Do you have a local volunteer that has served on your local foundation board and has been instrumental in developing fundraising ideas to support 4-H?

Do you know of a volunteer that has been key in raising funds to support 4-H?

Do you have a local person that is not afraid of asking others to support 4-H?

If so, your help is needed...but you might not have to do all the work yourself! Read on...

The Illinois 4-H Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2013 Larry Fischer Leadership and Spirit Award! Learn more about the award and who Larry Fischer is by visiting: http://4hfoundation.illinois.edu/larryfischer/intro

You could:

• forward this information to your local Foundation members and encourage the Foundation board to select a nominee and complete the application
• brainstorm potential county nominees at a staff meeting and identify someone (staff or volunteer) to complete the application
• share the information with other (4-H) committees in the county such as 4-H Youth Committee, Expansion & Review Committee, etc. for potential nominees and assistance in the process

This award was created to honor an individual that has significantly contributed to the local county and/or local county foundation's fundraising success!

Nomination Information:

Nominations Due: **Extended to May 15 (disregard the May 1 deadline on website and forms)**

Nominees must have served on the county 4-H or Extension foundation board or in a similar volunteer role as a fundraiser for county 4-H or Extension programs.

The person nominating the volunteer should print and complete the following application (Larry Fischer Application) and return it along with the following:

• A letter of nomination, which includes the nominee's:
• Significant contributions to the county's 4-H and/or Extension fundraising efforts
• List of outstanding professional accomplishments
• Notable contributions in citizenship and community service
• Other notable honors, special recognitions, civic and volunteer activities, and philanthropic interests
• Three (3) letters of support that focus on the individual's fundraising activity and successes
• Biographical sketch/description of career accomplishments (a résumé or curriculum vitae are also acceptable)

This award will be presented on campus on September 6 at the I-Hotel and Conference Center. Thanks in advance for your consideration! We hope you will nominate a deserving individual!

The Illinois 4-H Foundation welcomes your participation in honoring extraordinary members of our 4-H family by submitting their name for the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame.

Deadline for submission is: May 1, 2013!

Although we strongly encourage it, inductees are not required to attend the State Fair ceremony (this year's event will be Saturday, August, 10) so please do not let that be the reason you do not choose to submit someone that deserves the recognition–we will mail you the medallion and you can honor them locally.

The Illinois 4-H Foundation has some basic criteria and procedures that we would like you to review before making your selection:

• Each unit may select ONE honoree per county annually. This selection can be done directly by the County Director, the unit's professional staff team, the unit leader can appoint a selection committee, or consult with a local board.
• We prefer honorees to be living; however, the individual need not currently reside in your county(ies) or even within the state of Illinois. Please contact us if you want to consider inducting someone posthumously; we want these inductees to be "exceptions" to the rule. We would at least need to have a family member identified to accept the recognition.
• Your honoree should either be a former 4-H member in your respective county(ies), a current or former 4-H volunteer or supporter, or a past 4-H or Extension staff member. Current employees of University of Illinois Extension are not eligible.
• In mid-May, the Illinois 4-H Foundation will send a congratulatory letter to your county's inductee (with a copy to the respective County Director and nominator) and invite them to save-the-date of the Illinois 4-H Family Event at the State Fair on Saturday, August 10, 2013, where all inductees in attendance will be recognized as a group during the program. A formal invitation will follow the first week of July.
• Inductees that attend the event will receive their medallion at that time. The medallions for the inductees that do not attend the event will be mailed to the county/unit office by the end of September.
• We encourage you to also recognize your county's Hall of Fame inductee at a local event or 4-H achievement program sometime this fall.
• You must provide a high quality digital photo (color preferred) of the inductee when submitting the honoree information. The high quality head & shoulders digital photo should be emailed to us at: illinois4hfoundation@illinois.edu
• The submission form must be completed by May 1st at: http://4hfoundation.illinois.edu/hall_of_fame (click the BLUE link at the bottom of this page)

Source: Dan Jennings, University of Illinois, 4-H Livestock Specialist

November 28, 2012

Illinois 4-H Livestock Skillathon Team places 7^th at National Contest

The Illinois State 4-H Livestock Skillathon Team placed 7^th in the nation recently at the National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest. The contest was held in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville KY. Team members included Dan Ammann, Highland; Devin Ammann, Highland; Brandon Butcher, Blue Mound; and Dylon Sigrist, Farina, IL.

