Blue Skies

There has been a lot going on this month Of June.... I'm sure everyone has been very busy across the state visiting family, going to the beach, having campfires, bailing hay, and getting a tan. These are some things I have been up to as well. I'm still working on my tan but hopefully by State Days I'll have a nice one. Remember to get your Health forms in for State Days and to finish signing up for the different categories you wish to display your talents.

I'm definately ready for State Days, and I can't wait to see the possible council inductees! If you are interested in becoming a State Council member please fill out the application as soon as possible. Applications are also available at State Days. I enjoyed my terms on Council and I recommend it to anybody who cares about the program and would like to make a difference. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me at ps4hc.jforinash@gmail.com. I'd be more than happy to help in any way i can.

I hope you all submitted a video for the State video contest. I saw a couple and if I might add they look great! This month of June I helped out with the presentation contest in Crawford County. I'd just like to say good work and congratulations to all the participants and youth that placed. You all did very well and you could definately tell how hard you practiced on your speeches. Some of them were very informational and I enjoyed them. In Crawford County this month a couple members from their county council and myself promoted 4-H by writing on our vehicles with window paint and driving around the city of Meadville. We handed out pamphlets at a local eatery and answered questions about the program hoping to increase enrollment.

Remember to stay hydrated while you are out on your adventures this next month. Be careful on the 4th with the sparklers or other festive activities. And remember to Laugh and Smile uncontrollably, It's Summer, so enjoy it.

Stay cool,

Jamie Forinash
Vice President of Operations

Sunshine and Summertime....

Hey PA 4-H!
Wow this has been a busy month! Between Council, 4-H responsibilities in my county, my internship with Extension, and an additional 4-H internship, things have been crazy for me.
On June 3, I visited the Union County Teen Council during their monthly meeting. I talked with them about State Days, how to be on Council, and led a teambuilding activity that they all enjoyed.
On June 5, Justine and I traveled to Philadelphia for Farm to Table Day. There we did a soap-making project with the kids and talked to them about 4-H.
Council also had a Conference Call this month where we did planning for State Days. Our Opening Ceremonies script is in the works and we hope you will enjoy it!
During the week of the 20th, I attended Camp Brule as a counselor along with other staff and campers from Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union Counties. It was a great week! It was bittersweet though for me because it was my last year as a counselor. During the week I served as one of two Key Counselors, sometimes called Junior Camp Directors. Part of my responsibility was to teach a workshop for the Campers-at-Training (CATs). They will hopefully all be counselors next year.
We can't wait to see you all at State Days and look forward to seeing those entries for the video contest! Remember to bring your spare change for the Penny Wars and keep saving those soda tabs for the Ronald McDonald House at SLC!
Please check out our NEW Council homepage: http://ps4-hc.cas.psu.edu , our newsletter, The Clover Clipboard and our Facebook page called Pennsylvania 4-H.

In the spirit of 4-H,
Jeanette Blank
PA State Council President

Favorite Time of Year

Some say that Christmastime is the most wonderful time of the year...but not me. For me, it's the crazy wonderful time of SUMMER! The fairs & showing horses....it's the best. Although this year summer has brought on something new, the thought of council being over in just a few short months...it's hard to believe everything we've been through. I'm sure most of my fellow 4-Hers are busy preparing their projects for the fairs! Good Luck to everyone & hope everything goes well. I know the Council girls and I are busy preparing for an awesome STate Days...can't wait to see what you guys come up with in terms of videos! :) Good Luck everyone
Your State Council Secretary,
Rachel

Sun Shine and Summer

The sun is shinning and the warm weather is here! What does that mean? Its summer time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe in about a month I will be done with State council. The time has flown but it has been the best experience I had and was glad to be able to do it again. July 1st is the deadline for the Green Gala Video Contest. Did you submit your best 4-H project, recruitment or county council video yet? You still have a little bit of time. And your county can win up to $150! Your video will be featured at the opening of state days! Good luck to all video contestants! Also at State days is PENNY WARS! Bring your pennies and other lose change and see which region can win! All procees go to the Ronald McDonald house!

During the month I was able to travel to Philidelphia with Jeanette to help with the Fox Chase Table. We made soap with the children and adults that stoped at our table. It was very rewarding to be able to talk with the parents about my experience in 4-H, how it has helped me in life and the activities their child could get involved in. A lot of the parents thought this was a great program and signed their child up an took more information on the programs. Hopefully they can join clubs and start gainning the benefits like I was able to.

