B U S I N E S S Ellis County 4-H N A M E CloverLeaf V O L U M E 1 7, I S S U E 5 M A Y, 2 0 1 6 CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE ELLIS COUNTY YOUTH EXPO INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Thoughts For The Month 2 Upcoming Events 3 Social Media 4 County Council Elections 5 All 4 Him 4-H 6 Silver Spurs 4-H 7 Shooting Sports 4-H 8 Calendar 9-10 Photos by Kara Kraemer
Thoughts For The Month With Megan P A G E 2 I pledge my HEAD to clearer thinking, my HEART to greater loyalty, my HANDS to larger service, and my HEALTH to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world. The 4-H Pledge. We all know these historic words. We recite them at every club meeting. We are asked questions about them every time we wear a 4-H shirt in public. We know what it says.but do we REALLY know what they mean? I pledge my HEAD to clearer thinking. What is this? To me, this means that we are pledging to think through every decision. How will the decision I make today, affect my tomorrow? Are the words coming out of my mouth going to hurt someone? If I attend this event, will it have a negative or positive impact on my life? If I choose to not go to the community service project, will I regret not having an impact on someone there? When you pledge your head to clearer thinking, you are pledging to make the best decision you can. I pledge my HEART to greater loyalty. Loyalty. What is loyalty? Webster defines loyalty as a loyal feeling; a feeling of strong support for someone or something. When we pledge our hearts to greater loyalty, we are pledging to support our fellow 4-H members. To support our clubs. To support the program we are a part of. I pledge my HANDS to larger service. In today s world, so much of our time is spent dwelling on how one thing or another is going to affect us. We tend to hover over what will best benefit us. This line of the pledge is stating that you will get outside of yourself and serve others. The communities we live in give so much to our youth and our program. It is very important to make sure that we continuously give back to them. I pledge my HEALTH to better living. Pledging your health is more than your physical health. It is also about your emotional and mental health. This is not letting the stresses of the world around you get to you. It is shaking off bad days and moving on to the next contest, event, or assignment. This is also pledging your physical health. Get up, get outside, and get moving!..for my club, my community, my country, and my world. This is where we hold each other accountable for our actions. This is where we pledge to impact ourselves, our clubs (local level), our communities (county level), our country (State/National level), and our world. How will your pledge leave the world? Will you change it? Will you change someone s world? By making this pledge each month, you are stating that you will. This pledge is so much more than words we recite at a club meeting. These words mean a great deal more. They are a way of life. Let s live them out loud. EL
County Council Officer Elections: May 2 County Council: UPCOMING EVENTS P A G E 3 Tri-County Ag Tour Applications Available May 4 Grandparent for a Day! May 7 District Rifle May 14 AG Day - Waxahachie May 17 Ag Day - Ennis May 23 Southeast District 8 County Camp Registration due May 27 Elections will be held at the County Council meeting on May 2 at 6:30 at the Extension Office. Tri-County Ag Tour: Applications will be available on Wednesday, May 4th. The Tour will take place June 22-24. Applications are due on Thursday, May 26. Grandparent for a Day!: Saturday, May 7th 4-Hers will be visiting nursing homes/assisted living facilities throughout the county to spend time with residents. District Rifle Contest: The D-8 Rifle contest will be held at the Leon County Gun Club on Saturday, May 14th. For more information go to http://agrilife.org/d84h/events-and-activities/rifle-contest/ AG Day - Waxahachie: May 17 @ the Expo AG Day - Ennis May 23 Southeast District 8 County Camp: Camp will be held July 8-10 at Lakeview Methodist Conference Center in Palestine, Texas. Camp is for 3rd to 8th grade 4-Hers. 4-Hers in 9th - 12th grade may apply to serve as Teen Leaders. Camp cost is $125 for Campers & Teen Leaders and $85 for Adults. This includes meals, lodging, snacks and a t-shirt. Registration is due to the county office May 27th. E L L I S C O U N T Y 4 - H
