Discovery Days 2003  - Thanks to the dedicated energies, time and passion of several Extension agents and staff members, the 2003 Discovery Days conference was a huge success. It was a fantabulous experience to have everyone involved in the Discovery Days Caucus, where we heard the voices of teens as they provided many insightful ideas, suggestions and solutions for Discovery Days of the future.

To those who taught a class, we thank you!

To those who served as class hosts, field trip drivers, and evening activity hosts, we thank you!

To those who served as floor counselors, we thank you!

To those who assisted with the FACS Quiz Bowl and the first-ever Livestock Skillathon, we thank you!

To those who served as facilitators for the Friday Caucus Groups, we thank you!

To the office professionals who handled forms, monies, and data management, we thank you!

To those who served on the Discovery Days Action Team and on the Discovery Days Agent Committee, we thank you! Providing strong leadership to the effort include the following agents: Carl Garten, Pam Van Horn, Leroy Russell, Al Davis, Michele Perez, Beth Hecht, Rod Wallace, Robyn Swonger and Krista Harding.

Evaluations are being summarized and will be utilized by the Discovery Days Action Team and other planning groups for the 2004 Discovery Days. The 2004 dates are June 2-4.   Fultz

Crawford County Team is Victorious in State 4-H FCS Quiz Bowl -In a finals that pitted two Southeast area counties teams in the 2003 Kansas 4-H Family and Consumer Sciences Quiz Bowl, Crawford came out on top over runner-up Labette. In order to reach the finals, both counties firsted competitors from Marshall and Shawnee counties.

Held in venues of the College of Human Ecology, on June 5, the finals highlighted a day filled not just with competition but education, discovery and interaction with other participants, coaches, parents and the faculty and administrators. Beside individual and county glass trophies the top and runner-up teams are eligible for $250 scholarships if they enroll in the College of Human Ecology and Dr. Denis Medeiros, Head of Human Nutrition, offered an additional $50 Scholarship if they major in Human Nutrition. Crawford County also receives $300 toward an customized educational tour in Family & Consumer Sciences they will plan and take in the coming months.

Justin Hall was purple, white and green from the moment one entered any door and on every floor. Between rounds, participants and spectators were treated to action tours of the Stone House Child Development Center, the Universal Lab that assists students in understanding the needs of differently abled individuals, as well as the Sensory Testing lab where they helped participate in a small research project.

4-H Recognition System Review No Earlier than 2004 - This is to advise our system that while excellent input from Agents was received at 4-H Update Meetings during November of 2002, a comprehensive review of the 4-H recognition system including but not limited to a review of the Kansas Award Application (KAA) form and process, etc., will not occur at the earliest prior to calendar year 2004. In order to conduct a review that will meet the needs of young people for another 5, 10 or 15 years, the time is required to do it correctly with inclusive input from Agents, volunteers and youth participants and sufficient time for reaction and responses.

1. From the main page select in the left column "How to Participate".
2. On the next window select in the left column "Competitive Exhibitors".
3. In Competitive Exhibitors' window scroll down to the bottom to the category drop-     down box and select "4H, FFA & Scouts".
4. At the bottom of the page is a Document Download. Select the information you need; most of you probably will be selecting 4-H or 4-H/ FFA Combined. You can also choose to download the schedule of events.

Poultry Bands - Scott Beyer has provided some information where 4-H poultry members may obtain bands for their show birds. Members should be reminded that as birds grow the bands should be adjusted or replaced!

Lights On Afterschool - Join afterschool advocates across the country for the fourth annual Lights On Afterschool! on October 9, 2003. Be apart of this effort to save afterschool programs imperiled by funding cuts, while underscoring the need for quality afterschool programs for all children.

Lights On Afterschool! is a project of the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to afterschool programs by 2010. The Alliance is proud to be supported in their work by J.C. Penney Afterschool, the Lights On Afterschool! National Presenting Sponsor.

The Alliance also salutes the many Lights On Afterschool! partners and programs, in particular: 4-H, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Junior Achievement and the YMCA of the USA. Their participation makes Lights On Afterschool! a success.

4-H and 4-H Afterschool will celebrate Lights On Afterschool! across the nation on October 9 with many fun and exciting activities. 4-H Afterschool is a national initiative that provides extraordinary learning opportunities to school age youth in urban, suburban, and rural communities across America. The programs and resources available through 4-H Afterschool help youth achieve social, emotional, physical, and academic success while developing healthy lifestyles and behaviors.

"Lights On Afterschool! is a wonderful opportunity to showcase quality after school programming. Afterschool is unique because it benefits school age youth, parents, and communities by providing safe, educational, and enriching places for youth to go when their parents are working. I am happy that 4-H is a major partner in this effort. With Extension 4-H professionals located in every county in the country, we have tremendous resources to support after school work," said Eddie Locklear, Director of 4-H Afterschool.

Announcing a Fall 2003 State Shooting Sports Match - Due to tremendous growth in the 4-H Shooting Sports program across Kansas, the Shooting Sports Action Team has decided to provide two State Finals Matches during the 2003-2004 4-H year. The decision to divide the event came after lengthy deliberation. Both Finals events will identify Kansas 4-H's representatives to the National 4-H Shooting Sports Match to be held in Columbia, MO, in June 2004.

Since most Kansas communities do not have places close enough to one another capable of accommodating the varied disciplines, by splitting the finals between Fall and Spring Matches more counties will be able to be considered to host the event. Also, the intention is to make them one day events, rather than adding to the cost of participation with overnight lodging requirements for many contestants.

The Fall State Finals Match will include the following disciplines:
Shotgun
Small Bore Rifle
Small Bore Pistol
Muzzle Loading

The Fall 2003 State Finals Match will be held in Hutchinson, Kansas. The tentative dates being held are October 4 and October 11.