I started my volunteer work again and I am having fun while doing it. I get to help at the front desk of an independent living center. While working their I help by answering the phone and door, while entering information into the computer. Some times it gets caotic but I deal with one thing at a time.

State council is busy working on State Days and hope it will be fun for everyone. For more information be sure to check the website or contact your local 4-H office! Deadline is approach fast!

Hope everyone's summer is great!

Until then

Justine Bush
Historian/Reporter

Summer Time is here!

Hey guys!
I am super excited about summer time. Just two weeks ago I stood on stage giving my graduating class of Berlin Brothersvalley High School my farewell address. The whole time I kept thinking "o man, It's a good thing I competed in all those 4-H public speaking events 'cus that's alot of people!" I managed to make it through without crying and keep receiving compliments on my speech. Moral of the story, the next time your mom makes you take a 4-H project you don't want to. Do it! You never know when it might come in handy!

I have been enjoying my summer by showing in several Jack Pot shows in Bedford and Somerset Counties. Although my lamb and goat (Kia and Lexie) don't seem to place as well as I would like, I enjoy every minute of it!

Our council has been busy figuring some things out for State Days which is right around the corner! We have some special ideas for opening ceremonies and are already getting sad about turning our jackets in during closing ceremonies. Traveling the state for the past year and half is something I am sure none of us would trade for anything in the world!

This coming week I look forward to traveling to Greensburg to help at Regional Fashion Revue!
I hope you all continue to have a safe and fun summer and that I see you at State Days!
Christy Lambert

State VPE

It seems that time is passing more quickly now that school is out for the summer. I can hardly believe that it's 80 degrees and higher, with cloudless skies, and the sun shining outside nearly al the time now. I remember when it was 10 degrees and i had snow up to my hip! Seems like only yesterday ... It was only yesterday it feels like that we were inducted as the 2010 council at the State Leadership Conference. Speaking of inductions, Applications to be on State 4-H Council are now available!!! It's an amazing opportunity to enhance your leadership skills, and climb the leadership ladder! On council, I've made so many memories, and made the most amazing friends ever. 4-H is about making connections, learning, and creating leaders. I recommend this experience to anyone! Contact any of our coucil members, your extension office, and check us out on facebook for more information.
Reminder: Applications will still be accepted at State Days. This years theme is the GREEN GALA. It's definately gonna rock!! Be there. =)

Enjoy the beautiful weather while it's here,
Until Next time,

Jamie Forinash
Vice President Operations
ps4hc.jforinash@gmail.com

WOAH! Time is slipping by so fast! It's hard to believe I'm a high school graduate already, seems like just yesterday I was a little 8 year old girl showing my lamb for the first time. :) Well as I'm sure most of you are I have been crazy busy with work, graduation, more work, and working on the farm. Fair season is starting soon and I'm super excited. And as for the State Council girls and I...we've been busy planning things for State Days, it's going to be amazing && I hope to see everyone there at the GREEN GALA! It's going to be tons of fun. We'll be meeting in July to get the final details all worked out. Until the next time.
Your secretary,
RACHEL :)

Sunshine and green clovers

Hey Pa 4-H!
This month has been crazy for me with just about everything! Over the past month I have been getting ready to graduate. As my senior class treasurer I have been having fun planning different events like prom, graduation and senior fun week. This month I also was able to travel to Wallops Island for part of my Advanced Biology class where I had a blast jumping into huge mud pits, fishing, and identifying animals on hikes. On the trip I was actually able to meet 4-Hers from Virginia. Its amazing how universal the 4-H clover is and how it can start a conversation anywhere! Our council had a conference call this month were we made some huge leaps on our opening ceremonies for State Days! We all hope that back in your home counties you are preparing videos to be part of our contest. We also hope that you begin to save up coins for our penny war! I had my first livestock show yesterday at the Bedford county fair grounds. It was a great time even with the hot sun and heat. 4-H members from all around did an AMAZING job and I enjoyed seeing you all!
Take care and congradulations to the Class of 2010!
Christy (VPE)

It's Summer!

My summer started out with a crash, bang, boom! Well it literally did start with a crash. I wreck my car on the 12th. I am doing much better than I thought. I am slowly going back to work and seeing how much I can handle. I still get headaches but they say that it is normal. I am so thankful that my seat belt was on or people said I could of been dead. :(

Dispite being in a wreck I went to my county council meeting where I promoted both video contest and penny wars. One person seemed interest in the video contest and hopefully they will submit one. They are very excited to help with the penny wars service project and will be helping with it.

