4-H Focus – October 2024

4-H Record Book Medal of Honor & Completion Judging

Don’t forget to finish up your Record Books and turn them into the Extension office by October 14th! In order to be considered for Medal of Honor and Completion Judging, club leaders must complete the form to nominate members for this award. Forms are available in the Extension office and on the Yakima County 4-H website.

Welcome to the 2024-2025 4-H year!

4-H Online is now accepting enrollments for new and returning 4-H
members & volunteers. Enroll today by going to our online enrollment site. If you need help with enrollment, please reach out to your club leader or county staff at 509-574-1600.

October 4-H Challenge

Have you picked out your Halloween costume this year? From witches to ghosts or even spooky spiders, Yakima County Extension Office is offering prizes to 4-H’ers who send in costume pictures by November 2nd. Not much into costumes? Show off your pumpkin carving skills for a chance to win a prize in your age decision! All photo entries are to be emailed to Yakima.4h@wsu.edu by November 2nd for a chance to win!

4-H Club News Wanted!

Send in pictures and highlights from a recent meeting or event your club attended for a chance to “Get stuck on 4-H!” Focus Newsletter or even our social media! We would love to share your club news! Please send in a small blurb about what your club has been doing by the 25th of the month to yakima.4h@wsu.edu, or drop them off at the office.

Yakima County 4-H Volunteers Needed

Yakima county is always needing extra hands on deck! Afterall, 4-H wouldn’t be what it is today, without all our leaders & volunteers. If you have an interest in starting up a club, encouraging the youth through skill development, or would just like to get more involved with the community – then this may be the perfect fit for you! Feel free to reach out to the Yakima County Extension office at 509-574-1600 or email us at Yakima.4h@wsu.edu for more information on how to get started.

4-H Clubs Facebook Groups

Facebook has proven to be a useful tool for reaching volunteers and parents. If your club or group has a Facebook page, please ensure the page is private, not public, to support youth safety. A private but searchable page will allow new member families and volunteers to find your page but stop unaffiliated public members from seeing youth photos or any identifying information you post when sharing contest results, meeting reminders, and more. All 4-H pages should have at least three admins: two enrolled volunteers and the 4-H office. Invite the 4-H office as an admin member of the group, by copying the link to your group and emailing it to yakima.4h@wsu.edu. The 4-H office’s role is not to run your club’s page but to help manage a page transition if required during leadership changes and support with set-up as needed.

• How to change a Facebook group from public to private
• How to add an admin and other Facebook group information

Does your club want to start a Facebook group? Let us know! The 4-H office can create a group for your club under our main page, saving you the trouble of clicking all the right privacy boxes and setting up admins.

Yakima County Leaders’ Council Documents available on Google Drive

In efforts to keep our 4-H community actively involved with decision making process, the Yakima County Leaders’ Council Board members and Extension Office have teamed up in making our documents transparent to all through Google Drive. All meeting agenda, minutes & budgets can be found accessed by the public at all times through Google Drive. If you have anything that you would like to add to the next meeting agenda you may contact the 4-H Program Manager, Autumn at Autumn.Britt@wsu.edu or 509-574-1578.

Volunteers: Your Time Matters to Us!

Every hour you spend supporting 4-H is a donation. All 4-H volunteers are required to report hours; reporting protects and supports you and the local program! We ask that you please submit your hours as soon as possible, as we are approving these the first week of October. If you need additional assistance, please reach out to Katlyn at yakima.4h@wsu.edu or call 509-574-1600. By reporting your hours you give Yakima County 4-H the numeric proof we need to show our funders and higher-officials that our programs are greatly valued and needed. In addition, reporting your hours makes you eligible for the Department of Labor and Industries medical aid program (this program allows an injured volunteer’s medical expense to be paid by the Dept. of Labor and Industries), and allows you protection under the state of Washington tort claims law, RCW 4.92.060. What qualifies as volunteer hours? Anything and everything you do for 4-H! Teaching, planning, prepping, shopping, helping at fair and other events, paperwork, training, driving, calling, emailing, even reading this counts!

