4-H TAG (Teen Action Group) Grant
I’m proud to announce that in December 2007 we received a $3500 grant from the Kitsap County Commission on Children and Youth Teen Advisory Council to establish a teen advisory group in Kitsap County 4-H.I am working to establish a year-round Teen leadership program in the county and am partnering with other organizations (NAACP, Bainbridge Teen Center, YMCA, Kitsap Youth in Action and Youth for Christ Independent Living) to engage youth in county service learning projects and leadership opportunities.  The county name is TAG (Teen Action Group) and we are a subgroup known as 4-H TAG.  4-H TAG meets the first Friday of every month at the Poulsbo Fire Station (next to Central Market) from 4:00-5:30pm.  If you’d like to participate in leadership projects, camp idea creation and year-round fun events for teens, join us for food, fun and 4-H leadership.  We welcome teens of all ages (13-19).  Kelly Fisk                                          
4-H Youth Development Educator

Know Your Government
Participants in this year’s Know Your Government (KYG) are gearing up for the big event February 16-19, 2008 in Olympia.  This year, Decision 2008 participants will explore political parties and the nomination process.  Through pre-conference orientation, participants will learn about different political parties and the development of resolutions that support planks that together produce a party platform. On Wednesday, January 23, 7-9pm, county delegations presented their candidate and platform planks at a Statewide Virtual Community Caucus. Kitsap County youth attended the virtual caucus in Port Hadlock.  Each county had a few minutes to present their planks identifying the concerns and issues of 4-H youth across the State all while trying to persuade other counties to adopt these planks to form the Statewide 4-H platform at the conference in Olympia. Planks are categorized into eight areas: education, immigration, election reform, environment, health care, energy, security & safety and economy and presented at the end of the broadcast. Look for more information on your Kitsap County delegation in our next newsletter, April 30, 2008.  For more information about KYG, visit http://4h.wsu.edu.

Homeless Resource Competition
Kitsap County 4-H is partnering with Leadership Kitsap—Leading Ladies to collect homeless resources for Kitsap County residents.  A friendly competition between clubs will take place February 15—March 28, 2008 to collect personal care items for homeless teens in our county.  Winners will receive a FREE pizza party and awards for their contributions at their April meeting.  Judging will be based on the number of items collected in relation to the number of club members.  All clubs participating will be recognized.  Collected items will need picked-up by March 31, 2008.  If you’d like to participate or have further questions, contact Kelly at kfisk@co.kitsap.wa.us or 337-7162.  Items needed include:Deodorant, shampoo, tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, etc.  Wool Contest Winner
Congratulations to Sarah Hoenig, a 2007 member of Pin Cushion Pals and 2008 member of South Kitsap Musketeers, who qualified and won 2nd place at the Washington State Wool Contest, “Make it With Wool.”Sarah qualified as a Junior (13-16 years of age) in Puyallup on October 20 and attended the state competition on November 3, 2007 at Moses Lake.Make it With Wool is open to youth with categories for 12 years to adult.  Women, girls, men and boys may enter.  Garments submitted can be sewn, knitted, crocheted, felted or woven (with a minimum of 60% wool fibers).  Prizes at district level for Junior, Senior and Adults include a trip to the state finals at the Best Western Lake Inn in Moses Lake held November 3, 2007.State Junior and Senior winners receive a trip to the national competition at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, NV held January 24-26, 2008.  State Junior and Senior alternates win a sewing machine.  More information can be found at http://home.earthlink.net/~washingtonwoolcontest/ 

Miss Teen Rodeo Washington 2008
Mandy Milovich, Kitsap County’s current 2007 Fair and Stampede Queen, was awarded the title of Miss Teen Rodeo Washington 2008 in September for her 2008 reign beginning January.  Mandy is a 14 year member of Kitsap County 4-H.  Mandy promotes integrity, the sport of rodeo, upholds the western way of life and creates awareness of youth programming throughout Kitsap County and Washington state.We are all very proud of Mandy’s accomplishments, leadership and personal qualities she upholds as a Kitsap County 4-H member.  Congratulations and Best Wishes!

2008 Girls Exploring Math and Science Conference
When:    March 22, 2008
Where:   Olympic College
Who:      5th—8th grade studentsIf interested in attending, please contact Janet at 396-4803 or by email at britjm@yahoo.com. 

Twin Lakes 4-H Camp Capital Campaign
A Twin Lakes 4-H Camp Capital Campaign was developed by long-time 4-H Leader, Harriet Norwood, to help create awareness and bring in further funding to Kitsap County’s 4-H Camp.A donation form is available in the Kitsap County 4-H Office to help disseminate information to potential sponsors.  If you know of an organization or individual who might be interested in donating to our non-profit program, please contact the office at 360-337-7162 to learn how you can help.  Camp committees have combined and are working out a meeting schedule to  collaborate on 2008’s camp session(s).  For more information, contact Bruce Bradley at  bhbradley@earthlink.net.