E L L I S C O U N T Y 4 - H P A G E 4
P A G E 5 Adult Leaders and County Council Meeting We will have our bimonthly meeting on Monday, May 2, 2016 at 6:30 P.M. County Council officer elections will be held at this council meeting. If you are a Council delegate or a president of your club you should be here to represent your club and vote on issues that affect all 4-H Clubs in Ellis County. County Council Officers will be elected using the following procedure. Part 1-25% The Interview Each candidate will participate in an interview. This interview will be based on their experience, leadership, etc. Part 2-25% Speech Each candidate will present a 2-minute speech to the council delegation at the May meeting. This speech can be about themselves, their experience, why they want to be a council officer, leadership, etc. Part 3-50% Vote The council delegation will vote on each candidate. All adults who are active on 4-H Connect are welcome to attend the Adult Leaders Association meeting that will be held at the same time! We hope to see you there! E L L I S C O U N T Y 4 - H
ALL 4-HIM 4-H CLUB P A G E 6 All-4-Him 4-H Club at the Ellis County Youth Expo Brayden won Grand Champion Heifer at the Ellis County Youth Expo this week. He also won 3rd with his County Bred Steer and won Junior Steer Showmanship. In the creative arts woodworking division, David Ragsdale s table took the Blue First Place ribbon with a table completely built by him Taking home the Best of Show for 2D art was Kara Kraemer. Kara also photographed the Expo all week for Miss Megan Parr. Cameron Ragsdale entered the Creative Arts Competition with his photography. He loves photography. Suzy Ragsdale showed her broilers at the Youth Expo. Mary Lofreddo took the Blue First Place ribbon for her digital art. Several of our members volunteered for A Day in the Ring on Friday at the Expo. Here are just a few of them. Great Job Everyone!!! David & Teasdale Ragsdale Club Managers Kara Kraemer, Photographer Suzy Ragsdale, Reporter E L L I S C O U N T Y 4 - H
SILVER SPURS 4-H CLUB P A G E 7 Silver Spurs have had a busy and successful April and are gearing up for more activities to come. Our horse club started the month with a week full of volunteering to work the shavings truck for the Ellis County Youth Expo. We hope all of the exhibitors appreciated the convenience of having shavings on site, while our club made a little bit of money as a fundraiser to help with our many competitions. We had to hold our monthly meeting at the Expo as well because many of our members were there to show or work the shavings truck. Tracy Heath of DFW Horse Training, and mom to one of our club members, presented an informative program about different types of English saddles, how to tell them apart, how to fit a saddle to a person and the parts of the saddle. In County Round-Up on April 12, Autumn Wells and Jacob Ingram won first place with their Education Presentation on Selective Breeding and Phenotypes of the Horse. The duo will compete at District Round-Up on April 30. On April 16, ten Silver Spurs traveled to Texas A&M to compete in the District Horse Judging competition and they all came home winners! Silver Spurs earned: Intermediate 2nd place overall team (Sadie Hinz, Gentry Rogers, Maegen Newsom, Parys Bishop); 3rd place overall team (Jacob Ingram, Alyssa Ingram, Autumn Wells, Karmen Lawsom); 1st place individual performance intermediate- Autumn Wells. 2nd place individual performance intermediate - Maegen Newsom; 5th place halter individual intermediate Jacob Ingram; 3rd place in reasons Jacob Ingram; 3rd place overall individual intermediate 3rd Gentry Rogers, 4th place overall intermediate Maegen Newsom, 7th place overall Jacob Ingram. 2nd place junior performance Avery Newsom, 4th place junior performance Jaden Dixon. 3rd place junior individual overall Avery Newsom. Good luck to the Quiz Bowl teams competing at District Round-Up April 30th! The next general business meeting and ride night will be Thursday, May 5, at 6 pm at the Flying Dollar Ranch. Sadie and Gentry working the shavings sale at Expo. Tracy Heath teaches the Silver Spurs about English saddles and bridles. Autumn and Jacob were 1st place in Intermediate Educational Presentation - Horse at County Round Up Junior members won district horse judging ribbons too! 2nd place district horse judging team. 3rd place district horse judging team. E L L I S C O U N T Y 4 - H
