Santa Clara County 4-H Club Council
Minutes of September 9, 2003, Meeting

The meeting was called to order by President Vicky Bosworth at 7:40 p.m. in Town Hall of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. She welcomed Parliamentarian Lonnie Toensfeldt back after her medical absence. The 2003-2004 All Stars led the flag salute and 4-H pledge. Ten clubs were represented: Homesteaders, Pleasant Acres, San Martin, Los Gatos, Coyote Crest, Calaveras Hills, Pacheco Pass, El Sereno, Piedmont Acres and Rolling Hills. Three clubs were absent: Adams, Hilltop and Westwind. [Sunset and Paradise Valley have closed.]

Hans Toensfeldt presented the treasurer's report and noted that this was the year-end report for the September 1, 2002 through August 31,2003. He also noted that a budget for the 2003-04 needs to be developed and approved.

President Bosworth reminded that Achievement Night is set for Saturday, September 27th at 7:00 p.m. at Westhope Church. Everyone is invited to come and support the youth. Secondly she encouraged leaders to come to the 2003 State Leaders Forum at Asilomar. For those with limited time, she suggested they attend on Saturday. The Council still has 50% scholarships available.

The 2003-2004 Santa Clara County 4-H All Stars were introduced: Evan Jaques, Aaron Teagle, Scott Thomas, Sarah Pence, Julisia Banach, and Heather Welch, and their advisors Jim Buckley and Kathleen Switzer. The All Stars reported on their activities. They have been performing installations at clubs. They have developed a mission statement for their team. Vicky noted that these members are a resource for clubs to be utilized.

Members who attended the three conferences this summer reported on their activities. There were 26 delegates to the State 4-H Leadership Conference at U.C. Davis in August plus four chaperones. The first annual Computer Tech Corp. conference had about 30-40 delegates with four from our county. They worked on enhancing their "html" skills and learning how to build web sites. They are available to help clubs with their web sites. Shelby Jones reported she hosted a delegate from Canada who had a great time. Prior to the main conference, some members attended the Youth Leadership Forum which is limited to 150 delegates. They have developed a community service project for the county. The 26 members to the primary conference felt the sessions and the speakers were outstanding. They also had a lot of fun going to Waterworld and other recreation sites. Jan Carey noted that she attended a session on bio-security which was excellent. Next year's conference will be held at U.C. Riverside.

Hans Toensfeldt announced that he will be working with Gary Lang and the members of the Computer Tech Corp. at the county level. They will be changing to the state server as our current server contract expires September 25th. The state will host the server and set policy. One of these affects how we post the county newsletter. There is a prohibition on identifying members in photos or publishing member's phone numbers if  the information is open to public view. Therefore, access to Timely Topics must be restricted.

The State Ambassadors were introduced: Julisia Banach, Rachel Teagle, and Laura Carey. We are quite fortunate to have three on the state team. They will be responsible for presenting the 2004 State Leadership Conference in Riverside. The focus of the conference will be on providing access for special needs youth.

The Santa Clara County 4-H Avian Bowl team members were introduced: Aaron Teagle, Heather Welch, and Erica King. They are the 2003 state winners and will go to Kentucky in November to compete at the National Level. Their coach is Linda Teagle. The cost for each member to attend is $700. It was MSC to contribute a total of $500 ($125 each) toward their expenses. The members are putting on a fund raising, poultry theme dinner on Sunday, October 12th. It was also suggested they apply to the Harman Trust (KFC) for a donation as Mr. Harman was a huge supporter at the auction.

Margo Lang spoke about the Youth Council at Sectional (regional). They are currently focused on plans for the CAL Conference in January. They also work on Regional Citizenship, Regional Presentation Day, Fashion Review, etc. The next meeting is September 20th. They only meet four times a year and she encouraged members to attend.

Mark Teagle, one of the Adult Directors for camp reported that there were three Youth Directors and 96 campers this year. Since Kevin Wentzel has moved to Texas, a new adult co-director needs to be identified. Staff applications will be available in October and due in December. Mark also thanked Cynthia Lydon for her efforts putting on Clover Camp.

Members from Homesteaders 4-H announced their barn and garden tour on September 22 from 10-3 at 3450 Brookdale, Santa Clara. (Note corrections to time and address.) They are distributing flyers to neighbors, schools, the library, etc.

Lonnie Toensfeldt reported on the Large Animal experience at Fair. Two primary buyers, KFC and Nob Hill, were thanked. Bob Towle is scheduling a meeting for September 24th.

John Haggerty, Small Animal Science coordinator, stated that the Avian Bowl at Fair was a 'neat' event and a good learning experience. He was concerned because there are no small animals for the public to see at Fair and suggested that we might be able to do some kind of display. More than likely there will be no poultry next year due to Exotic Newcastle's disease. John also said he plans to have the May Small Animal Field Day at the Lion's Club in San Martin as it is an excellent but noisy site.
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Carol Jaques announced Therese Johnson as the chair for the Design Contest in late February or early March with Lorraine Johnson as the youth chair. The design has been identified as Butterick Pattern #s 3922, 3602, and 3467, and Burda #9811. The "Make-It-Yourself-With-Wool" district contest is set for October 25th. It was MSC for the council to again sponsor the district contest.

President Bosworth read a letter she had written to the FMC after the fair thanking them for their efforts. She also commented on the response Lonnie Toensfeldt had received from Art Troyer, CEO of the FMC. It was also noted that due to a number of problems the council had not operated the Food Booth, and she speculated on the possibility of the council operating a petting zoo and soliciting donations next year during the fair. President Bosworth also suggested that a meeting be scheduled to discuss the fair and ideas for improvement. She will set a date and invite everyone interested to attend.

Nominating committee members Jenel Vincze and John Haggerty announced the following candidates for office: Bob Towle has agreed to continue as Large Animal Science Coordinator; Debbie Drummond has accepted the nomination for Social Science Coordinator; Jenel Vincze will be Corresponding Secretary. The only vacancy was for Vice President. Shelby Jones, member from El Sereno Club was nominated. It was MSC to elect these individuals to the named offices on a 'white ballot'.

Final comments from the president included the suggestion that it was time to think about doing another "Mega Field Day" and asked clubs to come up with ideas to be discussed at the next meeting. The Awards Committee and the All Stars were complimented on their outstanding effort at the fair awards program.

Meeting adjourned to November 11, 2003.

Respectfully submitted,

Lonnie Toensfeldt
Substitute Secretary