The Spring State Finals Match will include the following disciplines:
Archery
BB Guns
Air Rifle
Air Pistol

The Spring 2004 State Finals Match will be held in Emporia, Kansas. The tentative date being held is April 17, 2004.

Mark Your Calendars for 4-H Shooting Sports Events - The following dates relevant to the shooting sports project are provided for your advanced planning. Please communicate them to your county/district 4-H shooting sports coordinators.

July 2003: 7-11
National 4-H Shooting Sports Match, Whittington Center, New Mexico

October 2003: 4 or 11
Tentative dates, Kansas 4-H Fall Shooting Sports Finals Match for the following disciplines: Muzzle Loading, Small Bore Rifle, Small Bore Pistol, Shotgun.  Hutchinson, Kansas.

October 2003: 17-19
Kansas 4-H Fall Shooting Sports Instructor/Coordinator Certification Workshop, Meade, KS

March 2004: 26-28
Kansas 4-H Spring Shooting Sports Instructor/Coordinator Certification Workshop, (Location TBA)

April 2004: 17
Kansas 4-H Spring Shooting Sports Finals Match for the following disciplines: Archery, BB, Air Rifle, Air Pistol. Lyon County Fairgrounds, Emporia, KS.

June-July 2004: 28-2
National 4-H Shooting Sports Match, Columbia, Missouri

October 2004: 2
Kansas 4-H Fall Shooting Sports Finals Match for the following disciplines: Muzzle Loading, Small Bore Rifle, Small Bore Pistol, Shotgun (Location TBA)

October 2004: 14-16
Kansas 4-H Fall Shooting Sports Instructor/Coordinator Certification Workshop, (Location TBA)

March 2005:
Kansas 4-H Spring Shooting Sports Instructor/Coordinator Certification Workshop, (Date and Location TBA)

April 2005: 16 or 23 or 30
Kansas 4-H Spring Shooting Sports Finals Match for the following disciplines: Archery, BB, Air Rifle, Air Pistol. (Final Date and Location TBA)

June-July 2005: 27-1
National 4-H Shooting Sports Match, Columbia, Missouri

October 2005:
Kansas 4-H Fall Shooting Sports Finals Match for the following disciplines: Muzzle Loading, Small Bore Rifle, Small Bore Pistol, Shotgun (Date and Location TBA)

MarTech Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment Software - We have been studying our options regarding 4-H information management software for Kansas and have devised a plan that will provide the best continuity for our system. Up front, this is a pass down of costs to the counties/districts from the state, however, it is both elective and could be cost effective for the entire system if as many counties as possible agree to adopt this option. We have engaged the following groups in this conversation since December 2002: agents, county/district office professionals, State/Area Specialists and state office professionals.

MarTech has agreed to an ANNUAL pricing scale that includes ALL upgrades and technical service THROUGH THE STATE 4-H DEPARTMENT for their Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment Software. The ANNUAL price goes DOWN the more counties/districts that participate.

Here is the sliding scale of cost per total copies ordered within Kansas:

Above 85 counties - $47.00/county

76-85 counties - $52.00/county

66-75 counties - $58.00/county

56-65 counties - $63.00/county

46-55 counties - $68.00/county

36-45 counties - $75.00/county

26-35 counties - $80.00/county

16-25 counties - $85.00/county

11-15 counties - $90.00/county

1 -10 counties - $109.00/county

You may specify in your reply that your unit can only participate if the price is below a certain amount. We will check back with you after July 21, when we have additional information to share to confirm your decision.

2. Payment process: Do not send money now! The exact cost per copy will be determined by the count we have by the close of business on Monday, July 21, 2003.

This pricing scale is valid for two years: Year #1: Now through October 31, 2004; and Year #2: November 1, 2004 through October 31, 2005. Those counties/districts desiring to sign up will be committed for BOTH YEARS! Billing, however, will be done annually from the Department of 4-H Youth Development, once in July 2003 and again in July 2004. No copies will be released to units without payment in full.

If your Extension unit's budget is too tight, you might consider this as a legitimate expense for the 4-H (Events) Council or for a community sponsor/donor.

3. Site-licenses: The Department of 4-H Youth Development and MarTech will know which counties/districts have paid and received upgraded copies of the Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment software. Technical assistance requested to units using bootleg copies of upgrades will not be provided and Extension units without site licences will be subject to the penalties for software piracy as pursued by the manufacturer.

4. Private Contracting with MarTech - Individual Extension units thinking about making an individual contract with MarTech outside of this state package will be charged the full amount of $109.00 per year for upgrades and technical service.

5. Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment Software and Blue Ribbon Fair Software - Some local fairs in Kansas make use of the Blue Ribbon Fair Software and many Extension units have found that having a shared interface between the two software very advantageous in managing their 4-H divisions. It is our understanding that new upgrades of the Youth Enrollment Software will be required by future upgrades of Fair Software. If you have further questions regarding this, please have your local fair personnel contact MarTech directly.

6. Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment Software and Future ES-237 Reports - Although the Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment Software is designed as a year-round information management system for your Extension 4-H youth development programs, it has also been used to generate a county/district federal 4-H participation report, the ES-237. This report is submitted to the state annually and then aggregated and sent to National 4-H Headquarters, CSREES, USDA, as an accountability tool in order to received our federal Extension funds in Kansas.

National 4-H Headquarters has announced changes for the ES-237 - reporting requirements for FY 2004 (October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004). The new upgrades of Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment Software (BRYE) will automatically generate the report for your county/district. Because we may have a patchwork of reporting software between units in the future, the Department of 4-H Youth Development will provide the ES-237 report on its website in the future and counties may forward either a completed hard copy or completed electronic copy (from upgraded BRYE versions only!) beginning in the fall of 2003.