Rockwall County 4-H Events and Activities

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Rockwall County 4-H livestock Project Introduction Meeting

Rockwall County 4-H July August Newsletter

Educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating

Todd K. Williams

CEA-Agriculture/Natural Resources

Adult & Youth



Important dates at a glance!

July 22-28 Texas 4-H Horse Show

August 11 Animal Project Introduction Meeting (info. sheet attached!)

August 14 Club Manager Training

August 16 Annual Rockwall County 4-H Awards Event

August 18 Club Officer Training

August 20 East Texas State Fair & State Fair of Texas livestock entries due in the    Extension Office
 Lamb and Goat tag orders for 2013 Winter Major Stock Shows due in the Extension Office

August 27 Rockwall & Royse City ISD 1st day of School

                                                                                                                                                                 


2012 Re-enrollment Time!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! It is hard to believe that the new 4-H year is right around the corner.
When your 4-H clubs resume meeting in September, everyone must re-enroll on 4-H Connect for the new 4-H year.
If you have any problems with registering a new member, re-registering for the new year or passwords, please contact Shelly at the Extension Office.
As you register, be sure to fill out the vital information such as your address, phone number, age, grade, signature, project interest(s) and the date.
Cost is $20 per member. After October 31, the cost will increase from $20 to $25/ per child and all non-renewals will be dropped from our mailing list.

You must attend a 4-H meeting for your online registration to be certified by this office. Clubs attendance policies will still be in effect. It is important for you to attend every meeting if possible so you do not miss out on important information or club activities! It is also important for at least one parent to attend the meetings too.


County Achievement Event is Thursday August 16!

This is our opportunity to recognize 4-H’ers and leaders for their participation and accomplishments at District and State activities during the 2010-2011 4-H year. The annual event will be held on August 16, 2012 and will begin at 6:30 p.m. The location will be the Rockwall County Library. Because of the library’s closure time, we will not have refreshments this year. Invitation is attached!

If you completed a record book or participated in a district or state contest, please RSVP by August 10, 2012 to receive a certificate or honor at the ceremony.


4-H Club Manager Training

The annual Club Manager training is scheduled for August 14, 2012 from 6:30-8:00 pm. This will be held at the new County Extension Office.

This is mandatory if you plan to have a club for 2012-2013. Each club must have at least 1 manager present and preferably all managers will attend!

We will cover updates on the revised enrollment forms, club and project meeting reports.

Youth Protection, Standards for Volunteers, club budgets, financial reports & club charters will also be addressed.

This fast paced meeting should last no longer than an hour and a half.

Club Managers please RSVP by calling Shelly @ 972-204-7660.


Multi-County 4-H Club Officer Training

This year we will once again be holding a multi county training. We will draw participation from Rockwall, Kaufman, Dallas, and Cooke counties.

If you have been elected an officer in your 4-H club for the upcoming year, you will not want to miss the Club Officer Training on Saturday, August 18!

It will be held at Liberty Hall inside the new Rockwall County Courthouse.

This leadership development opportunity will last all day and include training in the morning and group dynamics activities in the afternoon.

Officers from all clubs are encouraged to attend. This training promises to be educational and fun!

Registration will begin at 8:30 am. Stay tuned for more details!


Texas 4-H Roundup

Congratulations Mean Cuisine Food Challenge team! Busy Bee members Patrick Garcia, Jonathan Orue, and Morgan Reynolds with their coach Chef Cody Hayes, coach traveled to Lubbock to represent Rockwall County at Texas 4-H Roundup on the campus of Texas Tech University on June 14. Mean Cuisine competed against teams from the 12 districts across our great state and placed 5th!

They qualified for this honor by winning 1st place at the District Food Challenge, which was held February 25, at Texas A&M – Commerce.

Rockwall County was also represented by Rockwall Clovers member Haley Sachse.

As a part of her Clothing & Textiles project, Haley created a quilt that competed and was displayed at

Texas 4-H Roundup as a part of the Quilt Challenge.

Quilt Challenge is an invitational contest which means members of all ages are eligible to participate.


Texas 4-H Roundup began in 1946 and was held this year at Texas Tech University in Lubbock for the first time ever. Historically it has been held at Texas A&M but will now alternate each year. It includes 40 different contests that members can exhibit the lifeskills they have learned through 4-H, such as, decision making, public speaking, public performing, organization and working with others. Most of these contests are senior only contests for which youth must qualify at District Roundup to advance to State. However, some contests such as Quilt Challenge have emerged in the last few years to increase our youth’s opportunities to participate in State Roundup. For more information visit: http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/roundup



District 4 4-H Horse Show

The District 4H Horse Show was held June 19th and 20th, at the Hopkins County Civic Center, in Sulphur Springs, TX.

