2011 Toastmasters Course

Penn State Cooperative Extension of Montgomery County invites all teens to attend the 4-H Toastmasters Junior Leadership course being offered at the 4-H Center in Creamery. The course is open to all youth ages 14-19, who are interested in increasing their leadership skills and ability to speak in front of others. This course helps improve confidence in speaking at school, on job interviews and in group situations, and participants will get to meet new people and have fun in the process.

Classes will be held at the 4-H Center, located on Route 113 near Skippack, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The course will start on Monday, February 28th, and continue for consecutive Monday nights up to and including April 11 with graduation ceremonies slated for that final night. Parents and friends are invited to the graduation ceremonies. Those enrolling must attend at least six of the eight classes (preferably all the classes but we realize there may be schedule conflicts) in order to receive their certificates.

Pre-registration is required. Enrollment is limited and the course fills up quickly. The registration fee is $25.00 to help support the program. To enroll, send the student's name, current age, birth date, home phone number, mailing address, and e-mail to the 4-H Office at:1015 Bridge Road, Suite H, Collegeville, PA, 19426. Or you may download the enrollment form here:
http://montgomery.extension.psu.edu/4-H/2011ToastMaster.pdf

Enrollees need to enclose a $25 check payable to "Montgomery County Extension", earmarked Toastmasters. Those accepted into the course will receive further details and directions as needed.
Instructors for the course are volunteers from the Toastmasters International Clubs. Youth do not need to be in 4-H prior to the course but by enrolling in the program they will be listed as a member for the year.

Christmas Felting Activity - 4-H Alpaca Club

Join the new 4-H Alpaca Club for an afternoon felting soaps and Christmas tree ornaments.
What, you might ponder, is felting? That's a good question that we'll answer and teach you how do to at our meeting. Guaranteed to be a fun afternoon, and, you'll go home with a nice gift for someone special - or yourself.

Please bring a bar or two of your favorite soap, and we'll provide all of the felting materials.

Sunday, December 19th, 2:00 - 3:30
Little Lost Creek Alpaca Farm
1980 Quarry Road, Salford, PA

If you have any questions please contact Alex or Sandy Frazier, 484-431-5587 or 484-431-9305.

Zimmerman Scholarship application now available!

The Montgomery County Farm, Home & 4-H Foundation has established a scholarship, in honor of Merrill K. and Louise Zimmerman, for their life-long devotion to the 4-H Program. This is the eleventh year that the scholarship will be awarded. In addition, the Montgomery County Farm Bureau has agreed to fund a second scholarship to a deserving student and 4-H alumni.

An application form is available on the Montgomery County 4-H website: http://bit.ly/hRGzKQ. Please notify us if you know of someone else who might qualify so that we can send them the application.
Note that the deadline for submission is March 15, 2011.

If you have any questions, please call me at 610-489-4315 or email: nbs1@psu.edu
Sincerely,
Nancy B. Stevens, County Extension Director

The Montgomery County Farm, Home & 4-H Foundation Scholarship

The Montgomery County Farm, Home & 4-H Foundation Scholarship is awarded annually in memory of Merrill K. and Louise Zimmerman for their life-long dedication and devotion to the Montgomery County 4-H Program.

To be eligible, students must:

• Have participated in the Montgomery County 4-H Program for a minimum of three years.
• Not have won the scholarship previously.
• Be planning to major in (or be currently enrolled in) either agricultural sciences or family consumer sciences/human development fields.
• Be a high school senior or presently attending a college or university in an undergraduate program.
• Have achieved a superior academic record or show promise of outstanding academic success.
• Submit a high school transcript (and college transcript if presently enrolled).
• Submit two (2) letters of recommendation from a variety of sources - may include teachers, volunteer leaders, community leaders, etc.

Deadline for 2011 submission: March 15, 2011 For information, contact the 4-H Office at 610-489-4315. The scholarship amount awarded in 2010 was $1000.00.

Past recipients:
2001 Ellen Nave
2002 Michael Cressman
2003 Andrea Mountney
2004 Mary Kate Berardi
2005 Amy Shollenberger
2006 Brooke Fuhrman
2007 Samantha Carroll
2008 Samantha Carroll
2009 Robyn White
2010 Nicole McMahon

Teen Veterinary Science Short Course Offered

Penn State Cooperative Extension of Montgomery County invites all teens to attend a 4-H Teen Veterinary Science course being offered in the Trappe area. The course is open to all youth ages 15-18, who are seriously interested in learning more about veterinary medicine as a career. According to County 4-H Coordinator Nancy Kadwill, "We plan to address how to prepare for a career, look at schooling needs, and help participants experience some of the daily duties of a veterinarian or vet technician. We are very pleased to have the staff of the Animal Medical Center in Trappe again volunteering to be our instructors”. Other topics will include determining animal health (office visits), animal handling and safety, acupuncture, lab radiology, and parasite control. Members may also have an opportunity to view a surgery procedure on one of the nights. You will get to enjoy the “sights, sounds and smells” of the profession. A certificate will be presented to all teens who complete the course.

The course will run five Thursday nights, from February 3rd, up to and including March 3rd. Classes will be held from 6:30-8:00 PM at the Animal Medical Center in Trappe, located on Route 113 (25 West Third Avenue) near Ridge Pike.

Pre-registration is required. Enrollment is limited to18 teens. The Animal Medical Center deals primarily with companion animals and exotics. For more details, contact the 4-H office at 610-489-4315 or visit http://montgomery.extension.psu.edu for a flier and application form.

The 4-H program is requesting a $25.00 donation per person to help cover the cost of materials and support the 4-H program. Enrollees need to send a check, payable to "Montgomery County Ext. Special Acct” to: Montgomery County 4-H, 1015 Bridge Road, Suite H, Collegeville, PA, 19426, prior to the course. Be sure to earmark the check “Trappe Vet. Sci. Course.” Youth do not need to be in 4-H prior to the course but by enrolling in the program they will be listed as a member for the year. Along with the check, also include your name, address, age and birthdate, e-mail, phone number and reason for wanting to be in the course.