Tennessee 4-H Ideas: 03-05

The 2003 Junior High Academic Conference is scheduled for June 10-13 at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We have already received a few questions related to the event. Here are some things to consider as you work with your junior high members:

1.	A total of ten delegates in each project will be selected to attend on the basis of an application form available from the county Extension office. (Each of the four districts will select two delegates per project. The other two delegates per project will be selected from the remaining applications and will be those scoring highest on the application form.) Projects included in Academic Conference are beef, clothing, conservation, dairy, dairy foods, dog, field crops, food-nutrition, forestry, garden, health, home horticulture, horse, meat science, petroleum power, plant science, poultry, sheep, swine and veterinary science.
2.	Delegates will be selected by the districts on the basis of an application form. The form will include biographical information on the applicant, a brief summary of why they want to attend and how they plan to share their experiences, and the first four pages of the Tennessee 4-H Achievement Report Form 305 for the project in which they are applying. (All forms are available on the web site at www.utextension.utk.edu/4H/forms&materials/).
3.	Delegates must be junior high 4-H members (7th or 8th grade as of January 1, 2003).
4.	Participation in district project achievement day is not a requirement for Academic Conference participation.
5.	Delegates may not attend in the same project area they participated in last year.
6.	Each district is eligible to send two adult volunteer leader to the conference. Leaders may make an application and should have an interest in one or more of the project areas.

We have had a problem in past years with delegates being selected who had little or no project experience in the area for which they applied. Please do not have members "develop" F305's when they have done no project work to back it up. Cooking pork chops does not make a swine project and pouring a glass of milk does not constitute a dairy foods project!

You will receive registration material from your district office in the near future. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

The 2003 National 4-H Youth in Action/Community Tree Planting Grant will provide community action grants in the amounts of $200 to $1,000 to stimulate community tree planting and/or reforestation projects nationwide. Grants will be awarded to communities in support of ongoing community tree planting and/or reforestation projects or to stimulate new and creative youth-led projects. The role of adults is to provide guidance to young leaders in the tree planting and/or reforestation projects. A complete announcement and application can be found at www.grants.n4h.org by clicking in the left-hand margin under "Tree Planting." The application deadline is Tuesday, March 18, 2003.

Check out the Web Packet service provided by UTIA Marketing and Communications for a news article promoting 4-H Honor Club membership. To access the Web Packet, go to www.agriculture.utk.edu/webPacket/. Type in your user name and password when prompted. If you wish to read an article, simply click on the link. If you wish to download an article for your use, choose which format you prefer (MS Word or Text), click on the icon provided with each article. When prompted, select the location where you wish to save the file.

The 4-H Seeds of Service mini-grant committee met this week to review a record 32 mini-grant proposals. The committee awarded 25 grants for a total of $22,100. Congratulations to the following 4-H groups for their outstanding service learning projects:

Western District:
*	Crockett County 4-H - revitalizing a community park
*	Henry County 4-H Honor Club - monthly service learning projects
*	Munford Elementary Healthy KIDS (Tipton County) - after-school educational programs
Central District:
*	Ridley 4-H Center and East Literature Magnet School 5th grade - outdoor classroom
*	Ridley 4-H Center and East Literature Magnet School 5th grade - outdoor classroom
*	Cheatham Coounty 4-H Honor Club - flower gardens on Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail
*	Williams 4th grade 4-H Club (Cheatham County) - reading program for younger students
*	Humphreys Co. Performance Team - character education skits
*	Lewis County Senior High 4-H Club - suitcases and personal care items for foster children
*	Moore County 4th Grade 4-H Clubs - outdoor reading room
*	Sumner County Junior High/Senior 4-H Club - monthly service learning projects
*	Brentwood High School 4-H Club (Williamson County) - "Letters of Love" for TN National Guardsmen
Cumberland District:
*	Cumberland District 4-H All Stars - craft kits for Camp Horizon and "Farmer for a Day" exhibit
*	Bradley County 4-H Honor Club - "birthday bash" for veterans hospital
*	South Elementary After-school 4-H (Cumberland County) - Kids Connecting with Seniors
*	Franklin County 4-H Honor Club/All Stars - school landscaping
*	Grundy County 4-H Honor Club and Outdoor Adventure Club - landscaping outdoor classroom
*	Smith County Junior High 4-H Club - carnival for Head Start students
Smoky Mountain District:
*	Blount County Water Quality Coalition - Little River Awareness Day
*	Talbott Elementary 5th Grade 4-H Clubs (Jefferson County) - obstacle course at community walking track
*	McMinn County Equine Spirits - projects to benefit neighbor with disabilities
*	Mountain View 4th Grade 4-H Clubs (McMinn County) - school landscaping project
*	Riceville 5th Grade 4-H Clubs (McMinn County) - school landscaping project
*	Monroe County 4-H Honor Club - landscaping local park and making toiletry holders for those in need
*	Sullivan County 4-H Honor Club - farm repairs for elderly neighbor
*	Blountville Middle School 4-H (Sullivan County) - projects to benefit local animal shelter

Service learning scrapbooks are a fun, creative reflection tool that can encourage 4-H'ers to examine their service and how it impacted them and their community. 4-H S.O.S. is offering 4-H groups the opportunity to receive statewide recognition for their service scrapbooks.

