The Pennsylvania State Leadership Conference Experience!

Hello Pennsylvania 4-H! It's that time of the month again! So, I always have a difficult time trying to think about what to write and how to write it. This month it's not so difficult for me. I have all of the State Leadership Conference to talk about!

From the first moment when we opened the doors on Friday night, I knew it was going to be an awesome weekend! I mean I was standing at the door as people came in, and it just when it seemed like everybody had come into the room, more people poured in! The amount of people that were there in itself was totally awesome. We had approximately 425 people in attendance, which is more people than SLC has ever had before! That doesn't even include speakers, presenters, the Council, staff, and the Kentucky delegates! I was quite a sight to see that many 4-Her's in one place at the same time.

Flexing with former Council secretary, Cecilia

The opening ceremonies that followed after those games were no disappointment either! First, a few of the Council members came in as our superhero alter ego and tried to catch that notorious Dark Clover, but alas, he was too fast. Then we did a superhero quick change and reappeared in our Council personas. It was pretty thrilling dancing in to the song of my own choosing and then getting everyone on their feet to dance too for our council song! Following up our opening, Ms. Christy Bartley, Dr. Dennis Calvin, and Mr. Matthew Meals offer their words of wisdom and encouragement. Then, we had a fantastic presentation by Mr. Cecil Shelton about how everyone can be a superhero by stand up for what they believe.

Cecil Shelton presenting at opening ceremonies

After Cecil's presentation the Clown Nose Club facilitated great get-up-and-go activities that forced us to do awkward things so that we could become more comfortable around other people. To finish up the night, there was a neon dance! It was the first time that we had dance on Friday night, and I it went pretty well, if I do say so myself.

Cloverbear during the neon dance!

Saturday morning and early afternoon was workshop time! In the morning, I was in Dr. Jan Scholl's workshop about eating healthier. We made some tasty smoothies and awesome hats!

Fun times in morning workshops!

In the afternoon, I was in Cecil Shelton's workshop about diversity. He showed us that there is diversity everywhere, and although we are different, we aren't alone. That night we had the formal dinner and had an amazing keynote speaker, Ben Glenn. He talked about using everything about you, including things that you may like about yourself, to your advantage and how you can always find a way to make the best of a situation, even if it isn't how you meant it to be. He illustrated this concept in a chalk drawing!

The finished chalk drawing

At the dance with Cecil Shelton

Afterward we had the formal dance to end the great day that we had! 

Finally came the last day of SLC. We had a presentation by the Kentucky delegates about their 4-H program! Maybe the Council will get to see their program first-hand (fingers crossed)! Collegiate 4-H talked to the delegation about their college programs, Jean Lonie spoke, and everyone did closing reflections. Then we wished everyone safe travels home after a thrilling State Leadership Conference!

Jesse Isenberg
2013/2014 Pennsylvania State 4-H Council
Vice President of Operations

"Flappy bird lifestyle"

How many of you have heard of the new game thats taking the nation by storm? Well if you haven't go download It right now! Flappy bird is a very addicting, nerve challenging, and reaction game. Once you start you won't be able to put game down! The game consists of a tiny bid that has to fly between two green pipes with out touching either of them or it dies...now sounds pretty easy but I can promise you it is one of the hardest games you will ever play! Ever since I downloaded it I couldn't stop playing and people would tell me how much of a wast of time it was and how dumb it was, and You know what they were right, the game it's self was stupid but the in depth life lesson I took from it wasn't so stupid. You see flappy bird is a very unpredictable game you could be doing good and boom the phone could lag and you hit a pipe and die at level 5 or you could be doing really good and end up at level 250 or so on. No matter what level you get to when you hit a pipe you are back at square one... This is a lot like life or situations in your life. In life you could be doing really well but the all of a sudden something takes takes a turn for the worst and you find your self in a bad situation and when it's all said and done you find yourself right back where you started, just like the bird does. And you know what... He doesn't give up he starts over and gets his wings flappin and makes it to a higher level! That's a lot like success in life when you get knocked down you get back up brush off the dust and try a little harder to go a little farther in life! So look all I'm saying is there are always lessons to be taken out of the most random stuff in life so don't let anyone tell you that something isn't worth your time because depending on the value of it to you maybe it is worth something! I hope you guys really think about this next time someone says that so you can look at at them and say, "Hey you know what... im living the flappy bird lifestyle".

