Author Archives: cmsutph

Director’s Update May 2014

Posted on May 23, 2014 by cmsutph

It was nice to see so many of you at the VESA conference this week. Congratulations to all who received awards for their outstanding work! I vividly remember, as an agent, how busy spring schedules are with contests, livestock shows, community service projects, finishing up school clubs, and preparing for camp. I hope that you can take a little time this holiday weekend to relax and enjoy time with family and friends. Here are a few updates which I hope you will find helpful.

State 4-H Congress plans are coming together nicely. Our numbers are up well over 100 and we are thrilled with the response for our 4-H Celebration scheduled for June 18^th. We can’t wait to welcome you, your volunteers, and all the outstanding teens to campus!

Virginia 4-H License Plates – Please share the news: we are taking orders for the new Virginia 4-H license plate! Virginia 4-H is seeking a revenue sharing plate. Once the minimum sales requirement has been met, revenue will be used to fund scholarships for 4-H members. We must have 450 orders complete with payment before it can be introduced in the General Assembly. The unit that collects the most orders will receive a $500 programming grant, the second most will receive $400 in programming funds, and 3-5th place will receive $250. Check out the Virginia 4-H Blog for more information, a graphic, and the form.

4-H Centers – 4-H camp is one of our primary delivery modes. Camping enables us to introduce new programs which can be extended back in the units and vice versa. Camp can also excite and motivate young people to become more involved in 4-H. Our dedicated, enthusiastic summer staff has been trained and is ready to go! This year when youth arrive at the 4-H Centers they will find that our center faculty/staff have been hard at work preparing to host them. Check out the Virginia 4-H Blog to see the facility upgrades made this year!

Save the Dates! Virginia 4-H and North Carolina 4-H have won the bid to host the 2014 National 4-H Shooting Education Certification Training. The program will be held November 3-7, 2014 at the Eastern North Carolina 4-H Center. This provides an outstanding opportunity for Virginia agents and volunteers to be certified to train other adults. For the past several years, we have only been able to send a few folks to the training. Watch for more information to follow and special thanks to Jinx Baney for submitting on our behalf and her outstanding leadership of the Virginia 4-H Shooting Education Program.

Virginia 4-H Innovative Programming Awards – Each year, the Virginia 4-H Foundation awards $1,000 programming awards to agents who are developing or expanding innovative programs. Please consider submitting a proposal by filling out the application and returning it to me by June 11, 2014. Awards will be announced at State 4-H Congress. The application can be found on the Virginia 4-H Blog.

It addition, the Virginia 4-H Foundation will offer a Revolving Programming Award. This award will use the same application format but will be available in the event that a highly innovative program emerges during the 4-H programming year and there is a documented funding need to support the effort.

The 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development was recently published in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Please take a few minutes to read the attached article. This research highlights the need for the establishment and support of 4-H clubs which enable our youth to be retained in the program and be exposed to positive youth development programming over time.

Bowers et al.JYA.2014.Intro to special issue of 4-H Study and PYD.

4-H Finances – I understand that the transition of 4-H funds over the past few years has been a difficult one. We are interested in gathering input that could be useful as we continually work to improve the processes that we have put into place. We will be having a phone conversation with the 4-H DPLT members in the near future to discuss both Club and Foundation accounts. Should you have input, please share with one of your DPLT district members. I also understand that some groups feel misled since we are not allowing additional groups to apply for independent 501c3 status even though we initially thought that this would be permissible. Upper administration believes that our current structure ensures appropriate stewardship the resources obtained in the name of 4-H. With that said, we are committed to making the existing system work effectively and efficiently for you and your volunteers. Should you have 4-H Foundation questions, please contact Amanda Lucas. Please direct other 4-H financial questions through your DAA who will contact the state office as needed.

CYFERnetSEARCH.org I would like to draw your attention to an outstanding resource for 4-H Program Evaluation. This site is interactive and will assist you in building your own evaluations, using existing evaluations, and using the 4-H Common Measures. Check it out!

2014 4-H Foundation Innovative Programming Award Applications Being Accepted

Posted on May 23, 2014 by cmsutph

Each year, the Virginia 4-H Foundation awards $1,000 programming awards to agents who are developing or expanding innovative programs. Please consider submitting a proposal by filling out the application and returning it to cmsutph@vt.edu by June 11, 2014. Awards will be announced at State 4-H Congress. The application can be found on the Virginia 4-H Blog.

