Everything you need to know about 4-H

RODEO YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS

Everything you need to know about 4-H

PROVIDED BY THE UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY 4-H EXTENSION OFFICE

4-H CLUBS

4-H is for all youth age 5-18. There is also a Cloverbud project that is for children age 5-7.

Most clubs in Weber County are family clubs or neighborhood clubs where parents are the leaders, and their children are the 4-H members. There are also community clubs in the robotics, livestock, shooting sports, rabbits, and horse project areas. We can give out club leaders’ names with their permission. These leaders may or may not be taking new members into their clubs.

A 4-H leader may be any adult who desires to work with youth, teaching them life skills and helping them to become happy, productive adults. All leaders in Utah must go through a screening process before they are approved to be a 4-H leader. Leader applications are completed in 4-H Online with a leader’s 4-H enrollment.

Once a leader has been approved, the club may be organized, and members enrolled. Utah has gone to an online enrollment system. Leaders and members now enroll online. Instructions for 4-H Online can be found on our website on the forms page. A club may be as small as one leader and one member or may have many leaders and many members. There is an annual fee of $10 per member ($20 for horse, robotics and shooting sports). No fee for leaders. The 4-H

PHOTO PROVIDED BY UTAH STATE 4-H EXTENSION OFFICE

Weber county 4-H includes the junior livestock program. Youth participants have the opportunity to raise lamb, hogs, steers, bucket calves, dairy heifers and goats. enrollment fee can now be paid in 4-H Online. Instructions for 4-H Online payments can also be found on the forms page. Enrollment fees can also be paid by phone with a credit card, or by stopping by the 4-H office. However, 4-H enrollments are not current/active until the fees are paid. Club leaders and members must reenroll at the beginning of each 4-H year. The 4-H year runs Sept. 1 — Aug. 31.

There are many, many project areas in 4-H. The number of projects focused on will be determined by the leader and club members. We have publications available for some project areas which we sell at our cost. Use of these materials is not required; they are available as a resource.

Some clubs meet weekly all year, others daily during the summer — whatever the club decides as long as they meet a minimum of six times per year. Most clubs work toward having their projects finished so they can enter them at the Weber County Fair. Our fair is in August at the Weber County Fairgrounds, and entry information can be found in our e-newsletter or on this website.

All enrolled leaders and members are emailed a Weber County 4-H newsletter each month. There are many 4-H activities offered on the County and State levels throughout the year. Some are specific to a certain age, and some require a registration fee. Reminders about upcoming activities are in the e-newsletter. You may read further about these activities on both this website and the state 4-H website at

JOINING A 4-H CLUB

Many Utah 4-H clubs meet in homes, which typically limits the club to 10 or fewer children, depending on the size of the home. This often means that as soon as a parent organizes a club, it is already full with their children and a few of their friends. Consequently, the county 4-H office rarely has a list of clubs accepting new members. An exception is 4-H horse clubs, which are typically larger and often can accept new members.

For a child wanting to join a 4-H club, this means that there may not be an existing club available to join. For families interested in having their children participate in a 4-H club, we suggest getting several families to join together and organize a local club – sharing the fun and the responsibilities.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

This is the best news of all! The annual enrollment fee for Weber County 4-H is only $10. For 4-H horse, robotics, sewing, Cloverbuds, Clever Clovers, and shooting club members, the fee is $20. For their enrollment fee, members will receive the monthly 4-H newsletter and accident insurance while at 4-H events. Club members are also eligible to participate in all of the county 4-H contests offered for their grade division (nearly 20 events) and can exhibit in the Weber County Fair.

Members are also responsible for the expenses associated with the projects they select. These expenses range widely depending on the project. For example, owning and showing a horse would be a much more expensive project than a sewing project.

Club activities are usually covered by money-making projects conducted by the club or by each member contributing money toward the cost of project supplies and/or providing some of the project supplies. Some clubs charge dues to cover the costs of project supplies and club activities.

ORGANIZING A 4-H CLUB

Organizing a 4-H club is simple. It begins with identifying one or more families who want to organize a club and who are willing to share the responsibility for a 4-H club. A good club size is about 5-10 members. The five simple steps for organizing a 4-H club are:

Talk to folks in your community to learn about the interest in organizing a 4-H club. Clubs tend to operate better if members are close in age (within a couple of years).

Identify the parents who are willing to support the club. It works much better if several parents team up together to share the leadership roles. This keeps any one person’s job from becoming too big.

The adult volunteers complete a Volunteer Application, are interviewed and attend a 4-H Club Leader Orientation.

The club holds an organizational meeting. During this meeting, they will select the official name of the 4-H club, elect officers, select projects, determine a meeting schedule and location for club meetings.

If you have any questions about organizing a club, or you want to schedule a 4-H Discovery Night in your community, contact David Widdison, 4-H Coordinator, at david.widdison@usu.edu or call (801) 399-8220.