December madness

Wow talk about busy! Planning for SLC, getting things around for farm show and even christmas!! So as you all know slc is fastly approaching and we have some pretty cool stuff planned! I don't wanna give anything away but I will tell you it's gonna be a huge success and your not gonna wanna miss this one. Neon dance, super hero apperances, AWESOME guest speakers wow I'm getting excited just thinking about it! I have a challenge for all of you, take the wonderful things you learn at slc and actually apply them and see if there is any progress cuz i promise there will be! Oh right, farm show is right around the corner too! I'll tell you guys guys a little secret its between us though,  I've never been to farm show so I don't really know what to expect! I have heard a lot of stories though and it sounds like It will be very exciting! Come visit us either at the cattlemen booth or hess BBQ booth! Hope to see you all there too!! Ahhh yes and everyone's favorite holiday... christmas! I can't wait I have been a good boy and I think Santa is for sure coming to see me this year! Busy busy busy but it's all fun and I love what I do:) 

I'm a Super 4-Her

Hey PA 4-H!

I hope everyone had an amazing time at SLC! I know I definitely did. One of my favoritest things in the whole wide world is superheroes, so I was a huge fan of our theme "Leadership Makes You a Superhero!"

In honor of Cecil's keynote speech about leadership and superheroes, I decided to look up some really great quotes from different comics and movies about heroes.  And there are A LOT out there... but I'll post some of my favorites:

"I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams."  - Spider-Man 2

"It's not who I am underneath... but what I do... that defines me." - Batman Begins

"The fate of your planet rests not in the hands of gods. It rests in the hands of mortals."—Thor

"I need a day when there aren't twenty crises to deal with, but I don't see that coming any time soon."—Iron Man

"The future is worth it. All the pain. All the tears. The future is worth the fight." —Martian Manhunter

"The greatest power on Earth is the magnificent power we all of us possess... the power of the human brain!" —Professor X

"I'm Batman" - Batman

I also decided to take a Which Superhero Are You? quiz.  And guess who I got...Supergirl! 

If you want to take the quiz, just go to http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/ and answer the questions.

Have a Super February!Sophie Hutchinson, Council Representative

January time for meeting new people

The month of January has been an action packed month starting out with Farm show. I had a blast like I normally do at farm show but this year was different. This year I had more fun than ever. I got to meet multiple people during the week, I had such a great time. The memories will last a life time. I had the opportunity to show at farm show again this year with my breeding rabbits I took best and best opposite of breed with my Silver Martens. While at the PA preferred banquet I met a lot of new people and some familiar faces. At the banquet I introduced some members of council to my fair board president and to Rhonda Carl the 2013 PA Fair Queen. When I first met Rhonda it was at the 2012 Schuylkill county fair where she was the fair queen. She was the first from our county to be awarded the PA title from our county and I am also the first State Council member from our county as well and it is very cool that two teens from Schuylkill County were both selected to serve at a state position and at the same time….which is kind of ironic. It was a pleasure to have met her and to have gotten to know her. It is an honor to represent our county. I also had a lot of encounters with Barron “Boots” Hetherington. Mr Hetherington has been a longtime family friend. It was great to see him at the farm show and enjoying agriculture at its finest. His love of agriculture is contagious and his support of youth is very much appreciated. 

 After Farm Show, it was off to the State Leadership Conference. This year’s SLC has been said to be one of the best with the theme “Leadership Your Super Hero. At SLC it was a blast to meet 4-Hers from all across the state.  I had seen many of my old friends and made how many new ones. Sadly this is my last year in 4-H so this was my last Leadership conference that I could attend as a youth delegate. This year’s leadership conference set record numbers with 425 in attendance. I had a blast there in the workshops with Brad Kunsman and Kelly Wiesner of Northampton and Lehigh counties. It was a pleasure to have them come to our conference and teach about leadership/team building and camp. Now I am gearing up for the second largest rabbit show in the nation, the PASRBA convention, where I’ll be showing my Silver Martens and Havana rabbits. I usually have a ball showing there. This has been one of the most exciting and action packed months since October!