The National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest is a premier event of education and competition for youth involved in livestock production programs. The Illinois team placed 1^st in Evaluation, 3^rd in Quality Assurance, 12^th in Identification of meats, breeds, and equipment, and 7^th overall.

Individual honors went to Dan Ammann for placing 8^th in Evaluation and 10^th in Quality Assurance. Sigrist finished 2^nd in Evaluation and Butcher placed 11^th in Quality Assurance individually. The team was coached by Steve Austin. Thank you to the Illinois 4-H Foundation and the Illinois State 4-H program for their team sponsorship.

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Sixteenth Annual Horse Superior Young Producer Contest Results

Debra J. Hagstrom, M.S.

Youth Extension Specialist, horse

University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana

On July 26, during the Illinois State Junior Horse Show, the sixteenth annual Superior Young Producer Award (SYPA) contest was held. Participants competed for five, $1,000 scholarships to the college or university of their choice. These scholarships have been generously sponsored this year by Archer-Daniel's-Midland (Decatur). The twenty-one youth horse enthusiasts who competed in this year's contest began the competition by judging two halter classes and two performance classes. Judging classes included Arabian halter, stock type mare conformation, saddleseat pleasure and stock type western pleasure. Contestants then took a written test and completed ten skillathon stations.

Plaques were given to the top three individuals in each event (judging, written exam, and stations). The top five individuals overall earned a $1,000 scholarship to the post-secondary education institution of their choice. To participate, these individuals were either a 4-H or FFA member in good standing, meeting all eligibility requirements. In addition, they were required to be between the ages of 14 and 19 according to 4-H or FFA rules.

The top 3 individuals earning plaques in the judging phase of the contest were:

1^st Andrew Mathis, Shelby County

2^nd Zoe Underwood, Knox County

3^rd Marissa Boster, Sangamon County

The top 3 individuals earning plaques in the written phase of the contest were:

1^st Rachael Webber, Monroe County

2^nd Zoe Underwood, Knox County

3^rd Laura Ganvik, McHenry County

The top 3 individuals earning plaques in the stations phase of the contest were:

1^st Marissa Boster, Sangamon County

2^nd Zoe Underwood, Knox County

3^rd Rachael Webber, Monroe County

The top 5 individuals overall who will receive a $1000 college scholarship in addition to a plaque were:

1^st Zoe Underwood, Knox County

2^nd Marissa Boster, Sangamon County

3^rd Rachael Webber, Monroe County

4^th Taylor Dashiell, Clark County

5^th Andrew Mathis, Shelby County

Congratulations to the scholarship recipients for doing an outstanding job of demonstrating their comprehensive horse knowledge. In addition, credit should be given to those who excelled in a particular phase of the contest. Furthermore, appreciate is extended to all of the Junior show exhibitors that volunteered to provide horses for the judging phase of the contest. This year we had some especially high quality judging classes. Finally, the scholarship sponsors are thanked for their generous support.

Click here for full article with color photo

August 24, 2012 Extension Dairy Educator, retired

618-224-7951

e-mail: dfischer@illinois.edu

2012 Superior Young Dairy Producer Award Winners

The 2012 Superior Young Dairy Producer Award (SYDPA) program was held August 18, at the Illinois State Fair. Twenty 4-H and FFA dairy project members from across Illinois took part in the event. The purpose of the contest is to create an educational activity that promotes youth development, career development, and personal growth through increased knowledge of the dairy industry. This three-phase competition, emphasizing the youth's knowledge of the dairy industry, awarded each of the top five overall participants with a $1,000 scholarship. The 2012 scholarship recipients were: Carol Baumann, Wyoming, IL (Stark County), Anna Folgate, Dakota, IL (Stephenson County), Kaleb Hoerbert, Delavan, IL (Logan County), Todd Irwin, Beason, IL (Logan County), and Daniel Obert, Orangeville, IL (Stephenson County).

The $5,000 in scholarships was sponsored by Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur, IL. Individual plaques were awarded to the "top 3" in each phase and the "top 5" overall winners. The Land of Lincoln Purebred Livestock Breeders Association and Illinois State Fair sponsored the plaques.

The first phase was a dairy management test relating to dairy nutrition, health, reproduction, milk marketing, and other dairy related information. Top three contestants for this phase were: Anna Folgate, Dakota, IL (Stephenson County), Daniel Obert, Orangeville, IL (Stephenson County), and Meredith Ziller, Huntley, IL (McHenry County).