Application:

2014 4h foundation innovative programming award application

2014 4-H Center Upgrades and Renovations

Posted on May 23, 2014 by cmsutph

This summer when youth arrive at 4-H camp, they will find numerous improvements. Every center has been hard at work getting ready for more than 15,000 Virginia 4-H members who will attend one of the six 4-H centers this summer. Check out the pictures for a sample of the work.

Northern 4-H Center

Skelton 4-H Center

Airfield 4-H Center

Southwest 4-H Center

Jamestown 4-H Center

Holiday Lake 4-H Center

2013 Virginia 4-H Foundation Innovative Programming Awards

Posted on May 9, 2013 by cmsutph

We are pleased to announce the 2013 Virginia 4-H Foundation Innovative Programming Awards program. The Virginia 4-H Foundation Innovative Programming Awards will be awarded on a competitive basis to ten 4-H faculty. Each award will be $1,000 and will be used to develop and implement innovative 4-H programming efforts. In addition, the selected faculty members will be assigned an iPad. Previous iPad recipients will have the option to select another piece of supporting technology equipment at the same or lower cost of an iPad. It is expected that iPad or other technology equipment will be incorporated into the proposed innovative program. Training will be provided in the use of the technology. All 4-H faculty members are eligible to apply including 4-H center faculty.

Applications will be accepted through June 5, 2013 and the awards will be presented at State 4-H Congress.

Faculty receiving awards will be expected to submit a story and 4 pictures to the VCE Success site summarizing program outcomes/impacts, and technology usage related to the funded program.

4-H Foundation Innovative Programming Award Application 2013

Submit one-page application to Cathy Sutphin at cmsutph@vt.edu by June 5, 2013.

Faculty name(s):

Unit(s):

4-H Foundation Account Name (where the award will be transferred):

Name of the proposed project:

Narrative outlining the proposed project: include need, implementation plans, proposed partners, target audience, any funds that will be leveraged, anticipated outcomes, and a proposed evaluation plan.

What are your ideas concerning the incorporation of ipad technology within this program and other programming efforts in your unit?

2013 Virginia 4-H Foundation After-School Innovative Programming Awards

Posted on May 9, 2013 by cmsutph

We are pleased to announce the 2013 Virginia 4-H Foundation After-School Innovative Programming Awards program. The Virginia 4-H Foundation After-School Innovative Programming Awards will be awarded on a competitive basis to ten 4-H faculty. Each award will be $1,000 and will be used to develop and implement innovative 4-H programming efforts in an after-school setting. All 4-H faculty members are eligible to apply including 4-H center faculty. The money used to support this program was made available through the National 4-H Council partnership with JC Penny stores in Virginia.

Applications will be accepted through June 5, 2013 and the awards will be presented at State 4-H Congress.

Faculty receiving awards will be expected to submit a story and 4 pictures to the VCE Success site summarizing program outcomes/impacts related to the funded program.

4-H Foundation Innovative After-School Programming Award Application

2013

Submit one-page application to Cathy Sutphin at cmsutph@vt.edu by June 5, 2013.

Faculty name(s):

Unit(s):

4-H Foundation Account Name (where the award will be transferred):

Name of the proposed project:

Virginia 4-H/Dominion Electric Energy Innovative Program Awards

Posted on May 7, 2013 by cmsutph

Energy focused STEM Innovative Programming Awards: Eight $1,000 Awards will be presented during the 2013 State 4-H Congress

Project Partners:

The Dominion Foundation
Virginia 4-H & Virginia 4-H Foundation

Overview:

To create an ongoing, high quality, statewide, electric energy program, which builds upon the existing 4-H electric project, Virginia 4-H needs to create additional opportunities for increased knowledge, life skill development, and career awareness. Dominion power is investing $10,000 in the development of a more comprehensive Virginia 4-H energy program.

Implementation:

Faculty members are encouraged to develop programs covering energy, electrical safety, energy careers, and energy conservation.