4-H Recognition Awards

Show your gratitude to a specific 4-H member or volunteer by nominating them for one of the following awards:

• Outstanding First Year Club Award
• New Honorary Leader
• Lew Evans Memorial Award
• Inez Walter Award
• Toppenish Rotary Awards – Agriculture & Home Economics
• Certificate of Appreciation Nomination

If you would like to nominate a deserving individual, you can find the applications at the links above or on our 4-H Policies and Forms page. Please be sure to submit your nominations by October 16th, 2024.

Certificates Of Appreciation

It’s time to say “Thank you” to all the individuals and businesses who’ve helped, donated time, or sponsored your club and/or event. Please send your list to Yakima.4h@wsu.edu, so these individuals may be invited to the Leader Luncheon and receive a Certificate of Appreciation for their support of 4-H. Due in Extension office October 16th, 2024.

Washington State 4-H Volunteer Shooting Sports Training

Are you interested in becoming a certified volunteer for shooting sports? Washington State 4-H will be hosting an event from October 25th-27th, at the Upper Nisqually Sportsman Club – 39919 129th Ave E, Eatonville, WA 98328

Cost: $45 for one discipline, $60 for two – cash or check at the time of the training.

Disciplines: Archery, Rifle, Shotgun, and Pistol (pending trainer acceptance)

• October 25th , all disciplines 6:00pm – 8:00pm classroom training, which includes risk management and 1-hour QPR suicide prevention, via zoom
• October 26th & 27th, Archery, Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun (volunteers can attend only one discipline per day – its expected that they will be able to offer rifle and archery on both days – the coordinator of this event is reaching out to volunteer trainers now to get confirmation of their availability).

Volunteers only need to attend the day of the discipline they are interested in. The classroom will be Zoom this time as the host may not be able to make the range that weekend.

If volunteers want two disciplines, you will have to attend both Saturday and Sunday. Eligibility for attending includes:

1. Be a fully enrolled 4-H volunteer in WA
2. Successful completion of the National 4-H Online Shooting Sports modules (link will be emailed to the volunteer once eligibility is verified). The fee for the online course is $20.00 and paid for online.

If you are interested and would like more information on how to sign up, please contact Ashley Hall at
a.hernandez-hall@wsu.edu or by calling 425-521-0357

“Thank You” for All Your Hard Work at the Central Washington State Fair!

A tremendous 4-H Thank You to all the kids, volunteers and parents at Central Washington State Fair! We made quite an impression this year within our community by showing over 1500 school tour kids and 200 teachers and chaperones how “4- H Grows Here” in Yakima County. Throughout the week you all demonstrated the amazing people & projects within 4-H, talking to them about your animals and projects, and showcasing the many creative arts on display; from baked goods, lego projects,posters, sewing projects and more. Thank you again to Central Washington State Fair for making this all possible, and The Yakima Valley Dairy Women at The Milk Shed for giving us ice cream coupons! We hope to see you all again next year!

Washington State 4-H Fair Results

Congratulations to all of the Yakima County 4-H participants who attended the Washington State 4-H Fair in Puyallup. We are proud to have such great representation of Yakima County from our youth members.

• Equine – Faith Koffler, Jake Beaudry, Shelby Gossett, Madalyn Hanshew
• Public Presentations – Claire Sheehan, Andrew Sheehan, Annelise Sheehan, Madalyn Hanshew
• Livestock Judging – Jorge Lopez, Grace Morales, Max Hollingbery

Central Washington State Fair Grilled Cheese Contest

Many youth members participated at the Central Washington State Fair kitchen demonstration showcasing their culinary skills by creating a unique and delicious grilled cheese sandwich. This challenge resulted in many variations from the traditional grilled cheese we’ve all tried before. Some included bacon, pepper jack cheese, tomato or even homemade sourdough. Yum! Great job to all the youth members who participated!