I had a wonderful opportunity to meet with two outstanding and successful individuals that are very proud supporters within our county 4-H program this past week. They were Dave and Eric Peiffer . Through the kind love of their mother and her legacy, their support will help benefit programs through our local schools and raise awareness of everything 4-H has to offer. I am very proud to be a part of our county 4-H under the direction of Briana Luckenbill.

Your Batman superhero,

 Brendin Freeman

Brrrr. A Winter Update

Hey Everyone!

January came and went and man was it a blast of cold air! The local temperatures in Franklin County frequently dipped below zero over the last month and I have got to say that I can't wait for warmer weather! This month was, despite the cold, incredible! Between Farm Show, SLC and Midterms, it was absolutely crazy as well!

This years Farm Show was my first ever and I have got to say it was amazing! There was so much to see and to do that by the end of our very first day there I was ready to come back next year! Our first night we went to the PA Preferred Reception, where we first helped people to find it, and then networked with all sorts of people. For instance, we met the Alpaca Princess who we found out was actually in her second term as princess! How cool is that? I didn't even know there was an Alpaca Princess! Our next event was Opening Ceremonies. We met our fellow friends the FFA State Officers there and we caught up with each other while we were getting ready for the ceremony. We also worked in two of the food booths, which I thought was a great experience. We also attended the FFA Mid-Winter Convention to support Lydia as she got her Keystone Award! Congrats to Lydia!

SLC came next, which as you all know, was seriously fun! I really enjoyed the Clown Nose Club's activities, where I met some pretty cool 4-Her's! You guys Rock! Dressing up as Hawkeye and helping out in workshops really made this experience special! And I really can't say enough about the Neon Dance! Seeing everyone decked out and glowing under the black lights was really something else!

My Midterms were a bit of a letdown in between such awesome events as SLC and Farm Show, but alas, I needed to take them! Luckily they weren't too difficult and I quickly moved past them in anticipation of the last semester of High School I'll ever have. I have Clay and Civics and Photography this semester, so I'm really looking forward to showing some of my creativity and also learning about our country!

Respectfully Wishing for warmer weather,
Your State Council Historian
Amber J Pound

Where did January Go??

Hey PA 4-H!
January has be an amazing month to be a 4-Her in the Keystone State!!!  I haven't been home a single weekend this month!  I'm so grateful for my family for taking care of the livestock to make this possible.

After a quick New Years Eve celebration with the family.  It was time to prep and head to PA Farm Show. This year my week was split between being a Council member and an exhibitor.  It was long, busy, tiring and so FUN!  It was an amazing week, my market goat made weight this year and I won Youth Grand Champion Alpine Doe and Youth Junior Champion Alpine Doe with my home bred Alpine does.

Showing RaccoonEyes at Farm Show 2014

2014 Youth Alpine Grand Champion Doe

and  Youth Best of Breed Alpine

2014 Youth Alpine Junior Champion

The dust had hardly settled from Farm Show, when it was time for SLC (State Leadership Conference).  It was an AWESOME time - I highly recommend that EVERY 4-Her should attend at least once!  

The Council at the Neon Dance

Being a Wrestler isn't just about the practices, matches and the wins. But it's about the friends you make along the way.  I've made some great friends and had some great times wrestling for Newport High School. 

The Crew at Bedford

Now as January comes to a close it's time for camp counselor training for Winter Academy and Teen Retreat.  As I look back on this month, I'm thinking WOW!  I did all that and still passed the semester for school!

Time Flies When Your Having Fun

What a month! I rang in the new year with family and friends then jetted off to Farm Show for the time of my life.  Not to mention banged out the State Leadership Conference with my amazing state council team.  Now telling you about this would be pages and pages of me rambling on about the most fantastic couple weeks of my life.  Instead, I'm just going to show you!

Farm Show 2014!

Practice makes perfect!

Last minute Farm show prep with the best kind of help, family!

Farm Show opening ceremonies with the crew!

Oh my, do I look intense?

This past Farm Show was wonderful and better than I could have imagined.  Thanks to all my supporting family members, crazy friends, and my council family for making it wonderful and for handling my craziness ever once in a while.  Thank you to everyone that has made my showing career a success over the past few years.

Leadership Makes You a Superhero!!!!

