National 4-H Week Celebration in Teton County

Let’s get together the evening of October 3, 2023, to celebrate 4-H! We have reserved the Pavilion in Choteau. Please see list of activities later in the newsletter. Looking forward to seeing EVERYONE!

Agent's Corner

Read the latest from Shelby and Jenn later in the newsletter.

We Love Our Volunteers!

If you are planning on volunteering in the 2023-2024 4-H year please get training completed, time is short!

Committee Sign Up

Find out more in this newsletter including descriptions and a link to help you sign up

Mandotory Shooting Sports organizational Meeting

October 2, 2023, Monday 7 pm. More details in this newsletter.

The Next 31

Spetember 22-24

  • Montana State Horse Show, Joliet, Friday-Sunday

September 30

  • Deadline for current volunteers to complete their online training

October 1-7

  • National 4-H Week

October 1

  • Enrollment begins in ZSuite

October 1

  • Make it With Wool Entry Deadline

October 2

  • MANDATORY Shooting sports Meeting, 7 p.m. Rocky Mountain Rifle Club

October 3

  • 4-H Week Celebration, 5-8:30 p.m. in Choteau Pavilion

October 31

  • Treasurer's Books Due

Agent's Corner

Shelby Jones

When I reflect on my first summer as a member of the Teton County 4-H program I feel a great sense of gratitude and dedication to the success of this program.I cannot thank enough the volunteers who contributed their time and skills to make camp great.It was a great opportunity to be able to offer archery because it fit with our “Medieval Madness” theme. To offer any shooting sport event, 4-H requires mandatory specialized training for all shooting sports instructors, including archery, that must be kept up to date.Currently, Teton County does not have a certified 4-H archery instructor.We were fortunate enough to have Pat Quinn from Augusta (Lewis and Clark County) provide his archery equipment and expertise so that kids from Teton County could experience archery in a safe and supportive environment at camp. I was very impressed with the level of safety and high-quality instruction that Pat provided.Thankfully, he has agreed to volunteer again for the 2024 camp.Pat runs the archery club in Augusta and invites any kids from Teton County 4-H to join their club on Monday nights to learn more about archery. If you would like to learn more details about trying out archery or joining a team, please contact me.Through our connection with Pat, who has close ties with the Cobb Ranch and Scoutana, just a 30-minute drive outside Augusta, we have an opportunity to change the location of our summer camp to Scoutana.If you would like to be a part of this decision, please consider joining a special camp committee that will be forming soon.

Agriculture Agent, Jenn Swanson

As part of the larger Montana 4-H family, we adhere to the principles and procedures established at the state level.But the magic of 4-H is that its structure allows individual members' creativity to shine through.Our unique Teton County experience is what you, the 4-H families, make of it.So, as we look ahead to the new 4-H year, dream big and join 1 or 2 of our 4-H committees.With your ideas and expertise, we can give our youth skills for a lifetime.

Committee descriptions and sign up information included in this newsletter.

Volunteer Training

THANK YOU to the volunteers who have completed the Clover Academy Online Leader Training! We are about 40% complete. There are still people who need to complete their training. The training consists of four 15-minute online modules. You can watch them all at once or separately.All returning volunteers have until September 30, 2023, to complete the training and cannot enroll for the 2023-2024 4-H year until the online modules are completed.All new volunteers must complete the orientation before becoming active in ZSuite and participating in 4-H. Tips: Be sure to press the 'Mark Complete' button after every module. It may take the system a moment to refresh and let you proceed. Often just hitting the refresh button is enough, but sometimes it will require you to log out and log back in before it will refresh.

September 30: Deadline: Mandatory Volunteer Orientation Completion

All returning volunteers planning to participate in 2023-2024 must complete theonline volunteer orientation by September 30.

If you haven’t already, please take the time to complete your volunteer training now.Thank you!

View instructions for how to complete the training in ZSuite.

4-H Week Activities at Pavilion on October 2, 2023

Enjoy an evening get together, explore what 4-H has to offer, celebrate achievements, eat, visit and have fun! We will try to stick closely to the timetable below so, feel free to join in at the appropriate time for you and your family.

We will get started right at 5:00 pm with in person, group volunteer training for those who, returning or new, still needing to complete their training.

5-6 pm

  • Volunteer Orientation; for those volunteers who have been unable to complete training online.

6-7 pm

  • Introduction to 4-H; a time for interested families, new 4H families and those that were new last year to gather, have a 4-H orientation and get questions answered.
  • Taco Supper by Copper Creek; all existing and prospective 4-H members and families, leaders and volunteers welcome! Please RSVP to Office at 466-2491 or teton@montana.edu

7:00 pm

  • Volunteer Awards will be announced.

7-8:00 pm

  • Social Hour, S’mores ‘n Songs
  • Meet 4-H members and project leaders, check out project clubs and find out more about various projects.

Sign Up to Be on a Committee!

