When does the 4-H Program rest? That is a great question that I do not know the answer to. When most people think about 4-H they think of the fair. Once the fair is over then 4-H is done for the year right? Nope, not at all! This is a year-long program. We have some crazy times and some sane periods, but we don’t stop. We are still rolling and planning here at the Wayne County OSU Extension office. The phones have been quieter, and the door doesn’t open as much as in the summer months, but this time of year is a different busy.
The 2024 Recognition Banquet is right around the corner - November 14, 2024. The Award Committee has met, the calculations and decisions have been made for those that have applied. The awards are being ordered and coming in down at the Junior Fair Board Office. Our Junior Fair Secretary has been busy making sure everything ordered is as it should be. Invitations have been sent and reservations have been made. Decorations are being ordered; the caterer has been finalized through the Recognition Banquet 4-H Advisory Committee. Our office is still scheduling meetings and working alongside our volunteers to have a great banquet. We are expecting around 500 people to attend, from our volunteers, 4-H youth, their families and friends. What a pleasure it is to see the amount of support our youth have from this community.
What is coming in 2025? We are working on that too! Families are working on scheduling their vacations, camping trips, and sporting events. Here in our office, we are working on putting together the 4-H calendar. From the Quality Assurance dates, Skillathon dates, camp counselor training dates, the Food and Fashion Board Style Revue, to the clinic dates that our Action Committees are starting to plan.
Want to volunteer? Applications online now
This is time to apply to be a new volunteer in the 4-H program. Starting November 1, 2024 the New 4-H Volunteer Application will be up on the website, these applications will be due December 1, 2024. For anyone who is not currently a 4-H volunteer but have thought about getting involved, now is the time to jump into the fun! We need to be sure the adults that are working alongside our 4-H youth have passed a screening process so we are mandated to complete all these steps by our State Office. The screening process consists of an application, reviewing references, an interview with the potential volunteer, background checks, an in-person orientation, along with a county update training and an enrollment into our 4HOnline system. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and would like to know more about this process don’t hesitate to contact our office or look on our website, wayne.osu.edu.
This is just a snippet of what our office is up to these days now that the 2024 Wayne County Fair is over, and the fairgrounds are quiet and empty. We are diligently working with our committee volunteers, planning the dates and times for the fairgrounds to be busy and full again. We look forward to seeing the volunteers and 4-H youth at our Recognition Banquet and introducing new volunteers for the coming year into our program.
Diane Johnson is program assistant, 4-H Youth Development, for Wayne County Extension. She can be reached at johnson.9505@osu.edu or 330-264-8722
This article was previously published in The Daily Record.