Katie Townsend
4-H Youth Development
Communications
hile fair-time activities are starting to dwindle down they are still not over! The Interstate Fair, Coffeyville, has a 4-H inside exhibit division specifically for Montgomery County 4-H members. There is also a junior livestock show that is open to 4-H and FFA members but this division is open to any 4-H/FFA members in the surrounding area. I coordinate the 4-H inside exhibits since it is solely open to our youth. I assisted the Coffeyville fair board with set-up, tear down, judges, and ribbons. A special thank you goes to our agents Julie Traxson, Jacob Weber, Jeri Geren, and Barbara Ames for helping during judging. Numbers were lower this year due to school starting during fair week and many parents going back to work. However, we still had a good turn out and it is beneficial for youth to get comments from a different set of judges on their projects. We strive to teach our youth their exhibits will judge differently each time and to compile judges’ comments to make a better project overall.
Montgomery County has 12 families taking livestock to the Kansas State Fair and 26 youth sending inside exhibits. Once again, we are excited for our youth to compete at the state level, get new experiences, and new feedback to better their projects.
The radio is a great place to spread the word about 4-H and I’m always amazed by the number of people that mention hearing me on KGGF 690 AM. This month Cheri Nelson and I discussed the opportunities available to our youth through state contests. The kids really followed through after our discussion because we had two state winning teams this year! We also had a third place team and several high point individuals. A big shout-out goes to all the volunteer coaches that spend time with our youth sharing their expertise and providing them with knowledge they will always use!
Youth come home from fairs and state contests to immediately start working on record books! Agents are busy lining up judges, ensuring youth have all the correct forms, and assisting families with the process. Record books are a great way for youth to keep track of their project financials and are good documents to reflect on when applying for scholarships.
I have also been busy starting to plan the achievement banquet for Montgomery County in November. We collaborate with the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce for the banquet and appreciate all the help they give us for this event. Youth and leaders will be recognized for record books, a variety of judging events, shooting sports, achievement pins, community service and more! We invite anyone to help us celebrate our year on November 8 in Coffeyville! Banquet tickets can be purchased through the Extension office.