A big congratulations to everyone in the club who completed their projects this year! All of your hard work has paid off. It is hard to believe the 4-H year is over.
End-of-the-Year Potluck Picnic
On Monday, September 11, our usual meeting night, we will meet at Fairgrounds Park off of Railroad Avenue in Loveland for an end-of-the-year potluck picnic. Start time is 6:00 p.m. Please bring a dish or two to share. The club will provide sloppy joes, the paper goods, lemonade, and water. For members enrolled in livestock including dog and poultry, please bring your finished record books at this time.
4-H Open House
The Larimer County 4-H Open House will be on Thursday, October 5 from 5:30–7:30 p.m. in the McKee Building’s Exhibit Hall. Our club will have a table, and we need a few families who would be willing to talk about our club and 4-H in general to help get the public interested in 4-H. Yes, this is a community service to get you started on next year!
State Fair Project Pickup
This Wednesday, September 6 is the day to pick up your state fair projects. Come to the Fort Collins room in the McKee Building between 7:30–10:00 a.m. If you are not able to make it during this time, please let me know and I will pick your project up for you. For those who sent a project to state fair for the first time, sorry, but state fair does not pay premiums.
WOW! The Larimer County Fair is well underway. Interview judging is complete and I can’t wait for Friday afternoon when we find out how you all did. Now the members showing livestock are checking in animals for their upcoming shows. Cloverbuds have the opportunity to try their hand at Pee Wee Showmanship. Cloverbuds can show a Goat, Sheep, or Swine.
Dairy Bar Volunteers
My concern with a club as large as ours is that we can’t even fill 8 slots at the Dairy Bar on Saturday. Only 8! Please click the button below to sign up. I would love for us to fill more than two shifts (just 2-hour time slots). No experience is necessary and it is fun. I would think a club of our size should be able to easily fill at least four shifts. If the original slots get filled for Saturday and you try to sign up and can’t, then reply and we will look at adding more time slots.
The Junior Leadership Club runs the Dairy Bar in the McKee Building during the Larimer County Fair. They have asked to have clubs and their members pitch in and work shifts. At our club meeting on Monday, July 11, we discussed volunteering as a club. We have signed up for shifts from 2:00–6:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 5.
Club members who are 8 years old and older and their parents are invited to volunteer for a shift. (Sorry, this is not an opportunity for Cloverbuds.)
We need 4 members with their parents per time slot. Please arrive 5-10 minutes early at the Dairy Bar.
We’re looking for 4-H members to help set up for Jim Easthouse’s memorial service. This is a community service that our club needs to participate in—Jim was one of our club leaders.
We will be setting up chairs and tables tomorrow, Friday, July 7 at 9:00 a.m. at Foundations Church at 1380 North Denver Avenue in Loveland (east of Walmart on Highway 34).
Fair Entry Deadline / July 7
Big reminder…fair entries are due tomorrow, Friday, July 7 by 11:30 p.m.
July Club Meeting / July 10
Our last meeting for this 4-H year is Monday, July 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the McKee Building.
Good Luck, Archery Members
Best of luck and happy shooting to all the archery participants in the county shoot on Saturday, July 8!
It is amazing how much is happening now. The Larimer County Fair is getting closer—only 30 days until Interview Judging Day, and then Livestock starts showing.
National 4-H Shooting Sports Championships
This past week, the National 4-H Shooting Sports Championships was held in Grand Island, Nebraska. Larimer County was fortunate enough to have 4 youth attend. A total of 34 Colorado members qualified in 9 disciplines.
Qualification takes place during the state shoot the previous year. Larimer County had 2 of the 4 members on Colorado’s Compound Archery team: our own club’s Walker Cameron and Jude Rudd. Walker finished 4th OVERALL…AMAZING! Jude was 38th of the 111 participants and the Colorado team was 2nd of the 32 teams! Tristan Noyer shot Recurve Archery and placed 37th out of 68. She was one of a few to shoot a traditional barebow. The Colorado Recurve team was 9th out of 22 teams. Our club’s own Tait Simpson competed in Muzzleloader and finished 57th out of 71, and the Colorado team placed 6th of 22 teams. This is quite an accomplishment for all four of these shooters. It is certainly something for all of our club members who participate in shooting sports to strive for.
Demonstration Night
Last night we held our second Demonstration Night and had 16 fantastic demonstrations given. See the club website for the titles of their presentations. It was a fantastic variety and as always, I learned something new.
4th of July Parking Fundraiser
At the last club meeting, a discussion was held about having a 4th of July fundraiser. A motion was made, seconded, and voted on. During our parliamentary procedure reports, Mr. Ryan has explained many times about the importance of voting. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to vote and each member has the ability to agree or disagree about a motion by casting their vote.
The club members voted to park cars on the 4th of July at the Stowers Orthodontics on Taft in Loveland right across from Lake Loveland. The Snyder family was kind enough to bring this fundraising opportunity to us, and the signup is on the club website hch4h.org on the home page.
Now, we need members to sign up! This is a club event and we need members who voted to approve it to volunteer. Our club just spent over $2,000 on club shirts for our members, so this fundraiser would help increase our available funds. Thank you for signing up!