SHOOTING SPORTS 4-H CLUB P A G E 8 Ellis County Shooting Sports 4-H Club had a busy April and are looking forward to an active summer! The club kicked off the month with the Spring Ellis County 4-H 3D Archery Tournament and hosted 4-Hers from around the state in a challenging and fun shoot at the Ellis County Sportman's Club. Thank you to all the 4- H'ers and volunteers who helped clean up the range, set up and take down the targets, and run the competition. Also thanks to all the competed! Congratulations to all of our shotgun and archery kids who have been competing through the spring in local competitions as well as the State Indoor Archery Match (results not posted yet). We will be sending rifle shooters of all ages to the District 4-H Rifle competition on May 14. Good luck! Many members are making plans to attend Texas 4-H Round Up and the Texas State 4--H Shooting Sports Games in July. Ellis County shotgun kids cleaned up at the Dallas County shoot. Taking funny pictures with the targets is part of the 4-H 3D fun Michael Edwards, Jr. takes aim during the State 4-H Indoor Archery Match. Shooting Sports Club President Michael Edwards Jr presents Hunter Hinz with his 1st place trophy for intermediate compound aided at our Ellis County 3D shoot. E L L I S C O U N T Y 4 - H
P A G E 9 MAY 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 D-8 Rifle Entries 2 3 4 5 6 7 Due County Coucil/ Last day to validate ALA Mtg. 6:30 horses on 4-H Connect 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 D-8 Rifle Contest @ Leon Co. Gun Club 15 16 17 AG Day - Waxahachie 22 Shooting Sports 23 AG Day - Ennis Coach Training- Red Oak 29 30 31 Memorial Day - Office Closed June 2016 18 19 20 21 24 25 26 Tri-County Ag Tour-Apps Due D-8 Horse Show Entries Due Grandparent for a Day! Shooting Sports Coach Training- Red Oak State Roundup Newsletter Deadline Registration Ends 27 28 Southeast D-8 County Camp Registration Due Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 S T A T E 4-H R O U N D U P - C O L L E G E S T A T I O N 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 County Recordbooks, PRF & Scholarship Due 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4-H Family Night - Messy Games District Horse Show - Belton TRI-COUNTY YOUTH AG TOUR 26 27 28 29 30 State Fair - Lamb & Goat Validation (PM) Surge (previously Leadership LAB) State Fair - Swine Validation (AM)
Mark Your Calendar May 1 - D-8 Rifle Entries Due May 2 - County Council/ALA Meeting 6:30 May 7 - Grandparent for a Day! 9:30-11:30 May 14 - D-8 Rifle Contest @ Leon County Gun Club May 17 - AG Day - Waxahachie May 20 - D-8 Horse Show entries due May 20 - State Roundup Registration Ends May 21 - Newsletter Submission Deadline May 21-22 - Shooting Sports Coach Training - Red Oak May 23 - Ag Day - Ennis May 26 - Tri-County Ag Tour - Applications Due May 27 - Southeast D-8 County Camp Registration Due May 30 - Memorial Day - Office Closed June 6-10 - State 4-H Roundup - College Station June 15 - County Recordbooks, Project Record Forms & Scholarship Applications due June 18-4-H Family Night - Messy Games June 20-21 - District Horse Show - Belton June 22-24 - Tri-County Youth AG Tour June 26-29 - Surge (previously Leadership LAB) June 30 - State Fair Swine Validation - AM June 30 - State Fair Lamb & Goat Validation - PM Mark Arnold Ellis County Extension Agent Megan Parr Ellis County Extension Agent Rita Hodges Ellis County Extension Agent Ellis County Extension Office 701 S. I-35 E Waxahachie, TX 75165 972-825-5175 972-825-5184 (Fax) E-mail: ellis@ag.tamu.edu Find us on the web at: http://ellis.agrilife.org./ or facebook at http://www.face book.com/elliscountyextension Follow us on Twitter! @ ellisco4h Follow us on Instagram! @ellisco4h