Food Show Entry Deadline

We all love to eat and want to do so nutritiously! The entry deadline for the Food/Nutrition show is FRIDAY, Dec. 19 at 5:00p. For more information, see the Food & Nutrition Blog.

Christmas Party Time!

Our regularly scheduled meeting for December will be our Christmas Party!!

Thursday, December 18, 6:30p at the Rempfer's house
2846 CR 2206 (directions to follow)

We will have a short business meeting followed by our group picture (PLEASE wear or bring your Footbridge Shirt if you have one!), party and gift exchange. Bring a gift for the White Elephant Gift Exchange and a party food!

Amy Collins - Cheese Dip and chips
Katy Dickey - Peppermint Chocolate Cake
Kaitlin Tugwell - Sausage Balls
Kylie Delany - Pigs in Blankets
William Jones - Dr Pepper
Amanda Rathbun - Sodas

If you did not sign up, don't worry - just bring something you'd enjoy eating!

Directions:

From Courthouse take Hwy 84 W for two blocks to Barron Street. Turn Left on Barron Street. Continue on Barron Street as it turns right and becomes 23. Cross Loop 343 and turn on CR 2206 (first Road to the right). Continue on CR 2206 for 2.8 miles. House is on Brick house on right with Circular Drive really close to the road

Validation Saturday Dec. 6

Don't forget Validation is Saturday, December 6th at the Showbarn from 8 am to 10 am. You MUST bring ALL marketable class animals and animals that were signed up to sell to be validated. This includes the following:

BEEF - Market Steers, Commercial Heifers
PEN OF HEIFERS
SWINE - Market Gilts, Market Barrows
GOATS - Market
DAIRY CATTLE - ALL Heifer Classes

Your animals must be validated to be eligible to show.

Footbridge Parade Float

Santa held the sign - To Make the Best Better

Thank you to all of our members who braved the chill and had a great time at the Rusk Christmas Parade. Special thanks go out to Mr. and Mrs. Collins for providing/decorating the float and to Rusk Primary School for allowing us to borrow their decorations!

We're in the Parade!

Don't forget to join us for the Rusk Christmas Parade. Thank you to Mr. & Mrs. Collins for offering their truck/trailer. Please meet at the county extension office at 4:30p on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Wear your Footbridge shirt if you have one, and Santa hats or any other Christmas gear! You're welcome to bring some garland and/or other decorations for our trailer. We look forward to seeing you there!

Monthly Meeting Reminder

Thursday, November 20 at 6:30 PM
Cherokee County Extension Office


Bring a drawing or description of your IDEAS for our Christmas Parade Float
(Rusk Parade is December 2)

Business to cover will include the Christmas Parade Float, Christmas Party information, Photography Contest results, Livestock Show Entries, Consumer Decision Making project, Food Show project, Yes! Camp review and more!

Bring a friend to share the fun.
We look forward to seeing you there!!

Stock Show Entry DEADLINE this week!

The Entry Deadline for: Market Steers, Commercial Heifers, Dairy Heifers, Market Hogs, Poultry, Horse, & Goats is

November 15, 2008

Fillable Adobe PDF Entry Forms are downloadable under the "Important 4-H Links" on the County 4H Blog. If you have any questions please contact the 4-H office. (903) 683-5416 or wrarnwine@ag.tamu.edu.

Late entries will be accepted after the November 15 deadline up until the date of validation, December 6; HOWEVER, an additional $15.00 fee will be accessed to each entry.

Small Engine Project

The Cherokee County 4H Small Engine Project is about to get started. Details HERE. Anyone interested is requested to contact the project leader (me) as soon as possible.

Also, projects such as Small Engines and the Food and Fashion shows are potentially a great way to grow our club. I don't think most people realize that while they are a big and important part of 4H, there is a lot more to it than agriculture and livestock. If you know someone with an interest or potential interest in any of the upcoming projects, talk to them about it. Give them the web site. Bring them to a workshop. Feel free to give them my email address or phone number or have them stop by the Extension Office. The best way to attract new members is to show them what we do, what YOU do.

Awards Banquet

A big 'thank you' those who attended Saturday's 2008 Cherokee County Awards Banquet. Our PALs Reporter (and manager of East Texas 4H club) has a very nice write-up in today's Cherokeean Herald and Lookout 4H has quite a few pictures posted on their blog. In addition to the participation certificates handed out to all members who participated in one or more programs last year, awards were also given out to individuals and clubs who amassed the most participation points.

I'm proud to say that Footbridge 4H's own Katy Dickey won Clover Kid of the Year for her participation in Consumer Decision Making, Food and Nutrition, and Entemology.

