DEL ARROYO 4-H NEWSLETTER

MAY 2007

Our first May Community Club Meeting is Wednesday, May 2, 6:30 pm at Smith School. We will have a program on record books. Bring your Project Report Forms, your Personal Development Records, and your questions. Officer Interest sheets are due at this meeting. Don’t forget that they need a parent signature to be valid. You are Del Arroyo 4-H Club and you are needed to share in the running of our club. Think it over and turn in your interest sheet to run for an office or chairmanship. 

Our second Community Club Meeting is Wednesday, May 30, 6:30 pm at Smith School. We will have elections and record book turn-in. Be sure to turn in your record book, as it will be judged on Friday, June 1. You must have a judged book in order to participate in the fair, receive credit for the year, and be considered a member of Del Arroyo 4-H Club.

Time is running short for you to get credit for a talk, demonstration, or project report. Only the two May meetings are left. Call Adel 245-0599 or Amanda 447-2803 to be placed on the agenda for either meeting.

Dog Fun Day is Saturday, May 26. 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Dunsmuir House in Oakland. You don’t have to be in a dog project to participate, just take the family dog, and enjoy. Flyers will be at our May CC Meeting.

Nomination and Election Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 9, 4:00 pm at Barney’s, 2516 Bess Avenue. This committee reviews Officer Interest Sheets and recruits members to run for offices. Sign up to help at our CC Meeting.

HELP! We need all parents to assist in judging our club record books. No experience necessary. Judging will be on Friday, June 1, at Miller’s, 1435 Heidelberg Drive, starting at 11:30 am and ending when all books are done. Please sign up to judge books and indicate approximate time you can help. Questions? Call Margaret 447-6980.

Our Awards Ceremony & Ice Cream Social is being expanded to include swimming and a potluck dinner on Wednesday, June 6. Swimming begins at 4:00 pm (all members must be accompanied by their parent as there is no lifeguard). Potluck is at 6:30 pm with awards and ice cream afterwards. All of this will be held at Las Positas Swim Club on East Avenue  (providing we get enough help judging record books). Sign up at our next CC Meeting to help with this event. Bring the entire family to congratulate our members on their achievements.

County Record Book Judging will be held Tuesday, July 17 at the Farm Bureau Building. Books will be evaluated in project categories with a Senior Division, age 14 and over as of January 1, and a Junior Division, under 14, in each category. Medals and certificates will be awarded in all categories, and monetary awards to County Winners. A form will be available at our next CC Meeting for you to request that your book be screened in a particular category. Keep this evaluation in mind when completing your record book - do a neat job, include items of interest, write a complete story. Pick a category of your strongest project work. Be sure to indicate the general and specific area, i.e., Animals-cats, Engineering-rocketry, Health & Leisure-photography, etc. Parents are encouraged to attend and help evaluate books. Contact Margaret 447-6980 if interested. There is no better way for parents to learn about the 4-H record keeping process than to help judge record books.

The Livermore Rodeo Parade is Saturday, June 9. We need a chair and adult advisor to organize our entry. Please help with this event – it is great fun for the members and parents. The entry form is due May 9 (after our meeting) so there is still time for the chair and advisor to choose the type of entry. It can be a novelty unit (walking, riding, a combination of both), or a float.

Sign up to help with our Club Booth at the fair. We need a committee to plan a great display. This is a chance to win some money for the club, while having fun with 4-H friends. Sign up at our CC Meeting.

State Leadership Conference for high school ages is August 2 – 5 at UC Davis. Several from our county plan to attend and Leaders Council will pay half of the conference fee of about $350.00. For more information and applications go to www.ca4h.org/conference/slc. Applications need to be sent to our 4H office at 1131 Harbor Bay Parkway, Suite 131, Alameda, CA 94502, Attention: Carol Crossett.

Relay For Life volunteer opportunity information sheets will be available at our CC Meeting.

MEMBER NEWS

I had a really nice time passing out tri-valley food drive bags! It was nice to see how many people donated food.               By Amanda M.

I had a really good time doing the tri-valley food drive. It was fun passing out the bags!

                                                            By Christian M.

I did the food drive.  One week we dropped off bags the next week we picked them up.

                                                            By Makai M.

I did the try valley food drive. We got 22 bags for the food drive.

                                                            By Kaelo M.

***(Ed. note-as always, I tried to include the members news as received. (Ed Ed note: I made a few small corrections. MH). Our members have done a great job in letting us know that is going on in their 4-H lives and what is important to them. Please write articles over the summer for inclusion in the September newsletter.)

Happy May Birthday to:

Ryan D.

Cora H.

Carina S.

Katie V.

Happy June Birthday to:

Paige D.

Hailey H.

Angela R.

Brittany S.

Giulia V.

Since this is the last newsletter until late August, we wish to say

Happy Summer Birthday to

Kevin J.

Makai M.

Amanda M.

Aileen S.

Joey V.

Hanna B.

Makayla B.

Elizabeth K.

Hunter O.

Kendall O.

Alec R.

Colton V.

Andrew W.

Caitlin B.

Paige B.

Allyson D.

Caitlin D.

Jeanette D.

Gavin H.

Brittany M.

Kirsten M.

