Junior Master Gardener Training Workshop - The Reno County Extension Office will be hosting a Junior Master Gardener Training Workshop March 20 from 9am-4pm. This workshop is open to all Extension Agents, Master Gardeners, Teachers, and Volunteers interested in starting a Junior Master Gardener program.

Discovery Days And Discovery Days Caucus - A unique happening is taking place this summer! Under the merged leadership of a group of county extension staff and the Discovery Days Action Team, a three-day educational conference known as Discovery Days and Discovery Days Caucus will take place June 4-6. "Color Your Future" is the theme for this conference.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION - Registration materials will be sent to all extension offices on or before Monday, March 17th, from Al Davis, Johnson County 4-H Youth Development Agent. You will also be able to access and download these materials from the State 4-H Youth Development website.

Please note that there is a very short period of time before registrations, housing forms, and one check for all fees are due in the State 4-H Office: April 25th!!!

DISCOVERY DAYS SCHEDULE - You'll note that the schedule for June 4-5th looks very similar to past years --- lots of outstanding classes during the day, evening activities on campus, opportunities to meet people from across the state, and have fun in the process. Emerald Circle activities will take place the evening of June 5th.

Then, the schedule takes on a new twist with the Discovery Days Caucus, which will be an incredibly unique event, where participants will have an opportunity to be engaged in "Coloring The Future of Discovery Days"! It will be fast-paced, action-packed, fun, interactive and trend-setting. The Caucus begins at 4:00 pm on Thursday, June 5th and concludes at 2:00 pm on Friday. Thursday evening after supper we'll head to the Union, where we'll have tons of fun with Playfair activities, mixers, and initiative challenges. Then, you can play billards, go bowling or swimming and even kick up your heels at the dance!

We get down to serious business (but it'll be fun!) on Friday morning, as Eric Chester, our keynote speaker, will be challenging us with information pertaining to "The Generation Why". Check out his website http://www.generationwhy.com for more details about this fascinating topic and begin to think of all the possible ramifications for what this means for our campus-based teen summer conference (as well as all of our youth educational programs). By the way, this is the third time that Eric has been a keynote presenter at Discovery Days. He's a top-notch professional educator and loves 4-H!

Following Eric's presentation, focus groups will be formed to respond to a given set of questions. The foundation for these questions will be based upon the "Generation Why" information as well as the summary highlights from the State and National Conversations, which took place last year. Participants will be actively engaged in responding to the questions, which will provide the framework for what this event could and should look like for the next 5 years!

All of this takes place on Friday, from 9:00am until 2:00 pm in the Student Union. Plus, you'll get to eat lunch at an eatery of your choice in the Union ($5 limit). The Caucus Finale takes place from 1-2:00 pm in Forum Hall.

Wow! That means that youth and adult participants have a unique opportunity to help design a most powerful educational conference!

Full time registration fee (Wed - Fri) is $110.  Knowing that schedules are busy for teens during this week, there's an option to register only for the Caucus (Thursday-Friday), with the $55 fee covering lodging, 3 meals, and program expenses. And, for those who can get there for only the Friday activities, the $20 fee covers lunch and program expenses.

National Volunteer Week, April 27-May 3 - Now, more than ever, we must take the time to appropriately  recognize our 4-H volunteers for the endless investments they make for the 4-H program at the local, county, area, and state levels.

Take advantage of this special week in April to publicly recognize your volunteers. Work in partnership with other volunteer-based programs in your county and do a big splash together to recognize the volunteerism ethic in your communities. Recognition information and ideas galore can be found on the State 4-H Youth Development Website. In addition, there are numerous websites and catalogs that provide many creative ideas, materials and supplies that might be of interest to you.