4-H members Sarah Boronkay, Kelly Hurley, Shelby Rowe, Trevor Rowe and Ryan Tilley represented Rockwall County competing in several categories.

Team Penning Champions - Sarah Boronkay, Kelly Hurley & Ryan Tilley

Other placings included:

Sarah Boronakay - 5th place Halter registered Mares 5 & Over

Kelly Hurley - 3rd Place Halter Grade Geldings 5 & over

Shelby Rowe - 1st place poles, 3rd place barrels, 8th place stakes

Ryan Tilley - Western Division Jr Champion, 6th place Halter Registered Geldings 5 & Over

Rockwall County was also represented by Trevor Rowe.

Congratulations and Good Luck at State Horse Show!!


Shooting Sports Project News
Congratulations Don Malone!
Don recently traveled to Grand Island, Nebraska as a member of the Texas State Hunting and Wildlife team where they took home the National Championship! He is pictured here with the 2nd place hunting team in the nation. Don also brought home the following honors:
4th place team ribbon for Hunter Skills, 7th place individual ribbon for Hunting Overall, 2nd place Hunting Overall Medal, 2nd for Wildlife Identification Team, and Don placed 6th in the individual category.

Good Luck to Brian Callaghan, Brock Green & Don Malone at The State Shooting Sports Games July 15-21, 2012 in San Antonio!


State Dog Show

Congratulations Haley Gribben, Sam Kazlow, Sarah Stinson & Ryan Tilley on your success at the Texas 4-H Dog Show!

The Texas 4-H Dog Show has been a great success for 40 years! This year 4 Rockwall County 4-H members compete against

Placings included:
Haley Gribbin – 4th place Showmanship
Sam Kazlow – 1st place Storyboard
2 – 1st place ribbons Photography
7th place Rally
9th place Costume
Sarah Stinson- 2 – 1st place ribbons Photography
1st place Costume
2nd place Agility
Ryan Tilley - 3rd place Costume
9th place Obedience
4-H’ers from all over the state, ranging in age from 8 to 18. All breeds, including mixed, are welcome to compete after they have met the minimum requirements. Dog and 4-H member teams can compete in five different classes, such as: obedience or rally, conformation, showmanship, drill team, and/or costume.




Record Book Info.
Kylee Adams, Tanner Howey, Jordan Huff, Grace Marcantel, Katie Marcantel, Will Morris, Kate Pierce and Ethan Spearman completed 4-H records for the 2011-2012 4-H year. Extensive work was put into these books and it really showed! We will be recognizing these young people at the upcoming Achievement Event because of their efforts.

 The following members advanced to the District 4 Record Book Judging and received the following:

Ethan Spearman-2nd Place Junior Beef; Kylee Adams-2nd Place Intermediate Rabbit; Tanner Howey-6th Place Intermediate Beef; Will Morris-3rd Place Senior Citizenship and Civc Education.


It has been a busy summer for Rockwall County 4-H members!

4-H members from across the county are competing/participating in many activities throughout the summer.

Below is a glimpse at some of the events and reports from those individuals.

Sarah Kazlow represented Rockwall County by attending District 4 Ultra Camp June 27-29 on the campus of Texas A&M Commerce.

Sarah reported the following upon return:

While at camp, I participated in a High Ropes Course, went on a Scavenger Hunt, attended a financial planning seminar and meetings. During our final meeting, elections were held for our D4 officers, which are very important since they then represent our district in State level 4H meetings. Both nights of camp (after a long day of fun) a dance/mixer was held for all of the "campers" so that we could get to know each other better. I have made friends with kids from several other counties by attending D4 events & I look forward to seeing them in the future. I wish that more kids from Rockwall County 4H would attend D4 sponsored events so that they could experience just how amazing our district is. I can not wait to go back to camp next summer, even if my mattress was a little lumpy! Ultra Leadership Camp Rocks!!!!

Brooke Peters attended the 1st ever Horizons Camp at the Texas 4-H Center in Brownwood.

Brooke took part in the Culinary Arts. She loved it and was inspired to open her own business making dog treats (Brookie's Cookies).

This four day, three night camp focused around project enhancement, career exploration, and personal/professional development. Participants chose their focus area where they received approximately 16 hours of instruction and introduction to careers in the field. Evening activities were geared towards professional development and workforce preparation, and of course, camp recreation and games!! Project focused workshops on: Natural Resources, Robotics, Culinary Arts, Creative Leadership, Clothing & Textiles, and Dog Project. Former 4-H member Katie Callaghan was an instructor in the Dog Obedience group.


Tanner Howey attended 4-H Livestock Judging Camps at both Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University

Many other 4-H members also attended horse events and livestock shows across the state and nation this summer too!