"Hearts in Bloom" 4H club, now "East Texas', though the smallest club in our county won 'Club of the Year'. Thomas Parker with the Hearts in Bloom 4-H Club was awarded Junior 4-H Member of the Year, Katie Foster with the Cloverleaf 4-H Club was named Intermediate 4-H Member of the Year and Zachary Parker with the Hearts in Bloom 4-H Club was awarded Senior 4-H member of the Year.

A member recieves one point for each project or competition he or she participates in. If the member wins ribbon,they receive additional points: 3 points for 1st place, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd for a possible total of up to 4 points per competition. Obviously, then, the more you particiapte, the more points you acrue and who knows: maybe at next year's award banquet (which will be much earlier in the year) you can be next year's 'Member of the Year' in your class!

Currently there are projects and workshops being held for:

Photography -- DEADLINE APPROACHING!!!
Horse Judging
Livestock Judging
Consumer Decision Making
Small Engine Project

Several other projects are being set up now, and if there is something you are interested in please don't hesitate to bring it your club managers' attention.

Awards Banquet

Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be attending the Awards Banquet this Saturday. PALS has requested a headcount. Also, our club is responsible for bringing cupcakes/cookies so I need to know what you are bringing.

Thank you!

Hay Judging schedule

Updated information on the hay judging competition and sale is posted on the Lookout 4H website, HERE.

4H Calendar Changes

I received the following email from Willie:

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I have received a few calls about conflicting dates on the calendar.

I apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused any of you.

1. The Hay Sale will take place at the Show Barn in J-ville on Thursday, October 23.

2. The County Consumer Decision Making Contest Registration Date will be December 12, 2008.

3. The County Consumer Decision Making Contest will take place on Tuesday, January 6, 2009. ~Location is Pending!!!

You will all be able to download the most updated version of the Calendar when the State 4-H Office puts our document server back online.

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Please update your calendars and plan accordingly

MEETING TONIGHT!

The October Footbridge club meeting is tonight at 6:30 at the Country Extension Office. We have a great deal of important business to attend to including Banquet items, Queens voting and ticket sales, fund raising, Christmas parade and several items of interest to all members. It is also your oppurtunity to bring up or ask about anything you would like to see YOUR 4H be involved in. Our club can be anything that you, the members, want it to be. But you only get out what you put in.

Parents: I will be holding a parents meeting in the break room while the members are holding their meeting in the conference room. Please bring any questions, concerns, or ideas with you.

Consumer Decision Making Update

UPDATED:
The County Consumer Decision Making Contest Registration Date will be December 12, 2008.

The County Consumer Decision Making Contest will take place on Tuesday, January 6, 2009. ~Location is Pending!!!

Hunter's Saftey Course

Lookout 4H is sponsoring a TPWD Hunter's Safety course. Deadline to sign up is Saturday, October 18. Details on the course are HERE.

UPDATE: Livestock/horse judging workshop

The workshop on October 30th at 6:30p.m. at the County Extension Office will include livestock judging as well as hose judging. This is an informational meeting to gauge interest and go over project materials. Anyone who is at all interested either horse or livestock judging should make plans to attend because this meeting will determine what exactly is going to be included in each of these projects. If you miss this meeting, then what you are specifically interested in is less likely to be included. This class is open to ALL Cherokee County 4H members.

YES! Registration Deadline

The registration deadline for YES! appears to be next Monday, October 20. I am waiting for confirmation from Willie on this but anyone who wants to attend should assume that they need to be registered by then. I believe registration fees are $40 per member or adult but will need to confirm that as well.

**UPDATE** Registration deadline for YES! is October 24th. Please have your medical waiver (email me or Willie to get a copy) and $40.00 registration fee to me or Willie by noon on the 24th. I have not spoken to Vonnie about whether or not PALs will is willing to reimburse members who attend, but I will be contacting her about getting that on the next PALs meeting agenda.

Horse Judging Class

Nikki Penn will be holding a workshop on Horse Judging on October 30th at 6:30p.m. at the County Extension Office. If you have any questions or for further information please contact me and I will have her get in touch with you.

October Meeting

Footbridge 4H will have their monthly meeting on Thursday at 6:30pm at the County Extension office on 6th Street in Rusk.

Footbridge 4H meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month. The time and location remain the same: 6:30 p.m. at the County Extension Office. A list of meeting dates for the 2008-09 year can be found in THIS POST and significant upcoming dates are located in the left hand column under 'Upcoming Events' as well as the Cherokee County 4H calendar, also linked to in the left hand column under 'Important 4H Links'.

Photography Contest Update

Details on the Photography Contest Blog.

Hunter Safety Course

Lookout 4H is looking to host a TPWD Hunters Safety Course. If you are interested please contact me IMMEDIATELY so that Mr. Traylor can make the necessary arrangements.

Photo Contest Workshop

Details HERE.