*	Any 4-H group (club, project group, Honor Club, Sigma Lambda Chi, etc.) may enter a scrapbook covering one project or all the group's projects from September 2002 through April 2003.
*	Scrapbooks should include pictures, narratives, news clippings, reflection activities (such as journal entries, songs, poems, etc.), and anything else that tells about the project(s) and what the 4-H'ers learned from their service. Remember to show the learning, not just the service!
*	Scrapbooks should illustrate the complete process, from planning to celebration, and how the youth served as leaders in each step.
*	Each scrapbook must be accompanied by a Service Learning Activity Report Form for each project in the book.
*	Scrapbooks must be at least four (4) pages long and may be bound in a scrapbook, album, three-ring binds, folder, etc.
*	Scrapbooks will be judged on content (scope of project) as well as on appearance.
*	Counties may forward the top three (3) scrapbooks to the state competition. Entries must be in the state 4-H office by May 1, 2003.

All entries at the state level will receive a certificate and ribbon. Groups submitting the top ten scrapbooks will receive a plaque, and each member of those groups will receive a 4-H S.O.S. photo album. Contact Lori Jean Mantooth at 865-974-2128 or LMantoo1@utk.edu for more information.

The All Star High Council will meet February 28-March 1 at the Clyde York 4-H Center in Crossville. Registration begins at 7:00 p.m. (CST), with the program beginning at 7:30. The meeting will adjourn at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. All district All Star officers, district advisors, and assigned agent advisors should attend.

Agenda highlights include leadership training, a service learning project, workshops on a variety of topics, the annual business meeting, and state officer elections.. On Saturday morning each district will have a chance to showcase their service and leadership successes through a slide show. Please note that slide shows should be 5-7 minutes in length.

In an effort to recognize 4-H'ers for outstanding leadership through service learning,
4-H Seeds of Service will award two scholarships to Citizenship Washington Focus, scheduled for June 8-14, 2003. Scholarships will be awarded based on an essay competition, which is open to youth coordinators for service learning projects funded through 4-H S.O.S. mini-grants since the beginning of the program. Youth must be current, senior-level 4-H'ers to be eligible. Contact Lori Jean Mantooth at 865-974-2128 or LMantoo1@utk.edu for complete details. Essays are due April 1, 2003.

We want you to know more about the people who work in the state 4-H office. We will be featuring a different staff member each week in Ideas. Keep reading to find out about another one of our team.

Steve Sutton is an Extension specialist with almost 30 years experience in youth development. He grew up in an Extension family and was an active 4-H member. His father was the first full-time 4-H agent in Cocke County, Tennessee and retired as Extension leader after 37 years of service. Steve's accomplishments as a 4-H member include attending National 4-H Congress as a national swine winner and being a member of state champion livestock and poultry judging teams.

Steve graduated from The University of Tennessee with a B.S. in agriculture and later received his Masters in agriculture and Extension education. He started his career with Extension as a 4-H agent in Washington County. His 4-H'ers were known for their accomplishments in livestock programs and project achievement. Steve worked in the county for 13 years before coming to the state 4-H office in 1986.

Steve's responsibilities on the state 4-H staff include liaison with agriculture subject matter specialists; curriculum development; 4-H literature management and distribution; awards and recognition programs; web site development and maintenance; coordination of State 4-H Sheep Conference, Academic Conference, Electric Camp and judging team activities; support of service learning efforts through the Seeds of Service grant; and 4-H Ideas newsletter editor. (For additional information on Steve's professional accomplishments, go to www.utextension.utk.edu/ssutton/.)

In his spare time, Steve enjoys yard work, emailing friends and traveling. His itinerary has included Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Finland and Sweden.

Alice Ann Moore
Assistant Director/State 4-H Leader
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State judging has been completed for the 2003 beekeeping essay contest conducted by The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, Inc. Our state winner is David Webster of Giles County. David's essay will be forwarded to the American Beekeeping Federation, Inc. for national judging. The national winners will be announced by May 1. National awards are first place ($250), second place ($100), and third place ($50). As our state winner, David will receive a book about honey bees, beekeeping and/or honey. Congratulations to all winners and thanks to those who made this opportunity available to their 4-H members.

Nothing makes it easier to resist temptation than a proper bringing-up, a sound set of values... and witnesses.
~Franklin P. Jones