I have also submitted an article on Penny wars for the lycoming county news letter that was included in this months. This will help people understand the new service project and get more members to participate. There was also an article on the video contest. Members will have a better understanding of this contest and hopefully more videos will be submitted for State Days.

Council had a phone conference this month where we talked about State Days. It was great to be able to talk and figure out how we want the couple of days to look. We all had some great ideas and if we plan right most of them will be able to be implimented those days.

On June 5th Jeanette and I will be attending the Fox Chase day where we have planed to make soap with the children. This is the first time I will be attending and hope to have fun with the children.

As summer comes around and school lets out, good luck with project animals and also those project books! Fair is coming up and will be here around the corner!

until then,

Justine Bush
2010 Historian/Reporter

Here Comes Summer...

Summer is definitely on its way! We've been having some beautiful weather in Snyder County. Best of luck to all of you who are finishing up high school, including our own State Council members, Christy and Rachel, who will be attending college in the fall. Congratulations!

This month was not a very eventful month for me Council-wise. I attended my club's meeting this month after I came home from college. It was great because I haven't seen many of them in a long time.

We had a Council Conference Call this month where we mostly talked about State Days planning. Council is so excited to see your entries for our Green Gala video contest! We are in the process of making our script, choosing decorations, and deciding how we will spend our last days of Council.

This month I started an internship with the Snyder County Cooperative Extension Office. I'm working as the Agriculture Assistant where I work on programs like Well Water Quality, Noxious Weeds, and organizing a Grower's Market. It has been interesting to see the other side of Extension besides 4-H. I have now decided that if I do work in Extension after college, it will be 4-H related!

On June 5, Justine and I will be attending Farm City Day in Philadelphia County where we will be doing a project making soap. If you will be in the area, stop by Fox Chase Farm and say hello!

Please check out: our NEW Council homepage, http://ps4-hc.cas.psu.edu/, our newsletter,. the Clover Clipboard, at http://ps4-hc.cas.psu.edu/206.htm, our Facebook page called Pennsylvania 4-H and our Twitter page, at PA4-H.

In the spirit of 4-H,

Jeanette Blank

2010 State Council President

End of the School year!!

Oh the weather outside is Sunny!! Finals week is finally upon us, students are moving out of their dorms, and the clovers are blossoming. Today I am anticipating my last final, so I can finally say that Freshman year has been completed.

This evening I visited the Erie County Council Meeting and talked about what State 4-H Council does. They had questions about some of the times council meets and the events we plan and MC. I was also asked about Capital Days. That event just happened recently.
At Capital Days this year I was the Chair for the Majority Party, The Green Party. We practiced our Parli-Pro and debated three Bills currently in the House and the Senate. Our Mock Session got kind of heated when we brought both parties together to debate the bills. Both the White and the Green parties wanted their amendments to the Bills to pass.

During Capital Days our State Council got to meet with our different legislators and The Secretary Of Agriculture, Russell Redding. We talked about the 4-H program, our 4-H stories, Agricultural issues, and other topics of interest to our regions and counties across the state.

Also at Capital Days I met with many youth interested in applying to be On our State 4-H Council. The Application is online and ready to be filled out for those of you that are interested. Remmeber that you can apply at State Days too! We look forward to seeing you at State Days and many of the differnent events we attend. If you have any questions don not hesitate to contact myself or another council memeber. We would be more than happy to assist you. Enjoy the end of school.

Until next time,

Jamie Forinash
Vice President of Operations/Internal Affaires

P.S: Remember to start saving your pennies for our Penny Wars and the Soda Tabs for Check Out the Silver! You can never start to soon.

4-H is in full swing

Hello Pa 4-H! Hope you all are finding fun in our springtime weather and sports along with all the work that comes with getting livestock animals for fair and shows. One way I can always tell it's spring is when Pa 4-H holds the annual conference called Capital Days. This past Sunday, Monday and Tuesday around 60 members from across Pa joined together to learn more about our government and interact with our legislators. It was an amazing event and we had tons of fun! It took on a new feeling for me since this was the second time I was able to attend as a council member. I was more comfortable with things and this year I even was able to put my parli pro knowledge to work when I lead the green party in mock legislation.
At the event we also introduced our new service project in addition to the pop tabs. At state days this year we will be conducting a penny war where counties can bring in pennies to help out their regions and silver or bills to bring down other regions. Start collecting now to bring your region out on top!
In the next few months I look forward to promoting 4-H across my county and other local counties as 4-H comes into full swing with summer break! I can hardly believe that my interim council year is half over already!
Your State 4-H VPE,
Christy Lambert