2008 Awards Banquet

**UPDATE**
Time/Location for Awards Banquet confirmed! Click HERE for details.

The 2008 Cherokee County Awards Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, October 18. I believe the tentative venue is the Cherokee County Livestock Show Barn but this has not been confirmed.
Refreshments will be cupcakes, cookies and ice cream. PAL's will provide the ice cream but our club needs to bring cupcakes and/or cookies.
Also, I need a head count of how many Footbridge members plan to attend. So, please, check your calenders and get back to me ASAP with whether you plan to attend or not, and how many people you expect to bring with you: the Awards Banquet is a great way to show prospective new members what 4H is all about.
Since I'd also like a way to A)know who is reading this and B) contact people pleases email me at the address listed in the right column and give me a 'yea' or 'nay'.

September PALs Meeting Highlights

I'll be posting highlights of Monday's PALs meeting as I get my notes organized.

**UPDATE**

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Our own C0-Leader, Tandi Dickey, was voted PALs secretary. Also, through an obscure parliamentary procedure know as 'opening my mouth' it appears Yours Truly has been...anointed...PALs Parliamentarian. Not sure how that happened but in any case, if you find that as difficult to believe as I do, check out the PALs blog for proof.

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**UPDATE**

PROGRAM LEADERS DESPERATELY NEEDED

When each member filled out their membership form they also listed several subjects in which they had interest. Cherokee County 4H clubs expressed interest in a wide variety of programs including things such as Small Engines, Shooting, Forrestry, Water Safety, ATV Safety and several others in addition to the more traddional Livestock-related events. These and many other projects require one or more adults to put together and organize. This is not as complicated as it sounds. Parents and other interested adults: please consider volunteering a ver small amount of your time to help our 4H kids make the most of their club. I'll have more to say on that in another post. Meanwhile, please contact me, Brenda, or Willie for information on how YOU can help.

CONCESSION STAND

Running the concession stand at the Cherokee County Livestock Show is PALs biggest (in many ways only) fundraiser. I dont' have the exact numbers in front of me, but it made up roughly 2/3 of PALs budget last year (somethign like $7K in 3 days of which over $5K was profit). It has also been a source of contention between clubs. Every club is required to participate and provide staff. A commitee has been formed to oversee the running and staffing of the concession stand this year in an attempt to make it easier and fairer for all clubs. I do not have the final membership for this comittee but it should be posted on the PALs blog shortly. I believe Tandi Dickey from our club is on the commitee but anyone one else interested in helping represent Footbridge 4H's interests in this vital area please contact Tandi (as PALs Secretary) or Vonnie Anderson (PALs president) for information.

FUNDRAISING
PALs is also looking for ideas on additional ways to raise money to fund 4H. PALs is the county wide organization that funds camps, awards, events and contests, and helps members with entrance fees and other expenses at District and State level competitions. Any ideas on additional fundraising ideas for either Footbridge or PALs would be greatly appreciated.

FUTURE PALS MEETINGS
It was decided that PALs would meet at 7 pm at the Cherokee County Elec. Co-op (subject to availablility) on the FOURTH MONDAY of EVERY OTHER MONTH with additional meetings either done via telephone or internet as needed. Committee meetings will be determined by each commitee. The Next PALs meeting is, therefore on November 24th. School is still in session so that shouldn't interfere with too many people's Thanksgiving plans.

Consumer Decision Making Contest

Information, including dates and locations, for the 2008-2009 Consumer Decision Making Contest can be found on the CDM BLOG. Be sure to check occasionally for updates.

Hay Judging Workshop

A Hay Judging Workshop will be held tomorrow evening (Friday, Sept. 26) at 6:30 pm at the hay barn in Jacksonville. Sorry for the short notice, but I just found out about it.

**UPDATE**

The Hay Judging workshop was a great success! And for those of you who missed it, there is another chance at the next Lookout 4H meeting. DETAILS HERE.

Meeting Times

Footbridge 4H will meet on the THIRD Thursday of each month. Meetings will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Cherokee County Extension Office. Future meetings will be on the following dates:

October 16
November 20
December 18
January 15
February 19
March 19
April 23
May 21

County Hay Show and Sale Date Correction

The Country Hay Show and Sale will be held on October 23, NOT the 24th as noted in the calendar.

1st meeting

Footbridge 4H will meet Thursday, September 18 at 630pm at the County Extension Office.

Mandatory 4H Parents meeting

Mark your calendars: September 29, 2008. 7:00pm at the Cherokee County Electric Co-0p.
From the Cherokee County 4-H PALS blog:
"...there will be two mandatory meetings per year for ALL parents. The first will be held September 29th, 2008. All parents are required to be at the Orientation meeting for their children to participate this year. The second mandatory meeting will be held on January 26th 2009. " (emphasis added).

Please make sure you attend this meeting.