The Burney 4H held their first community meeting of the 2016-2017 school year at the Burney High School Library on October 5.
More than 100 men women and children filled the room. Thirty new members signed up.
Burney 4H Club President Harper Tate presided over the meeting assisted by other club officers.
Numerous members gave reports of awards they had won at the Inter-Mountain Fair. All together, Burney 4H students won a total of 17 medals at this year’s County Fair.
Several of the students had attended Achievement Day and reported on their experience. The officers recounted their experience at a Leadership Program where they were trained to fulfill their responsibilities as club officers.
4H includes children and teens from kindergarten through high school, ages 4-18. Membership fees are $58 for members and $38 for adult volunteers. Members can participate in a wide range of different projects led by 4H volunteer leaders.
This year’s projects include Project Recon and Astronomy Projects, Shooting Sports, Honey Bees, STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math), Poultry, Health Community Project, Rabbits, White Recycling, Sewing, Swine, Sheep, Record Keeping, and Food.
Michael von Schalscha explained that Recon gives students a chance to participate in “real science.” They will be working as part of a joint project linking a network of over 54 telescope sites stretching from Oroville, Washington to Yuma, Arizona searching for trans-Neptunian objects. New discoveries may be documented and credited in scientific journals.
The project leaders set the schedule for each project depending on what they are doing. The whole club meets for a community meeting on the first Wednesday of every month except for September and January.
The mission of 4H is “engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development.”
In the United States it is administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The 4 H’s are ‘head, heart, hands, and health’
It’s motto is:
I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
My heart to greater loyalty,
My hands to larger service,
and my health to better living,
for my club, my community, my country, and my world.