The second phase was a three station skill-a-thon on various aspects of the dairy industry. Contestants had to identify dairy feeds, identify parts of the cow, and identify dairy equipment. The top three contestants in the skill-a-thon were: Carol Baumann, Wyoming, IL (Stark County), Kaleb Hoerbert, Delavan, IL (Logan County), and Joshua Laesch, Greenville, IL (Bond County).

The third phase of the Superior Young Dairy Producer Contest was a judging contest. The judging phase consisted of animal selection by placing four classes of dairy cows and two classes of heifers. The top three contestants for this phase were: Joshua Laesch, Greenville, IL (Bond County), Andrew Rice, Sheldon,IL (Iroquois, County), and Brett Woker, Greenville, IL (Bond County).

This year marked the 17^th consecutive year for the Superior Young Dairy Producer Award Program which has provided $85,000 in college scholarships to Illinois dairy youth since its inception. Participants must be 4-H or FFA dairy project members in Illinois. The program is developed and coordinated by Dave Fischer, University of Illinois Retired Extension Dairy Educator.

Click here for full article and color photo

August 22, 2012

News Source: Daniel Jennings, 815-218-4358, djjennin@illinois.edu

2012 Superior Young Beef Producer Award winners announced

The 2012 Illinois Superior young Beef Producers Award Contest was held on August 8^th in conjunction with the Illinois State Fair. Twenty-four 4-H and FFA members from across Illinois competed in the event. This is a three phase competition challenging the young people's knowledge of beef production. $1,000 scholarships are presented each year to the five, highest scoring individuals over all. The contest is sponsored by Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur, and the Illinois State fair. The land of Lincoln Purebred Livestock Breeders Association supplies the individual plaques presented to the scholarship and phase winners.

The top five youth receiving $1,000 scholarships include: Joesph Ring of Oregon, Tyler Pokojski of Centralia, Kaylie Huizenga of Morrison, Rochelle Meteer of Blue Mound, and Sarah Moore of Jerseyville, IL

In the beef management test, Ring, Moore, and Pokojski sorted themselves to the top and received plaques for their achievements. In the skill-a-thon phase, Ring, Meteer, and Huizenga took home the highest honors. In the Judging competition, Kendi Sayre of Arenzville, Ring and Olivia Claire of Watseka made up the top three.

Dan Jennings, University of Illinois Extension Specialist 4-H Livestock, said, "This contest provides youth an opportunity to showcase their knowledge of the industry while competing for valuable scholarships to help them pursue their career goals."

This year marked the 16^th consecutive year for the Superior Young beef Producers Contest which has provided participating youth the opportunity to compete for $80,000 in college scholarships since its inception. The purpose of the contest is to create an educational activity that promotes youth development, career development, and personal growth through increased knowledge of the beef industry.

For full article and color photo click here.

You and your local 4-H families are invited to celebrate 4-H at the Illiniois State Fair on Saturday, August 11 from 4-6 PM! The event will be held on the Director of Agriculture's Lawn.

Come and enjoy free ice cream and help us honor the following individuals:
--2012 Hall of Fame Class
--The Joseph F. and Wilma Ratermann Family from Clinton County as the 2012 Family Spirit winners
--Legacy of Leadership Scholars
--Our Illinois 4-H Project Partners
--and new this year our State Fair Online winners

Click here to register! We hope to see you there!

A free will donation to support 4-H will be accepted.

Please promote this in your local county newsletters and Facebook pages!

The Illinois 4-H Foundation recently received a $4,500 grant as one of the annual charitable distributions from the 1^st Farm Credit Donor Advised Fund, established in 2010 through the IAA Foundation. The mission of the IAA Foundation is to fund education, research, and charitable activities that benefit Illinois farm families and agriculture.

With these funds, the Illinois 4-H Foundation is able to help provide the 4-H experience and develop future leaders through new 4-H Metro Clubs and assist the 4-H Youth Leadership Team with efforts throughout the state while they mentor younger 4-H members. 1^st Farm Credit's generosity will also allow the continued collaboration with Illinois 4-H as a Project Partner, focusing on providing experiences around science, engineering, and technology within all project areas.

To view full press release and photo: http://4hfoundation.illinois.edu/content/illinois-4-h-foundation-receives-gift