October 2025 4-H Newsletter
News
4-H Enrollment Opens October 1st!
2025 Fair Feedback Form now Open
Upcoming Events
Important Dates
October 1
Throughout October
For complete guidance on 4-H Club finances, refer to: WSU Club Financial Information
October 31 – November 2
Westside Teen Rally Registration Set to Open Soon
Our teen rallies are for 4-H teens 13 – 18 and are a great opportunity to make new 4-H friends, have fun and learn about leadership!
This year, the East and Westside Teen Rallies will kick off “The Great Race” — teens across the state will begin the race to become our new cohort of State Ambassadors. Be there for the starting gun!
The West Side Rally will take place from October 31 – November 2 at Camp Casey Conference Center in Coupeville, WA. The planning team is well underway in developing an awesome weekend of 4-H fun!
Registration will be through 4-H online and Clinton will share the details with eligible members once registration goes live, hopefully this week.
New 4-H Clubs on San Juan Island for 2025-26
Still Life Society
Club Leader: Kathryn Gauthier
The Still Life Society will be a dynamic, multi-faceted, project based, still life focused club. Projects will include sewing and needle work, gardening, photography, and more. This club is in response to feedback received regarding a need for a safe space for all ages to work on a variety of still life projects while building a strong community, where friendships are made alongside various life skills. While San Juan Island focused, we would welcome anyone interested in still life from other islands to join as well. Additionally, we welcome any leader, parent or community member join to share their expertise with our youth.
Meeting Location: Marie Boe 4-H Building
Dates and times: TBD
San Juan Ramblers General Club
Club Leader: Clinton Gauthier and all SJI Leaders
This club will be a place for all youth on San Juan Island to get 4-H information, do their demonstrations, and participate in community service. The idea was proposed to all SJI leaders and was generally well supported so we will proceed with implementing it. The purpose of this club is to alleviate some of the burden on our main club leaders by delivering general 4-H content, which will allow them to focus on their projects and hopefully allow youth to better explore what is most important to them. This also allows for a consistent 4-H message to be delivered to all youth on San Juan Island and provide cross club collaboration.
Meeting Location: Marie Boe 4-H Building
Dates and times: TBD
Interested in Exploring Leadership through 4-H?
Ready to step into a new, exciting role?
The Island Leaders 4-H Club is a brand-new, county-wide club designed for all young people, ages 8 and up, who want to build incredible leadership skills without the pressure of competition. Whether you’re a Junior just starting out or a Senior looking to shape the future of 4-H, this club is for you!
We’re focused on making a difference, learning practical life skills, and having fun along the way.
What We’ll Explore Together
This club is all about giving you the tools to succeed, both in 4-H and in life. It’s a dedicated, non-competitive space where you can grow your Head, Heart, Hands, and Health alongside friends from every corner of the county.
- Be a Community Expert: Ever wonder how your local government works? We’ll dive into a special “Know Your Local Government” curriculum that teaches you exactly how decisions are made, so you can be an informed and powerful voice for your community.
- Grow Your Ideas: This is where you learn how to turn an idea into a reality! We’ll cover skills in entrepreneurship and project planning—from budgeting and managing resources to seeing a task through from start to finish. These are skills that help you ace school projects, plan events, and maybe even start your own business one day!
- Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: We are building a supportive team! The focus is entirely on collaboration and skill development. You’ll work with other motivated youth, learn how to run effective meetings, and mentor younger members, all while helping make our county 4-H program the best it can be.
Join the Adventure!
The Island Leaders Club is your chance to step up, share your ideas, and truly make a mark on our county. If you’re excited about learning, leading, and connecting with other motivated youth, we want you!
Even if none of the topics that we’ll explore together sound exciting to you right now, we’d love your input on what you think the Island Leaders club should be doing and we’ll help you explore them.
Be sure to add the Island Leaders 4-H Club to your enrollment on October 1st!
New Project Opportunity
The Neal Family (Leslie & Cain) are opening their wood shop for county wide 4-H youth to explore woodworking projects this year on San Juan Island. They have selected some great beginner projects for those who are just getting into the hobby and also have all the supplies, equipment, and tools for even the most adventurous woodworkers to find success. They hope to offer twice monthly sessions for projects and are willing to work with youth who may have larger project aspirations. hey plan to host an open house for interested families to come check out the space and will share their project days schedule soon. Contact Leslie if interested in learning more.
End of Year Celebrations
Traditionally, each island hosts an awards ceremony, achievement night, or banquet to celebrate the closure of the previous 4-H year and kickoff the new 4-H year.
- San Juan Island will host a kick off event and achievement night on October 19 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at The San Juan Island Grange.
- Planning is underway for the Orcas banquet, which is currently targeted for October. Future details will be shared by Kathy.
- Lopez is aiming to host an achievement night sometime in November.
Details will be shared by club leaders for youth who were enrolled last year and it is a great time for new or interested families to attend and meet those involved in 4-H on their island. Final event dates will be published on the 4-H website.
Have extra supplies laying around?
The Still Life Society, see above for more information about this new club, has submitted the following supply list:
- Embroidery floss
- Buttons
- Ribbons
- Felt
- Fabric scissors
- Point N Shoot cameras
- SD cards
- Succulents
- Herb starts
- Irish/Scottish moss
- Small toys (dinos, fairies, farm/jungle animals, Lego people/animals)
- Garden, cooking, farm magazines (for collages)
- Extra garden/plant containers (with drainage holes preferred)
- Acrylic paint
If you have any of these supplies you’d like to donate to 4-H youth please contact Clinton at the extension office or Kathryn the Still Life Society club leader.