Waiting for 4-Her's at SLC

Neon Dance

Ready to rock out workshops, superhero style!

The fearless boys that perfected my makeup.

Our amazing keynote speaker

Beginning of the drawing!

The finished painting, WOW!

Dance number two

SLC was everything I hoped it would be and more.  From, Friday's opening ceremonies, to workshops,  and dances I was exhausted. My mom always said if you're tired after something you must have had a good time.  Well, I definitely did!

Until next time, stay warm and keep on the look out for Dark Clover, who knows where he may show up next! 

Sincerely,

Megan Anderson

Exciting Month!!

Hi everybody! It's your State Council Report again! This month was really fun and exciting the State Council. At the begining of the January the State Council and I attended the Farm Show. We attended the social hour with alot of people like Royalties, FFA, and a lot of people that were involve in Agiculture. The next day at the Farm Show we went to the opening cermonie where the State Council got announced.

Towards the middle of January we had a State Leadership Conference where 450 delagate attended at the Penn Stater. Our theme this year for the State Leadership Conference was "Superhero". The first night the State Council memebers dress like a superheros for the game. That night we had a neon dance and it turned out to be great because they were glowsticks, glowing ice cubes in the water, and stobe lights. We also had three very important people that came to this event and they are Rachel, Cody, and Cathy from Kentucky! Those three deffinily had a blast throughout the weekend. We a wonderful speaker at the Banquet and a fun semi formal dance. I had a great time spending the weekend with my council family!


State Council Report
Divya Reitz

Dream Big!!

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough”


Hey there Pennsylvania 4-H! Before I get started, I would like to take a quick poll. How many of you have a Facebook? Raise your hands. Yes, even you in the blue jeans….. Ok thanks, it looks like a lot of you do!

I ask this because I have a Facebook too, and there is some great stuff on there! (And I don’t mean just selfies) Earlier this month I was flipping through my newsfeed and this picture caught my eye.




They all surprised me for my birthday!
I insisted that Dylan try the cake.

Isn’t that so true? Life is all about taking risks, and there is usually fear associated with that risk. All our life we have been told clichés such as “chase your dreams” and “shoot for the moon and even if you miss you will land amongst the start”. Well I don’t know about you, but I am petrified about the idea of being launched into space, and I know that chasing dreams is easier said than done. But there is one more thing I know: it is worth it.

 What are my dreams? I want to be an ag teacher. I want to have my own farm where my students can keep animals, and where I can breed Texas Longhorns. I even include that fact that I want to be good husband and father for my family. There are times where I look at my dreams and I get scared. I worry about how good of a teacher and family man I will be. I worry about how much it will cost to start a farm. There are even times I am in a college class and I worry about getting the work done to make it to the next week.



Using my super strength on my sisters!

Now, I don’t share this just to ramble on about myself. I bring it up so I can tell you how I turn that fear into motivation. If my dreams didn’t scare me, I might just sit around waiting for them to happen. It’s that fear that pushes me to give it my all so that it will happen. It is that worry that makes me want to be the best man I can be in preparation for a family. Its that fear that pushes me in my studies so that I will graduate the best ag teacher candidate I can be.

Life is not about letting the fear overpower you, it’s about being scared and saddling up anyway. If you don’t feel any concern about your dreams in life, dare yourself to take it one step further. If you can do that, you are pushing yourself to reach your maximum potential.

I know that everyone has a purpose in life. We all have dreams. Let any fear motivate you to achieve your max potential. If we can all do that, I believe that the world will be a better place for it, and we will be making the best better! I hope you have enjoyed this inspirational moment, as well as the pictures of the amazing weekend we just enjoyed at State Leadership Conference.



I hope everyone has a great month of chasing dreams!!!

Nate Repetz
2013/2014 PA 4-H State Council
President

It's Going So Fast!

Hey Everybody!
I can't believe that it's almost February! This year has flown by! We just had SLC, and it was a blast! I met so many 4-H'ers from all over the state, and they were all so enthusiastic about 4-H; it was great! But I really can't get over how fast everything has happened. It seems as if just yesterday we were being sworn into office! And now the year is almost over. 
It's amazing how close our little council family has become! I had alot of questions about Council while at SLC. And if you are wondering what the experience is like, all I can say is two words: "DO IT!" It will be the best experience of your life, and will be 100% worth it.