FAIR INFORMATION

Entry Forms: The fair entry forms and entry information are online at www.alamedacountyfair.com. Note the deadline - May 12. “Fair Facts” which contains the applications for 4-H In Action, Make-It and Take-It, Projects Awards, etc. will be on the 4-H website. However, if you want to schedule a 4-H In Action or Make-It and Take-It you should do so now by calling 925-426-7611.

Delivery Dates: Read the fair entry information carefully for delivery dates. Mark your calendars so that you don’t miss your day and time. You may need to go to the fairgrounds more than once to deliver your items. All entries, except animals, are taken to the Young California Building. Enter grounds at Gate 2, Bernal Avenue.

Cake Booth: Please sign up for the time slot you want to work. There will be a sign-up sheet at the May meetings. We need members and adults to commit to working at the cake booth on our day, Sunday, June 24. The booth opens at 10 am and closes at 10 pm. Shifts are divided into 2 hours, but please sign up for more than one shift if you can. We especially need workers from 6:00 pm until closing.

            If you can’t work on June 26 you can sign up for a make up day – Monday, July 2 or Friday, July 6 (date to be determined soon), from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm. 

            You will receive entry and parking passes from the Chair of your shift. If you have not received them by June 21 contact Margaret.

            Adults are still needed to help in the cake booth early each morning with Mark Duguid. You can sign up at the next 2 CC Meetings or call Margaret 447-6980.

            4-H Leaders Day in the cake booth is Wednesday, July 4 from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm. All adults are needed to help that day. You can sign up to work a shift when you are in the cake booth on our club day. The fair intends to close early on the 4th so the latest shift should end by 9:00pm.

            Cake Booth orientation (excellent for all adults) will be Wednesday, June 20 at 7:00 pm and again at about 8:30 pm in the Cake Booth in the Young California Building at the fairgrounds.

Escorting the Blind at the fair is probably Thursday, July 5 from about 10:30am to 2:30pm. Sign up at our CC meeting to help with this fun event. Members will meet the buses, escort the blind guests to tables, help serve lunch (provided by the Lions Club) and then escort the guests to places of their choice on the fairgrounds. Members will wear their uniform and must have a good working knowledge of the grounds. Parents can help younger members escort. 

            If you are in a project that isn’t making an item to enter in the fair, check the exhibit information for other things you can enter such as posters and panels. Of course, those with items to enter can also do posters and panels.

            If you are entering something in the county fair that you think would qualify for the state fair, ask for a state fair entry at the time you deliver your items to the Young California Building.  The state fair is late August and early September. You will be responsible for delivery and pick up of any state fair entry.

4-H Summer Camp applications are at www.alamedacounty4h.org. At the Alameda County 4H website, click the “2007 Camp Registration,” then complete and submit. The cost is $205. The deadline to register is May 31; fee can be submitted later. Chaperons are still needed and they are especially interested in anyone with EMT and/or CPR and/or life guard and/or first aid certifications.

Plan Ahead!! Our Project Leader list is being compiled now. Please sign up to lead a project for the 07-08 year. You can sign up at our next 2 CC Meetings. We need all ages and interests. If you need an idea or more information, call Margaret 447-6980. If you are planning a summer project, you can distribute information and have sign ups at both May meetings and at the awards ceremony. Our Project Leader Coordinator is Tami Garliepp. She will contact prospective Project Leaders during the summer to get final details for our 07-08 Project List.

We need to fill an adult position - Liz Fratus, a long-time, very active leader will be moving from our area. Many thanks for the wonderful contribution she has made to our club during her years of membership. We need someone to take over her job of purchasing and handling supplies. Please contact Margaret if you are willing to assist.

Lead a Project: We have a lot of books and information on projects you could lead next year. Many are designed for 4-H and take you step-by-step through the program. Some of the categories and titles we have are:

            Aquatic Science        Community Pride      Leathercraft

            Dairy Goats               Robotics                     Microwave Magic

            Food & Nutrition        Forestry                      Outdoor Education

            Cats                            Plant Science            Beginning 4-H

            Small Engine             Wildlife                       Sewing

            Electricity                   Veterinary Science   Woodworking

We will also purchase curriculum for you in most any area of interest. Call Margaret 447-6980 to see any of the above information and discuss leading a project.

Adult Leaders – The county office has informed me that several leaders have not sent in their fingerprints and/or have not attended an orientation. If you are in need of the fingerprint forms, please see Margaret at the CC Meeting. Two more orientations are going to be offered on Monday, April 30 and Thursday, May 17, 7:00pm, at the Farm Bureau Building, Livermore. All adults are encouraged to register in 4-H and complete the certification process. You can complete the requirements now and go to camp as a chaperon or be ready to be a project leader in September.

California 4-H Leader’s Forum, November 16-18 at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove. This is a wonderful, workshop filled event for all adult leaders. Fees range from $215 to $390 depending on room preference and Leaders Council reimburses participants $107.50 after they have reported on their workshops. See Margaret for an application. Deadline is August 1.

Potluck Dinner--Wednesday, June 6

                        Everyone bring a main dish plus the following:

                                    Last Names A - K     salad

                                    Last Names L - Z      desserts

                        Bring serving utensils for your dishes and your own plates and silverware