Fair Entry
Fair Entry is due by July 7! Be sure to enter for your projects and interview judging.
Shooting Sports County Shoots
County shoots are kicking off! Make sure to sign up before the deadlines for your disciplines.
Those in Archery, please note that the event has been moved to the afternoon of July 8 to allow families and leaders to attend Jim Easthouse’s memorial service that morning.
Volunteers Needed
Volunteers are needed to help with setting up chairs and tables for Jim Easthouse’s memorial service. If you are able to assist, please come to the Foundation Church in Loveland on Friday, July 7 at 9:00 a.m.
Foods Meeting on July 3
The Foods meeting is this Monday, July 3 at 6:00 p.m. at the McKee Building. Our theme is Red, White, and Blue foods.
What an exciting time of year—watch for all the e-mails that will be coming over the next month!
There are only 38 days until interview judging day! It is coming soooooo fast!
Demonstrations
This is a reminder that two things are required of each 4-H member and should be included in e-Records. The first is a demonstration. We are offering a demonstration night on June 30 and there are still a couple of openings left. We are asking you to limit demonstrations to no more than 5 minutes. The signup is on the club website at hch4h.org under the Signups tab. The demonstration slots during the club meeting on July 10 are full. However, if we need to allow for more slots, let me know and we will accommodate as needed.
Community Service
The second requirement is community service. If you sold carnival tickets or helped at the club booth that day, you have fulfilled the requirement. However, more is better and additional pages attached in the e-Record are welcome. If you are in shooting sports and have helped with setting up or tearing down a range, this is also considered community service.
If you have a few hours to donate in the next week from June 29–July 4, the Foster and Adoptive Families are looking for volunteers to assist in their fireworks tent. The tent is located at the Walmart in North Loveland off of 65th Avenue. Our 4-H members are not allowed to make the actual transactions of sales, but they help customers with fireworks and help with keeping the shelves stocked. Here is the link for the signup – please put 4-H in the comment section: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a48a5aa2ca7f94-faflc7#/
Club T-Shirts and Hoodies
All the ordered apparel is in. I will bring to the next club meeting, but if you would like it sooner, you can come by my shop or email me and we can meet up at the McKee building. Next week I am at the McKee Building on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday, of course, for Demonstration Night.
Shooting Sports Record Book and Project Workshop
Tonight there is a shooting sports record book workshop at 6:30 in the Berthoud Room in the McKee Building. If you have your e-Record done and you’re ready for me to sign it…AWESOME!
Questions
PLEASE reach out to me if you need help with anything or have any questions!
CHANGE OF PLANS: Due to the wet conditions, we’ll schedule a later date to paint the benches and picnic tables at Lon Hagler Archery Range.
The Big Thompson Bowhunters group maintains the Lon Hagler Archery Range. They are holding their annual workday on Saturday, May 13 beginning at 8:00 a.m. and our 4-H club has volunteered to help with painting at the range.
This is a great community service opportunity!
Saturday, May 13 at 8:00 a.m. Lon Hagler Archery Range West County Road 16E, Loveland, CO
Please RSVP and plan to wear clothes suitable for PAINTING!
A huge thank you to every club member who sold carnival tickets and helped the day of the carnival at the club booth. It was truly appreciated. The final numbers should be available at the next club meeting. A short summary our club sold 6,053 tickets! Liam Babcock sold 1,000 tickets himself. Our club averaged $56.05 per member, which is great! Including Liam, we had 8 members sell 100 or more tickets—that’s amazing! We also discussed the club booths at the meeting and got great feedback and positive suggestions for next year’s carnival.
Shooting Sports Leaders
We have three more certified shooting sports leaders in our club, and one newly recertified leader:
Brett Dennis – Rifle
Walker Cameron – Rifle (Junior Leader)
Gideon Rivera – Archery (Junior Leader)
Nate Schuelke – Archery (Recertified)
Visual Arts
Our club’s Visual Arts group is having fun. They have started on sculpting including learning how to make the plaster of Paris, then pour it into a mold, and sculpt it. The next meeting is Monday, April 10 at 5:30 p.m.
Foods
The Foods group went on a tour at The Spice and Tea Exchange in Fort Collins in March. The next meeting will be Monday, April 3 at 6:00 p.m.
Scrapbooking
The Scrapbooking group is meeting on Saturday, April 8 at our club’s Scrapbooking leader Barb Hummel’s home in Berthoud. The SignUpGenius is on the website, and the deadline to sign up is Tuesday, April 4.
Beekeeping
On Wednesday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m., Beekeeping will have a guest speaker from the Butterfly Pavilion. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Club Calendar
It is very important to check the calendar on the club website for upcoming workshops that might pertain to your project. You can find the calendar at hch4h.org/calendar.
