To showcase the artistic ability of our 4-H members, the committee has decided to hold a 4-H Horse Jamboree T-shirt Logo Design Contest.

Click Here for information to circulate to all of your 4-H members!

We look forward to receiving many excellent entries.

State Communications Contest

County/ City Transmittal forms are coming on for the 2011 State 4-H Communications Contest. Forms to submit names and information for your Champions and Reserve Champions can be found on the website http://maryland4h.org/4HFiles/HSStateTransmittalFormFillable.pdf . Please send your forms to corridon@umd.edu as soon as your local event is over. We look forward to hosting the State Contest during the University of Maryland – Maryland Day festivities on the College Park Campus. Tell your 4-Hers to come to the Plant Sciences Building – adjacent to Regents Drive Parking Deck to pick up the program for the day. They can sign in there from 9:30 – 10:30 on Saturday morning, April 30^th. After signing in they will be directed to the speaking locations. Judging will take place from 10 until about noon and all of the awards for each category will be given at one location at 3:00 p.m. at the end of the day. We’d be glad to have your reserve champions come to enjoy Maryland Day and to help with the speaking event. They can serve as room monitors, handing out programs and just general helpers. 4-H families are invited to not only watch and encourage our 4-H speakers but to participate in and enjoy the 2011 Maryland Day, Saturday, April 30^th. It’s truly a fun, family affair. http://marylandday/. (ALSO WE’RE STILL IN NEED OF JUDGES – the more judges we have the smoother the contest will run and the quicker our 4-H families will be able to visit the many other 4-H and Maryland Day exhibits and activities all across the campus. Any questions/ any judges/ any helpers - send a list to corridon@umd.edu

Grow It/ Eat It/ Preserve It The FoodSmart Action Team has been conducting trainings to address food safety issues particularly relating to canning and also freezing foods. 4-H and Family and Consumer Science Educators have been trained with hands on pressure and water bath canning techniques. We have wonderful Canning Exhibits at our local and state fairs and our 4-Hers are canning their local produce. We are stressing the importance of using research-based, tested recipes and the most current food preservation information for proper canning techniques and timing. We know that 4-H has many Canning Displays at our county fairs. We ask that you review your fair book information and stress that each exhibit be entered with notation regarding the product and the processing method and time. This creates a teachable moment – so we can all stress proper techniques for food safety. We also have a Dial Gauge Pressure Canner Tester that can be borrowed by county/city units to test dial gauge canners. If you want to borrow it to offer dial guage canner testing in your area- contact corridon@umd.edu.

If you would like to offer a training in your area – contact corridon@umd.edu and the FoodSmart team will help you coordinate a local training. This is a cost recovery program with the latest research based information and resources. Those trained have also gotten resources for judges training for fairs and shows!

Maryland 4-H Horse Monthly Learning Lesson – March

The 4-H Horse Monthly Learning Lesson for March is now posted at http://www.4hhorse.umd.edu/activities/Monthly%20Learning%20Lessons.html For March, the topic is Tack and Equipment.

If you have had a chance to use the January and February learning lessons, we would like YOUR feedback on what you think of this resource and what suggestions and/or changes you might have for us. Please take a few minutes to complete a short survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KV7N9PF

Sunday, June 5, 1-4 PM, the State Rabbit Judging Workshop at the Dining Hall at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Different county coaches will present different areas of the Maryland State Rabbit Judging Contest. There is no fee for the event. Contact person is Dr. Wendy Feaga, e-mail preferred, so you may receive important information and updates. WendyF1980@verizon.net or 410-531-3642.

Come one, come call to the Maryland 4-H Day at Camden Yards Sunday July 24, 2011! Tickets are only $13 and are located behind home plate and down first base line. Bus parking permits are available for group travel. Help us reach our goal of 1,500 4-H Friends. Youth 14 and under get to run the bases after the ball game!

Questions? See flyer for more information. Reserve your tickets for you, your family and all your friends today!

The BE BIG Campaign invites everyone, big and small, to take action and raise awareness for how Clifford's BIG Ideas (Share, Be Kind, Help Others, Be a Good Friend, Play Fair, Have Respect, Be Truthful, Believe in Yourself, Work Together and Be Responsible) can make the world a better place.

As part of the BE BIG Campaign, the 3^rd Annual BE BIG in Your Community Contest will award $75,000 in community grants* to the BIGGEST ideas that best demonstrate Clifford's BIG Ideas!

Last year's Grand Prize Winner, Jennifer O. and her team's BIG Idea to create a hospital classroom for young cancer patients in her local hospital won $25,000 from the BE BIG Fund. Your BIG Idea might just be next!

Scholastic, HandsOn Network and American Family Insurance will work with the winners to bring their Big Ideas to life! Everyone is invited-parents, kids, teachers or community leaders-to submit their ideas now through June 17, 2011.

For contest entry forms and official rules visit www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contest

BIG Awards!

One (1) Grand Prize BIG Idea will win a $25,000 Grant, Ten (10) first place BIG Ideas will win a $2,500 Grant and Nineteen (19) second place BIG Ideas will be selected to receive a $1,315.79 Grant (via HandsOn Network affiliate organizations or designees) from the BE BIG Fund to be used towards implementing the winning proposals.*