Financial Matters
The 2007 Year End Financial Summary Reports were due to the Kitsap County Extension Office January 31, 2008.  If you have not submitted your report, please send it in as soon as possible. Calls will occur next week to those clubs from which we have not received reports.  Questions can be directed to Kelly at 360-337-7162 or kfisk@co.kitsap.wa.us  Remaining club EIN numbers are slowly trickling into the office.  If you’ve received your number from the IRS, please forward it on to the 4-H Office.  Thanks!IRS Form 990—N (e-postcards) will be distributed shortly via email and are due May 2008.  Further details will be announced

County Floods
Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Mason and Thurston Counties were hit hard by rain storms, flooding and wind this month.  Washington State University Extension has posted a list of relevant Web sites and Educators that specialize in disaster relief.  Please log onto http://ext.wsu.edu to  learn more about recovery information and efforts.  

Clover Country—Top Country Hits From Famous 4-H’ers
~Pat BoyEs
Now is the time of year when many of you may be working with your 4-H Leader's Councils in reviewing your plan of work for the year and perhaps setting or revising local fund raising goals. I want to give you an early alert of a new national 4-H fund raising opportunity which I anticipate being announced by mid-March. It is called CLOVER COUNTRY - TOP HITS FROM FAMOUS 4-H'ERS. This is a compilation CD, which features superstars of the country music industry and all have a 4-H connection. The CD should generate significant revenue for 4-H at all levels and will absolutely enhance 4-H visibility. The CD will be available in mid-March across the nation in retail outlets, at http://www.4-hmall.org/ and through your local office should you choose to sell "CLOVER COUNTRY" as a fund raiser. The minimum order size is 1020 if you want to purchase at the wholesale price of $5.99. You can then sell the CD for $9.99. The CD will sell for $9.99 at the http://www.4-hmall.org/.

2008 Exchange Year
~Carol Beckman
It is time to start identifying potential host families in your area.  The 2008 Summer Inbound Host Family Applications are available. Our Hosting Commitment for 2008 Japanese Summer Delegates is:  12 Labo delegates & 1 Chaperone12 LEX delegates & 1 Chaperone10 UTREK delegates and 1 chaperone2 delegates from Finland.  At this time, I do not know if the chaperones are female or male.  I should be receiving the Personal Information sheets on the youth delegates very soon.If you have a family interested in hosting one of the Finnish delegates--please let me know as soon as possible.  At this time, we do not know if the Finnish delegates are male or female.  I do know that they are usually 17 to 19 years of age.  Their homestay time is expected to be approximately June 15 to July 15, 2008.Our  Hosting Commitment for the 2008-2009 Year long High School delegates are: 2 Labo, 1 LEX and 1 UTREK.I have details on outbound exchanges to Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan, Norway and Mexico.If you’d like more information on hosting and exchange student or being an exchange student, please call Kelly at 360-337-7162.

Fund-raising Opportunity
FREE SAMPLES and INFORMATION
Call:  800-852-2342
Visit:  www.clubsales.comCookies, wafers and candy bars!
 
Clubs set the selling price to maximize profits.  Samples are provided.  Prices include shipping and handling even for small group orders.  Please call or log onto their Web site for more information.

Special Thanks
A special thanks to Gerry Bartlett for her many years of service to Kitsap County 4-H.  Your leadership with camp and the recognition committee is much appreciated.  Thank you for all you do! 

Judging Connection
A new website, www.thejudgingconnection.com, is dedicated to cattle, swine, sheep and goat fans.Their Web site provides a wealth of educational information on topics such as showmanship, feeding, health and breeding.  Search their virtual library for more information or to view one of their many video clips.  This site also hosts a database of judges contact information and project areas. Join today!  Sign up for an e-mail listserv to receive information at your    
desktop. 

4-H Stories
A Project of NAE4HA’s Public Relations and Information Committee from Maryland 4-H
The wonderful stories shared by National 4-H Hall of Fame laureates at their induction became the inspiration for this project. The laureate’s stories were inspirational, funny, sometimes “tear jerkers”, always heartfelt and too valuable to be lost.We’re collecting stories for a book from the entire 4-H family including members, volunteers, agents/educators, state staff, donors, family members and others. The stories included in the book will be selected by the Editorial Team. Stories not chosen will be saved for future use. Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Stories from all 50 states sharing positive personal experiences on the value of 4-H, activities/events, learning experiences, funny situations, etc.
• Stories about 4-H folks who have inspired, motivated and made a difference in the lives of others
• Stories should include information about the setting/situation and approximate time frame and must include your name, address and contact information
• Up to three double spaced pages in a Word document using a 12 point Times New Roman font and one inch margins