Teton County
4-H Committee		 Description Meetings # of Members
(Suggested Minimum)
Standing Committees
Budget and Audit Develops and then recommends
to the 4-H Council and annual budget,
which is voted on 4-H Council		 Meets 1-2 times 
each year in 
late Summer
and/or Fall		 4-H council Treasurer
1 agent
1 adult member
1 youth member
Communications
Day		 Promotes development of
members' skills in giving demostrations
and presentations, via training sessions and participation in local statewide,
and/or national competitions/events

Meets 1-2 times 
each year in Fall
and/or Winter to
plan Teton County's Communications Day
in March

1 agent
1-2 adult members
1-2 youth members
Fair Designates annual Fair theme, creates
the schedule of Fair activities,
develops the Fair publicity plan		 Meets 1-2 times each
year in Spring to plan
Teton County's 4-H Fair
in June

1 agent
1 or 2 adult members
1 or 2 youth members

 
Awards Designates annual awards plan for
4-H competitions; may be the same
members and meet at the same time
as the Fair Committee		 Meets 1-2 times each
year in Spring, to plan
Teton County's 4-H Fair
in June		 1 agent
1 or 2 adult members
1 or 2 youth members
Livestock 

Attends to livestock project areas
including animal husbandry education,
livestock quality assurance education,
safety and rules regarding the 4-H
Livestock Sale and Carcass Competition

 Meets on the first Monday
of every other month
(Oct., Dec, Feb, April, June, Aug.)		 Ag agent
Officers (Pres, VP, Treasurer, Secretary)
1 or more adult members, 
1 or more youth members
Horse Committee Oversees equine education events,
rules, regulations and safety of 4-H
horse-related events and contests-in
the case of an active horse project club,
may be comprised of the horse project
club members		 Meets 3 to 4 times per
year, or as needed		 Horse project club leader
1 or more adult members
1 or more youth members
Textile Oversees textile education events,
offerings and competitions		 Meets 1 or 2 times per
year in Fall and/or Spring		 1 agent
1 or 2 adult members
1 or 2 youth members
Record Book

Establisheds guideline for 4-H
members' record book completions;
reviews record books submitted
for record book quality contest

 Meets 1-2 times each year
in the late Summer
and/or Fall		 3 adult members
Special Committees
Meat & Greet Plans and coordinates the annual
4-H Fair "Meat and Greet" celebration
for all 4-H Families and Fair attendees		 Meets 2 or 3 times
per year, in Spring
prior to Teton County's 4-H Fair in June		 1 agent
1 or 2 adult members
1 or 2 youth members
Exchange Currently inactivie; will activate when
needed.  An active committee in not
needed to enroll in the Exchange project.		 Meets only as needed
to review Exchange policy		 Ad hoc

 

Make It With Wool District 3 Contest

It is time to start preparing for the Make It With Wool contest to be held this fall. Get out your favorite pattern and start hunting for that perfect wool fabric. Wouldn’t it be great to make a wool outfit for the contest this fall and then already have an outfit finished for your sewing project this next 4-H year?

The fabric and/or yarn needs to have a minimum of 60% wool to qualify for MIWW contest. The District 3 contest is October 22, 2023.There is a $7.00 entry fee per swatch of fabric used and wool yarn used. These funds will cover the cost of testing your fabric or yarn for content.

Categories are Preteen (12 and under); Junior (13-16); Senior (17-24); Adult (25 and older); and Made for Others. Contestant ages are determined as of January 1, 2023. First place winners in the Junior, Senior, Adult and Made for Others categories advance to the State competition which will be held during the Montana Wool Growers Convention in Billings, December 1 and 2, 2023. Entry forms and brochures are available at MSU Extension Teton County, the Make It With Wool Facebook page or the Montana Woolgrower Association website. Entry deadline is October 1, 2023, no late entries accepted.

Shooting Sports Enrollment

Teton County Shooting Sports will be having a pistol, rifle and Western Heritage organizational meeting October 2, at 7 pm at the Rocky Mountain Rifle Club outside of Fairfield. Shooting begins on October 10. This meeting is MANDATORY for parents and for those members interested in pistol, rifle and/or Western Heritage shooting sports. 4-H Enrollment begins on October 1. If possible, please enroll before the organizational meeting. Enrollment will be available at the meeting. If attending presents a problem for your family, please contact Brian Bedord at 406-590-9092 prior to October 2. Remember to bring a checkbook as dues and fees will need to be paid.

Treasurer's Books Due October 31

ALL club and committee treasurer's books are due to the Extension office by October 31. They can be turned in earlier, after including the September bank statement. Items that must be submitted with the treasurer's book are:

  • Checkbooks
  • Receipts
  • Financial records
  • Bank statements

Clubs and committee that do not comply risk losing their charter and association with Montana 4-H and/or Teton County 4-H. 

Congratulations!

The Montana 4-H Shooting Sports Team competed at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships. This event was held in Grand Island, Nebraska, June 25-30, 2023. There were a record719 competitors from 42 states. The Montana team took first place in the Slow Fire Pistol Match, first place in the Camp Perry Pistol Match, and seventh place in the Silhouette Pistol Event. The team finished seventh overall. Bryce Bedord from Teton County 4-H represented us well on Montana’s Smallbore Pistol Team. His father, Brian Bedord, coached the Smallbore Pistol Team. Congratulations to you both!

School Service Learning Requirements

If your school has service learning requirements, please talk to local school administrators about how to record your service learning hours and let our office know. We are happy to complete paperwork, etc., but can only do so if we know your school’s requirements and you prompt us via email, text, call, to do so. Many 4-H events would qualify as service learning!

Contact/Resources (Clip and Keep)

MSU Extension Teton County

Fair Dates

The Teton County Fair is scheduled for the last full weekend in June that includes a Sunday.

2024    June 24-30
2025    June 24-29
2026    June 22-28

Camp Dates

2024   July 22-26

4-H Congress Dates, Bozeman

2024   July 9-12

 

MSU Extension Teton County
P.O. Box 130
Choteau, MT 59422
406-466-2491


Agents:

Shelby Jones-Dozier shelby.jonesdozier@montana.edu
Jenn Swanson  jenn.swanson@montana.edu

Assistants:

JoAnn McDowell & Jamie Smith  teton@montana.edu

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Montana State University and the Montana State University Extension Service prohibit discrimination in all of their programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital and family status. Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cody Stone, Director, Extension Service, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717