A request for proposals, for eight $1,000 programming awards, will be distributed to the 107 county/city 4-H programs statewide in addition to the six 4-H educational centers located across the state. The top eight submissions will each receive $1,000 to develop and implement the program outlined in their application. It is also acceptable for two agents in a district to partner in developing a program and thus receive $2,000. Upon completion of the project, the award winning programs will be showcased during State 4-H Congress and Virginia Cooperative Extension’s annual in-service conference. This will provide an avenue to encourage adoption of new programming ideas by other agents.

In addition, funds will be provided to a team of agents and specialists resulting in the development of the Virginia 4-H Electric Challenge competition. In addition, funds will be provided to a team of agents and specialists to develop the Virginia

4-H Electric Challenge, designed to be an annual event. $2,000 will be used to aid in the development of project materials, competition guidelines, an incentive plan, and conducting of the first Virginia 4-H Electric Challenge. This contest will be designed to give 4-H members enrolled in the 4-H Electric program an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of energy, careers related to energy, the efficient use of electricity, care, maintenance, and safety of electrical equipment and apparatus found in the home. It is anticipated that the contest would include: a written examination; the identification of electrical equipment and/or parts of the equipment that are found in the home, including electrical and electronic symbols; a practical wiring exercise; and a demonstration/illustrated talk. Those interested in serving on the state development team, please submit your name and why you are interested to Cathy Sutphin by June 5, 2013.

4-H Foundation/Dominion Energy Focused STEM Grants

To apply, submit one-page application to Cathy Sutphin at cmsutph@vt.edu by June 5, 2013. Faculty members are encouraged to develop programs covering energy, electrical safety, energy careers, and energy conservation. Award winners will be required to submit a summary of work completed along with pictures.

Faculty name(s):

Unit(s):

4-H Foundation Account Name (where the award will be transferred):

Name of the proposed project:

Welcome to The Virginia 4-H Blog

Posted on March 27, 2013 by cmsutph

Hello Everyone. Welcome to the Virginia 4-H blog “Virginia Clovers”. My hope is that our blog will provide a consistent means of communication and hopefully cut down on the email overload that you experience. Please plan to visit frequently.

It is truly an exciting time for Virginia 4-H. We recently brought our agents with less than two years of service together for training and sharing. It was wonderful to see 33 enthusiastic, passionate, new colleagues share, learn, and build lasting relationships. I want to thank everyone who is working hard to support and encourage this group of professionals as we work together to provide outstanding developmental opportunities for more than 195,000 youth across Virginia.

Plans for State 4-H Congress are well underway with many exciting opportunities for teen 4-H members. This year, we will be offering competition workshops for delegates who are not competing but would like to learn more about competition areas. The Great Summer Showcase workshops are better every year being taught by enthusiastic, highly qualified, faculty members. The State 4-H Office has set program quality goals and for increasing the number of delegates and units participating in Congress. Plan to join us!

A team of 4-H Agents and Specialists met to begin the 4-H strategic planning process. The group, facilitated by Dr. Barbara Board, spent a day discussing challenges, opportunities, and action plans as they relate to Focus Area III of the VCE Strategic Plan. Team members have the meeting notes as well as Proposed Impact Planning Teams related to 4-H. Team members will be soliciting additional input. In addition, the State VCE programming team will be proposing additional Impact Planning Teams that will need youth development input and participation.

Many thanks to the 4-H strategic planning team members: Jinx Baney, Mellissa Breen, Nicole Clem, Celeste Crisman, Kaci Daniel, Sam Fisher, Sonya Furgurson, Brian Hairston, Sherri Jackson, Kathleen Jamison, Amanda Lucas, Danielle Jones, Katie Lafon, Mike Martin, Sarah Morton, Lenah Nguyen, Crystal Peek, Tonya Price, Leslie Prillaman, Sandy Shortridge, and Glenda Snyder. The group had open, honest discussion and developed positive action items that I believe will enable us to implement the youth portion of the VCE Strategic plan in an effective manner. When called upon, please share additional ideas that you may have to improve upon the draft document.

Lastly, I want to thank each of you for taking the time to fill out the 4-H program unit summary sheet. If you have not yet hit the submit button to send it to the state office, please do so as soon as possible. Just as you have used the document to set local goals, we would like to use the data to set statewide goals and to assess areas where more training and resources may be needed.

Cathy

Cathy M. Sutphin, PhD

Associate Director, 4-H