Club Shirts
A wonderful display of artistic talent was shown at March’s meeting when we began the process of choosing the next design for our club t-shirts. Each club member present voted for their favorite 2. The selections were narrowed to a final 4. These 4 are posted on the club website so club members can place their votes. The voting will close at the end of the day tomorrow, Friday, March 31. We will announce the winner at the club meeting on April 10. After that time, we will post a form for members, leaders, and Cloverbuds to place their orders. We will offer T-shirts, hoodies, and zipper Hoodies with the new design. The club covers the cost of one t-shirt per member, Cloverbud, and leader.
Community Service
Remember, every club member must participate in a community service project for 4-H. This is very simple. If you participated in the 4-H Carnival by selling your tickets or volunteering at the club booth, you have fulfilled this requirement. We also had the Wreaths Across America project. We wrapped presents at the December meeting. And if you help with range setup or tear down at a shooting sport practice, this also fulfills this requirement. Keep track of these!
Demonstrations
Every club member must present a demonstration. Sign up on the club website. This can also be completed at a Cloverbud meeting (prior permission is required). Due to the large enrollment numbers in our club, I will allow members to work with other club members. If you are doing a demonstration outside of a club meeting, prior approval must be obtained. Please do no wait until the July club meeting!. I am trying to book another opportunity or two, but scheduling is a challenge.
Shooting Sports Orientations
Air Rifle, Air Pistol, .22 Rifle, .22 Pistol Orientation – Friday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m.
Archery Orientation – Saturday, April 1 at 9:00 a.m.
Shotgun Orientation – Tuesday, April 4 at 5:30 p.m.
Muzzleloading Orientation – Wednesday, April 5 at 5:30 p.m. or Sunday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m.
These are the final opportunities for these orientations. If you do not fulfill this requirement as a new member (or a returning member adding the discipline), you will not be allowed to attend county practices and county shoots. However, you can and should still complete the projects.
Wear Your Club Shirt, Meet Other Members
Remember, if you have a club t-shirt, please wear it to 4-H events, practices, and activities. Let’s get to know each other. I love seeing so many of you outside of club meetings.
Since many of our members are new to 4-H, we wanted to explain a bit more about the upcoming 4-H Carnival.
This is Larimer County’s 64th year holding the carnival, which raises funds for the 4-H Foundation. The fundraising goal for this year’s carnival is $50,000.
The carnival is organized by the 4-H Foundation, with the assistance of the county’s 4-H clubs. The 4-H Foundation uses the funds generated to support youth with scholarships, awards, registration fees and travel expenses for conferences and competitions, equipment for projects like shooting sports, leader training, and so much more.
4-H members sell tickets for $1 beginning in January and leading up to the carnival in March. These tickets give the purchaser an entry into the cash prize drawing as well as door prize drawings held throughout the day. The center portion of each ticket can be exchanged for two coupons to play the booths at the carnival. Game booth coupons are also sold on the day of the carnival for 25¢ each.
The Foundation asks that all 4-H members sell at least 25 tickets. By helping to support this fundraising effort, 4-H members are eligible for scholarships and assistance with expenses. And 4-H members are encouraged to sell MORE than their 25 tickets. The members who sell the most and the club with the highest average receive cash prizes for their efforts.
The 4-H clubs volunteer to create and work at carnival game booths, and carnival-goers pay coupons to play. Every player receives a prize for participating. 50% of the funds from the booths goes to the organizing club.
Members and their parents sign up to work the club’s booths, and this as well as selling tickets counts toward community service to be noted in their e-Record books for the fair.
A highlight of the day is two Live Auctions, held at 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. Local businesses, generous families, and the 4-H clubs put together items and baskets to be auctioned to raise funds. Half of the money generated by each club basket comes back to the donating club.
And no carnival would be complete without food! This year there will be a bake sale and some clubs will be selling carnival food at their booths. (The on-site concessions will not be available this year, so bring a lunch or snacks if you wish.)
Admission to the carnival and parking are free at the event.
The Larimer County 4-H Exchange Club is also sponsoring a dance to be held after the carnival at 4:00 p.m. in the McKee Building.
Be sure to invite your friends, family, and neighbors to come and have a wonderful, fun time and support 4-H!
This year, the Larimer County 4-H Carnival will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at the First National Bank of Omaha Building (FNBO) at the Ranch (5280 Arena Circle, Loveland, Colorado 80538).
Cindy has carnival tickets available for all of the 4-H members to sell. Each member is encouraged to sell their 25, but we have more if you’re feeling ambitious! If you run out, contact Cindy for more. Cloverbuds are not required to sell tickets, but can if they wish.
Our club voted to donate four baskets for the Live Auction with the themes of USA, Sports, Nerf, and Hunting/Fishing/Camping. Please bring items to be included in these baskets to the club meeting in February.
Our club will also have four carnival booths: Iron Man, Toilet Paper Toss, Rubberband Guns, and Lollipop Pull. We ask that members and parents sign up to work a shift. The SignUpGenius is available on the Signups page. (Cindy is a Foundation board member and has many responsibilities on carnival day. We ask that parents lend their time and organization at the booths during the day.)
We will plan to pick up wreaths on Saturday, February 11 at 12:00 p.m. We should be able to see most of the wreaths by then. If the weather does not allow, we will post an update!
Thank you all for being so patient with this weather and the pickup.