A fun one to check out is: www.positivepromotions.com
Volunteer Week Recognition Packet (a project of the North Central Regional 4-H Volunteer Development Specialists)

www.4-H.uiuc.edu/events/event018.html

The Foundation Center
www.fndcenter.org/

Internet Nonprofit Center
www.nonprofits.org/

Nonprofit Resource Catalogue
www.clark.net/pub/pwalker;home.html

Volunteer and Volunteer Management Resources
www.halcyon.com/penguin/svm.html

Association for Volunteer Administration
www.avaintl.org

Energize!
www.energizeinc.com

Points of Light
www.pointsoflight.org

Merrill Associates/Training and Consulting
www.merrillassoc.com

SUGGESTED KANSAS MARKET MEAT GOAT SHOW GUIDELINES - The following Guidelines are suggested for those counties that are interested in holding Market Meat Goat Shows at their county fairs.  Remember that these are suggested and may be modified to meet your counties, specific needs.

1. OWNERSHIP & ID. Market Goats should be individually owned by the exhibitor and identified by an ear tag or tattoo, preferably an official state 4-H sanctioned ear tag.

2. ELIGIBILITY. Wether and doe kids will be allowed to show in market classes.

3. WEIGHT. Market animals will be weighed upon arrival at the show and divided into classes by weight. Priority is to provide maximum equity for all exhibitors. There is no minimum or maximum weight requirement.

4. AGE. Temporary incisors must be in place and there should be no evidence of breaking of the skin or eruption of permanent incisors.

5. HORNS. Dehorning is preferred. If not dehorned, the horns must be tipped prior to arrival on the grounds.

6. HAIR. Market Goats must be slick shorn above the knees and hocks.

7. RESTRAINTS. Use of halters, collars or chains is allowed in the show ring.

8. SHOWMANSHIP. Exhibitors are not allowed to lift front legs of goats off the ground or brace the animal during examination by the judge.

Kansas 4-H expects to host a counterpart each for Erin and Janna (possibly from Costa Rica and Northern Ireland) for six months from late June through November, with 2-3 weeks per family. We will also host two of the six incoming Norwegian
4-H’ers June 25-August 2. Two families will be needed for each Norwegian teen.

Now is the time to encourage 4-H families to host an IFYE this summer or fall. There has not been a time in the last half century when interpersonal relationships and global understanding were needed  more in our world. Encourage families who haven’t hosted before to try this two-three week experience. The family members, their 4-H club, the community and your county program can all benefit. Families provide room, meals, and transportation for the exchangee and they can learn about another culture while building a friendship with a young person and family in a distant land. They will be encouraged to begin e-mail communications as soon as they are approved to host.

We hope county Extension staff will work with Kansas IFYE alumni to make IFYE exchanges safe and successful in 2003. Recruit solid families to apply. Help us meet new national guidelines for in home interviews with prospective host families and help include inbound IFYE’s in 4-H and other Extension programs. After Hannah returns in August, she’s expected to make 25 presentations, and Janna and Erin are to make 50 each upon their return in December. Book them before they leave for upcoming meetings of your groups.

Minute Maid Junior Master Gardener Garden Tool Set Offer and Child Garden Giveaway Contest – Minute Maid and the nationwide Junior Master Gardener program are giving away ($2.95 for shipping and handling) 5,000 co-branded, high quality gardening tool sets until May 15, 2003, or while supplies last. To receive the set, children, 12 years of age or younger, must send in a hand-drawn picture of the garden they want to grow along with $2.95 for shipping and handling. These pictures also are automatically entered into the Minute Maid JMG Child Garden Giveaway Contest, where one grand-prize winner will be selected by a celebrity gardener to win gardening supplies (approximate retail value $500.), which can be used to grow their favorite garden.

In conjunction with the Children’s Better Health Institute (CBHI), JMG and Minute Maid will place three "advertorials" that support the program’s components in seven CBHI national children’s magazines, such as Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, and US Kids. The Saturday Evening Post will also run "advertorials" during the three-month campaign. A television advertising campaign promoting the Minute Maid JMG Garden Tool Set Offer and Child Garden Giveaway Contest will be aired on the Home & Garden TV channel.