This includes Sarah Boronkay, Carson Glasscock, Tanner Howey, Kelly Hurley, Cale Merritt, Cat Sabella, Shelby Rowe, Heather Rowe, Ethan Spearman, and Ashlyn Stembridge.


STATE FAIR OF TEXAS

The 2012 State Fair of Texas is September 28 – October 21. The State Fair of Texas has many opportunities for young people as well as adults. For a complete listing of the things you can enter or see, visit: www.bigtex.com

Creative Arts Department

Information is available online at http://www.bigtex.com/sft/CreativeArts/CompetitionHandbook.asp. There are hundreds of opportunities for 4-H members and adults including: Art, Canning, Photography, and Needlework & Sewing, Be sure and see the contest displays while you are visiting the fair. Entry forms and fees must be sent by mail and received by the State Fair on or before July 27.

Junior Livestock Show

There are many livestock and horse events to enter or see at the State Fair. Many horse events take place before the fair officially opens, as do some of the junior livestock activities, so plan in advance before you go! .

Livestock Contests

There are several Agriculture based contests that will be held during the Fair in addition to the livestock exhibition contests. These include Livestock Judging, Public Speaking, Quality Counts Photography and more! Visit http://www.bigtex.com/sft/LiveStock/Contests.asp for more info.

Junior Livestock Show and most Contest entries must be received in our County Extension Office by August 20th so they can be processed and sent to the fair by their due date. All of the rules and entry forms for these contests are available at: http://www.bigtex.com.



Winter Major Stock Show Tag Orders

Anyone wishing to exhibit lambs, goats or hogs at 2013 Winter Major Stock Shows must order tags by the date below.

Cost for the major stock show validation tags will be $12. Tags will only be ordered for those that have paid by the deadline. Any orders after that date will be subject to late fees set by the state office. If you have any questions call the office. FYI - Steers for majors have already been validated.
Steers for Rockwall Youth Fair will be validated in September.

Lamb or goat— August 20.

Hog — September 15.


Calf Scramble Updates

Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, San Antonio Livestock Show and the Fort Worth Stock Show offer opportunities for youth to receive animal purchase certificates for catching calves in their calf scrambles. San Antonio participants need to be at least 12 years old by January 1, 2013, but not yet 18 nor enrolled beyond the junior year of high school. Fort Worth & Houston participants must be at least 14 years of age. Certificates from Fort Worth can be used for a breeding beef or dairy heifer. A certificate from San Antonio can be used for breeding sheep, goats, beef, swine or dairy. Houston certificates can includes beef heifers or steers. Contact the office by August 31 if you are interested in any of these.


The Rangers are on fire!

Make your plans to attend the 2012 Green Out –

September 15, 2012

Ticket order form is attached.

For more info. visit:


For every ticket purchased by August 31, $3 will be given to the

Texas 4-H Education & Youth Programs fund.

Also, complimentary t-shirts sponsored by Texas Farm Bureau

will be given for each ticket purchased in advance.


We Have Moved!

Please visit us at our new location 915 Whitmore, Ste. B, Rockwall, TX 75087

Entrance is halfway down on the west side. The phone number has remained the same.

We plan to have an open house in September. More information to come.




Rockwall County 4-H Clubs & Information
Note: Most clubs take the summer off!

Please watch for info. from your Club Manager of when and where your 1st meeting of the new year will be.

Busy Bee’s 4-H Club

3rd Monday of every month

6:30 p.m. Toyota of Rockwall

Lucky Shamrocks 4-H Club

3rd Tuesday of every month at Britt Training Center

Gold Buckle 4-H Club

2nd Monday of every month

Community Baptist Church

Rockin’ Riders

Horse Club

4th Monday of every month

7:00 p.m. The Fatted Calf

Rockwall Clovers 4-H Club

2nd Monday of every month

7:00 p.m. Joy Lutheran Church

New rules for event registration: Beginning in the 2011-12 4-H year, a late entry extension will ensue for a two-day time period starting at 12:01 AM immediately following the standard district deadline. This extension will only apply to district-level contests. Example: if the normal deadline is on Friday at midnight, late entry would open at 12:01 AM on Saturday morning and close at midnight on Sunday. For entries placed during this late time period, there will be an added late fee of $20 (in addition to the standard contest fee). No registration extensions will be granted beyond the late registration time period.

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Rockwall County 4-H Gazette

With the advancement of technology, budget crunches, and information on demand concerns, the "Gazette" has moved to a computer based e-letter format. We will still send it out at the beginning of odd months. It will be posted on the County 4-H News Blog and club managers will still have some hard copies available at the club meetings if needed. This will allow more time for you as a family to have discussions on needed items, and make informed decisions with more lead time. We are excited about this format and trust you will be as well. We will try to be sensitive to those families who still may have dial up. So the pictures may be minimal.


If you are not returning to 4-H and no longer wish receive 4-H correspondence, please reply.