Best of luck in 2014,

Lydia Lion

Halfway there

Hello Pennsylvania 4-H!

Wow I cannot believe it is already January! That also means I am halfway through my term as your Vice President of internal affairs. I amazed at all the experiences I have had and cannot wait for all the others to come! This month has been crazy from farm show right into mid terms then back to State Leadership Conference! Not to mention in my county 4-h club meetings have started again.
Farm Show was then first event and since I love to show my experiences through pictures......

Opening Ceremonies for the PA Farm Show

 

 

Showing my chicken Angus at the PA Farm show

 

The next event was State Leadership Conference......

                                                             Friday Night Neon Dance

 

Nate putting his birthday cake in Dylans face for not eating it

 

 

Helping Katina with her SLC workshop by being makeup models for boys with Megan

 

 

Having Ben Glenn as our Saturday Night Keynote speaker

 

 

Meeting Cody and Rachel from the Kentucky State Officer Team

 

 

Being on PA 4-H has been an amazing experience and I cannot wait for what is coming next!

Forever 4-H,
Alexandra Adams
2013-2014 Pennsylvania 4-H State Council Vice President of Internal Affairs

Leaping into Farm Show

Happy New Year Pennsylvania 4-H! I hope you all had wonderful holidays, a splendid break, and started off your new year in a great way! Personally, I'm starting mine off with the Pennsylvania State Farm Show!
The first thing that the Council attended was the PA Preferred Reception. It was definitely a very pleasant experience in which I was able to meet people from all over our state, that are involved with the Farm Show and our number one industry in Pennsylvania, which is agriculture. Not only that, but I met people who were from out of state and were still involved with our farm show.
Today, there were the opening ceremonies of the farm show and I was the flag bearer for our 4-H flag! Our council president (Nate) was the acting voice of God (announcer) and spoke of the wonderful events to come later at Farm Show. Then, at the end of the ceremonies, the rest of our council came out into the arena as a united front!
The last thing that I did today was that I prepped my goat and then showed him! His name is Spice. FIrst I gave him a bath (he didn't really like that) and then my dad and I tag teamed the fine clipping since I already clipped most of his hair off yesterday. Then finally got to show him! He placed sixth in his class. Unfortunately, he had to place fifth in his class though to make the sale. Although I'll miss him, it was fun while it lasted!

Wyett and Meghan showed their goats too!

Until next month then! Have a good one!

Jesse Isenberg
2013/2014 Pennsylvania State 4-H Council
Vice President of Operations

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Farm Show, that is)

“It's The Most Wonderful Time
It's The Most Wonderful Time
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!”

Hey Pennsylvania 4-H! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and I’m pleased to announce we have finally arrived at the most wonderful time of the year… The 98th Pennsylvania Farm Show!

The 2014 Butter Sculpture

Anyone who knows me know that I go crazy for Farm Show week. But why? The reason would be that the Farm Show is like my family business. My Grandfather worked for the Farm Show from 1974 to 2004 as the manager of the Livestock Office. In that job, he was in charge of all of the agricultural competitions that go on during the show, as well as serving as the show manager for the KILE and the All-American Dairy Show. I have many fond memories of riding around in the golf cart with Grandpap when I was little, and those memories have blossomed into a love of the Farm Show. It was those experiences that first introduced me to agriculture, and made me want to spend my life educating the world about it!
I have been fortunate enough to be able to turn that love of the show into a unique job opportunity. During my senior year of high school, I spend half of my school day at the Farm Show Complex working as an intern for Jim Sharp, the man who replaced my grandpa when he retired. The success of that internship led to a summer job, which led to a job over winter break. It just goes to show that you are never limited when looking for opportunities in high school, you can always make your own!

So now we have arrived at Farm Show week and I’m excited to spend it as a member of the PA 4-H State Council. We have many cool events throughout the week, from Opening Ceremonies on Saturday to yours truly in the celebrity cow milking contest on Friday. If you see around the show this week, don’t hesitate to come up and talk to me. I will be happy to share my love of the Farm Show with you!



Nathan Repetz
Pennsylvania 4-H State Council
President