 200 4-H youth attended the National 4-H Dairy Conference that was held in conjunction with the World Dairy Expo. The conference offered a variety of activities that focused on supporting the future of the dairy business.
“We had the opportunity to meet people from all over the US,” said 16 year-old Sarah Belder. She won 10th place out of 72 participants in the senior division of the international Youth Showmanship Competition during the World Dairy Expo. Belder was the youngest in her division, competing against 19 and 20 year-olds.
“Showmanship is the best part,” Belder said. “I was shocked and excited. I couldn’t believe it.”
In the Showmanship competition, the judges gauge how well the participant interacts with the animal. The contestants must make good eye contact and demonstrate a good relationship with the animal by confidently leading it around the show ring.
“We attended seminars and toured different business that had to do with the dairy industry,” said Massachusetts 4-H’er Regina Grover. The youth learned from top-notch speakers that are leaders in dairy and agribusiness practice, and also toured dairy farms and visited the American Breeding Society.
“I really enjoyed the social networking seminar about how to present yourself online,” said Grover. The seminar taught people of all ages how to use peer-to-peer communication to tell the dairy industry’s story and build its positive image.
Massachusetts 4-H’er Danielle Skoglund noted that while she was able to take advantage of a number of events at the conference, her favorite part of the conference took place outside of the sessions and events.
“My favorite part was meeting different people and seeing another part of the dairy industry.”
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December 16, 2009
Dozens of 4-H youth gathered in Times Square on Friday, Nov. 20 to survey New Yorkers about their impressions of the organization while a 4-H PSA aired on the CBS “Super Screen” above them.
“This is so cool,” 4-H’er Tihelia James said when she saw the PSA on the screen above West 42nd Street. She was one of 30 4-H’ers from the Cornell University Extension who participated in the survey project.
The youth kept an eye on the screen during the day. The 15-second clip aired twice an hour through the month of November. Nearly 1.6 million people pass through Times Square daily, which gave 4-H a total potential reach of almost 50 million people.
4-H was offered the unique opportunity to air the PSA on the big screen after successfully promoting National Youth Science Day and the “Biofuel Blast” National Science Experiment, held Oct. 7.
Nearly 30 4-H’ers from the New York 4-H program, outfitted in green 4-H hooded sweatshirts, and red Cornell hooded sweatshirts, hit the streets of Times Square to conduct a survey about 4-H in one of the world’s busiest cities.
Youth asked New Yorkers four questions about 4-H while the 15-second clip aired. The goal was to gather overall perceptions of the organization among the general public.
While canvassing West 42nd Street near 8th Avenue, the 4-H’ers took a few moments to share what they like most about being in 4-H.
“It’s taught me to be a bit more confident and how to be more persistent when coming to a problem,” Jessica Gill said.
“The favorite thing I’ve done is the ribbon cutting ceremony at the state fair with Gov. Patterson,” Tihelia James said. She was able to interview the governor, and write an article for her local 4-H newsletter.
Others talked about participating in service activities in their communities and academic activities with Cornell University. Victor Vives and Jessica Gill helped plant 100 trees for the 4-H Million Trees Project, while Malik Mallard attended an engineering event at Cornell where he learned about the possibilities of humans traveling at the speed of light.
Throughout the day, 4-H’ers collected a number of responses from people passing through Times Square, and watched the PSA air twice an hour all afternoon.
“I think it went well,” Weng said. “Sometimes in the city people just pass by, but there’s been interest, and we’ll get a lot of great results from this project.”
The youth finished the afternoon after interviewing a variety of people from diverse backgrounds and ages, from older couples, to 20-somethings, to teenagers like themselves. Through a splash of green in Times Square, they helped draw attention to the 4-H brand, and the positive impact the organization can have on the lives of youth.
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December 7, 2009
 The 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree is cut from Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Arizona, and prepared for loading on to the delivery truck. The tree stopped at National 4-H Conference Center on Nov. 27. When Arizona State Program Leader Kirk Astroth heard that his state was chosen to donate the 2009 Capital Christmas Tree, he didn’t hesitate to find ways for 4-H to be involved.
Through his hard work, Arizona Cooperative Extension was selected to be on the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree Steering Committee, along with the Patrick Media Group, U.S. Forest Service, and the City of Show Low, Ariz.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to show the nation the richness of our state’s natural beauty and the generosity of our people,” Arizona Governor Janice K. Brewer said in a prepared statement.
This year’s tree, an 85-foot Blue Spruce, was cut Nov. 7 from Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests near Springerville, Ariz. It toured the state and stopped at schools, community centers, shopping plazas and the state capitol before a stop at National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md., on Nov. 27. It was accompanied by 80 additional trees for offices around Capitol Hill, chosen with help from Navajo Valley County 4-H Agent Steve Campbell.
It left Center to early Monday, Nov. 30 and traveled down Connecticut Avenue to the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
As part of the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree Steering Committee, the Arizona Extension was tasked with collecting thousands of ornaments to decorate the tree. Extension offices served as donation locations, and office staff didn’t quite know what to expect.
 Boxes of ornaments for the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree in an Arizona Extension Office. “They were getting 60 to 80 boxes of ornaments,” Astroth said. Across the state, 4-H’ers, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, church groups, schools and other youth organizations helped create nearly 10,000 ornaments, which were collected at Extension offices statewide and shipped with the tree to Washington, D.C.
The artists had to create ornaments that were large enough to be seen on the tree, and able to withstand three weeks of winter weather in the District.