Central Washington State Fair Equine Results

• Addy – Open Youth Walk/Trot Reserve HiPoint Winner
• Anna – 4-H Junior Reserve HiPoint Winner & Open Junior HiPoint Winner
• Maddy – 4-H Intermediate HiPoint Winner & Stephanie Jo Johnson Sportsmanship Award Winner
• Max – Jacob Masengale Memorial Award Winner
• Delilah – 4-H Senior HiPoint Winner
• Kate – 4-H Senior Reserve HiPoint Winner
• Olivia – 4-H Intermediate Reserve HiPoint Winner & Open Intermediate HiPoint Winner
• Lexi – 4-H Junior HiPoint Winner

Equine Participants at Puyallup State Fair

Seniors returned home from Puyallup Fair. Faith is State Champion in Western Dressage Seat Equitation. Jake is State Champion in both Level 1 Western Dressage & English Disciplined Rail. Great job to you all! Be sure check out some of these awesome photos from fair.

Yakima County 4-H Benefactor Program

You’re invited to join our community of benefactors! We seek individuals, families, and businesses that believe in the benefits of 4-H’s high quality youth development opportunities and want to show their support by making an annual donation to ensure this program’s success.

A local challenge is, not every youth who wants to join 4-H has the means to do so. Directly because of donors like you, youth in our community have access to 4-H club membership, educational workshops, programs, and leadership development events. Youth are able to engage with their peers at the local and state level to learn how make positive change in their clubs, communities, countries, and their world.

Generous donations are used in funding 4-H enrollment fee sponsorship, attendance at national summits, 4-H conference registration fees, livestock judging, basic programming supplies, postage, and other necessary materials to support the large network of dedicated volunteers who give their time and talents to mentor, lead, and support 4-H youth. Your donation ensures that all youth may be provided quality programming opportunities, that encourage the lasting development of self-esteem, self- reliance, personal responsibility, civic responsibility, and leadership ability.

Find more information on how to become a Benefactor for Yakima County 4-H and support the development of leadership, citizenship, and responsibility among Yakima County’s youth by visiting our webpage.

Master Gardeners Availability

WSU Yakima County Extension has a privilege of having Master Gardener volunteers within our office. They are an incredible informational resource with a passion for horticulture. If you have questions regarding a specific species of flowers, our Master gardener volunteers are happy to help! Please note that they are volunteers and offer their time to the community when they are available. From now until the end of October, they tend to have office hours throughout the week on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays from 9 am-12 pm & 1 pm-4 pm.If you would prefer to reach them by phone, please call the Yakima County Extension office at 509-547-1600 & we would be happy to transfer you to them.

4-H Curriculum and Publications Available for Purchase at the Extension Office

We have a library of 4-H curriculum available to our 4-H members and volunteers to help you on your projects! Everything from poultry to sheep & sport fishing to woodworking, to… Well, you get the idea! We are happy to find you the publication you need to take your projects to the next level! We have record books and record book cover in stock. Peruse our samples of 4-H curriculum before ordering!

Come by Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm or 1:00 pm to 4:30pm at the Yakima WSU Extension office.

Quick Links

Yakima County 4-H From Home

Yakima County 4-H Website

Yakima County Facebook Page

State 4-H Website

Volunteer Reporting Hours – Give Pulse

Volunteer Sterlings Background Screening

4-H Online Enrollment Link

4HOnline Enrollment Guide (PDF)

“WSU Yakima County Extension empowers our families, communities, and local partners through a network of educators and volunteers to provide research-based outreach and creative solutions to enhance agricultural productivity,  environmental stewardship, and quality of life.”

Alison White – Regional Specialist
4-H Youth Development
alison.white@wsu.edu

Autumn Britt – 4-H Program Manager
4-H Youth Development
autumn.britt@wsu.edu

Katlyn Shockey – 4-H Program Specialist
4-H Youth Development
yakima.4h@wsu.edu
katlyn.shockey@co.yakima.wa.us