We're officially announced!

Hello Douglas County 4-H families!

We just announced our new blog in today's newsletter. Hopefully some of you are taking a look! You'll see that there are only a few entries so far. We were testing out the blog and learning what can be done, but from now on, you'll see at least two entries a week.

Right now, we are figuring out how to add a D.C. 4-H slideshow. Some of this is a learning curve for us, too, but we're excited to be utilizing new technologies for 4-H. We want everyone to know just how fantastic the Douglas County 4-H Program is.

You'll see a fun little poll in the right hand corner. Take a moment to vote! We'll change those every now and then. We could see some interesting results on a variety of topics over time.

Make a comment if you'd like. Blogs are all about interaction.

Thank you for reading! See you next time.

Melody, your blog host

Happy New Year!

Here it is a brand new year - 2008. Of course one of the most popular activities every January is the creation of New Year's Resolutions. For some, this quote is fitting: "A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. " (author unknown) Humorous and all too true for many of us at one time or another.

Even so, beginning a brand new year can be a wonderful reminder of all the successes and accomplishments of the year just past. It is a chance also to reflect on times when things did not go as planned, reminding us that we have a chance to do better, to go forward with lessons learned and renewed energy. I found another quote that reflects these ideas:

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

What words will you put onto the blank pages of the 4-H book of Opportunity?

In Douglas County, we want to continue expanding the program, especially focusing on the northern end of the county. Not only would we like to get more families interested in all that 4-H offers, but we would like to establish new clubs too.

Another goal we have in Douglas County is to use technology as an educational tool. This blog is one small step, and we plan to post educational presentations here for example. But there is even more happening in the national 4-H technology world that is cutting edge! Watch this blog for updates on these happenings.

So here's to the Douglas County 4-H Program! May we continue to grow and prosper.

Happy New Year!

Your blog host, Melody

New Scholarship Opportunity for Douglas County 4-H'ers

Community service is such a big part of 4-H, and we've noticed that DC 4-H'ers show real commitment to our community through a variety of service projects. As a way to reward dedicated 4-H members, a wonderful new $1,000 scholarship has been created this year. The Douglas County 4-H Foundation, in cooperation with Young Farmer's and Homemakers, will be awarding this scholarship to applicants who have committed a significant amount of time and effort toward community service projects. Academic performance is not a major criterion. More information on this fabulous opportunity will be added to our website by the end of December: http://www.douglascountyextension.org/.

We encourage you to take advantage of this new opportunity!

Your blog host, Melody

We have a great bunch of kids in Douglas County!

We may be just a bit biased, but here in Douglas County we feel we have the best bunch of 4-H kids ever. In fact, we just released a press release about our youth sending holiday cards to overseas troops. Take a look!

Douglas County 4-H Kids Send Holiday Cards to Troops

DOUGLAS COUNTY – Hoping to bring holiday cheer to American soldiers deployed overseas, Douglas County 4-H kids sent 368 holiday cards this year. Some were handmade and some were store bought, but all contained heartfelt notes for our troops.

“We strive to build a sense of service to others in the 4-H program. Showing support to our troops is one way for our youth to become aware of what’s happening in the world and to exercise compassion and service to others,” states Alexa Lamm, Douglas County 4-H Agent.

Last year, the 4-H program sent over 400 cards and received several notes back from soldiers who could not be with their families over the holidays.

4-H member Shelby Cunningham, 16, has a personal interest in supporting the troops. Her cousin, recently returned, spent a year in Iraq. “I’m proud to be an American. I enjoyed writing cards to the troops,” said Shelby. “I think it’s important to support them all the time. When we sent supplies to my cousin, we also sent extras so that she could hand them out to other soldiers in need”.

Douglas County 4-H will continue this tradition and plans to send even more holiday cards next year.

Your blog host, Melody

Welcome to the Douglas County 4-H Blog

Hello everybody!







We are finally up and running on our new Douglas County (CO) 4-H Program blog. For those that have been involved in our program, you've noticed that we share program and club information by newsletter, email, and website. Those are still your best sources of information for deadlines, club requirements, contests, fair, upcoming meetings, events, etc.

This blog will be a more casual friendly way to share some of that information, but mostly it is a way for our community to connect. We'll share youth development concepts, success stories, national trends in 4-H, cool things other states are doing - you get the drift.

Blogs by their very nature encourage sharing and comments. We want to keep this positive and upbeat, a fun and safe environment for us to share experiences, wisdom, humor, and generally discuss what a great program 4-H is.

We'll update this blog at least once a week. If we're feeling especially chatty, we'll post more often!

Thanks for reading!

Your blog host, Melody