Astroth believes 4-H’s participation in preparing and delivering the Capitol Christmas Tree was a great way to help raise the organization’s visibility with the public.
“An Arizona senator started this tradition nearly 40 years ago, and we are happy to be involved,” Astroth said.
The lighting ceremony will take place Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m.
 The 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree Arrives at the National 4-H Confernce Center Nov. 27. Return to 4-H News
November 18, 2009
 John Benson, a winner of the Power of the Wind competition at the 2009 Colorado State Fair, works on his project. |
Colorado 4-H prepared to implement the new The Power of the Wind curriculum with a pilot project competition for local youth, testing their ingenuity and creativity.
4-H youth in the state were invited to enter their wind powered machines, vehicles or sculptures in the 2009 Colorado State Fair, where five winners were chosen to appear at the 2009 Colorado 4-H Gala.
“I wanted to build something that would be useful,” said Ivan Reigel, a Durango County, Colo. 4-H’er. “I didn’t want to build anything that sat around and looked pretty.”
Reigel entered a homemade wind turbine that charges an old car battery. With a DC/AC converter, he is able power any standard electrical device using the power generated by the wind.
Twenty 4-H youth entered the competition, and Reigel’s turbine was selected with four other creations to be on display at the Colorado 4-H Gala. Garrett Guthrie’s wind-powered automatic door opener was also selected.
“I chose the Power of the Wind project because of my interest in alternative energy and engineering,” said Guthrie, a 14-year-old 4-H’er from Grand Junction, Colo.
Guthrie constructed the automatic door opener, which uses a wind turbine that powers a battery pack with a timer. The timer is set so that early in the morning, the battery powers a motor to open the door for his family’s chicken coop.
He got the idea for his project from his desire to help little brother, who was responsible for letting the chickens out early each morning, sleep in a bit later.
“It was much easier thinking of the idea than building it,” said Guthrie, who ran into hurdles obtaining windmill blades and special batteries for his project. Despite his difficulty, Guthrie found a lot of learning experiences working with a master carpenter, an electrician and wind engineer, and a welder, who served as mentors.
“I learned more than I ever dreamed I would,” said Guthrie.
At the Colorado 4-H Gala, the winning projects each received a $200, and were auctioned off to benefit Colorado 4-H.
Colorado state Speaker of the House, Terrance Carroll, served as master of ceremonies for the evening, and was impressed by the 4-H event.
“We have to keep doing things like this, said Jeff Goodwin, Colorado State Program Leader. “It really raised awareness of 4-H in Denver.”
Goodwin is looking forward to the full implementation of the Power of the Wind curriculum, and the projects for the 2010 Colorado State Fair.
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October 29, 2009
Applications are now available for the 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program that honors youth for their extraordinary efforts in serving others through volunteerism. 4 H’ers involved in community service are encouraged to complete the online application before the Nov. 2 deadline. To be eligible for the awards, youth must be in grades 5-12, a legal resident of the U.S. and must have engaged in a volunteer activity in the past 12 months.
Students chosen as Local Honorees receive a Certificate of Achievement from their schools or organizations. Those who qualify (50 hours of service for age 14 and younger, 100 hours for those older) also receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
From these winners, an independent judging organization names the top middle level and high school volunteer in each state and Washington, D.C. State Honorees receive an award of $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C., for national recognition events.
After those winners are selected, 10 National Honorees are chosen by a panel of prominent public figures, and announced at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C., in May. National Honorees receive an additional award of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for their schools or organizations, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for a non-profit, charitable organization of their choice.
This past May, over 20 4-H members received national recognition at the 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The program seeks to applaud young people who already are making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods, and to inspire others to think about how they might contribute to their communities. For more information on honorees, visit Prudential Spirit of Community Awards to read their quarterly newsletter.
October 28, 2009
This month, 4-H youth, county 4-H agents and community partners participated in the national kickoff for the SET in Our Community – A Digital Storytelling Project, a new science program in urban communities that will allow 4-H youth to create short films exploring science in the world around them.
The pilot program will take place in eight cities: Atlantic City, NJ; Baltimore, MD; Denver, CO; Indianapolis, IN; Houston, TX; Murfreesboro, TN; Pontiac, MI; and Spokane and Vancouver, WA. One team of 4-H youth from each city will film examples of science, engineering and technology in their communities, and enter them into a national contest.
“We believe that filmmaking will be a powerful way for youth to express what they have learned about key issues and what they believe can be done at community and personal levels,” said Chad Ripberger, Project Director of 4-H SET in Urban Communities.
At the kick-off event held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center, youth discussed numerous public issues including water quality, industrial pollution, urban forestry and wildlife habitat, and renewable energy sources and technologies.
The teams will identify and research the science involved in issues in their community, document it through film, and deliver presentations to local leaders and decision makers. Local 4-H programs will screen the films and select the top three to enter a national 4-H science film contest. Youth will use new resources available on the 4-H Filmmaking Workshop and Studio Web site.
“We are excited about these eight teams and the great plans they have to engage youth in the exploration of the science involved in timely and important issues in their urban communities,” said Ripberger.
The digital storytelling project serves as the pilot program for a new 4-H initiative, 4-H SET in Urban Communities. This initiative will help create professional development resources for local 4-H professionals working in urban communities.
SET in Our Community – A Digital Storytelling Project and the 4-H SET in Urban Communities initiatives are funded by the Noyce Foundation.
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