Kalli Berning 13-28^th

Wesley Bohnsack 16-11^th

Andy Bussan 18-20^th

Abby Cassens 14-16^th

Michael Conrad 18-5^th

Abigail Cox 18-8^th

Jenna Diestelmeier 14-29^th

Jacob Eden 13-30^th

Samuel Eden 9-12^th

Andrew Ertmer 12-9^th

Austin Ertmer 12-9^th

Eva Folks 11-11^th

Garrett Hillary 12-13^th

Kyle Hubb 9-2^nd

Alycia Lyne 18-6^th

Katlin Paige 12-6^th

Taylor Scace 10-8^th

Thomas Staver 12-14^th

Teryn Stiefel 10-18^th

Dylan Stoewer 12-11^th

Jacqueline Swift 12-27^th

Kyle Theill 8-1^st

Patty Wiley 19-25^th

Hope Wilson 17-25^th

Darin Young 18-1^st

MAY

10 – Federation Officer Applications due to

Extension Office

29 – Memorial Day, Extension Office closed

31 – Federation meeting, 7 pm, Extension

Office, Elizabeth

JUNE

10 – State Meats Judging Contest, Champaign

13 – State Forestry Contest, Champaign

16 – State Dairy Quiz Bowl Contest, Champaign

20 – State Judging Contests, Champaign

24 – 4-H Fair entries due to Extension Office

2006 FAIR DATES July 17-20 Jo Daviess County 4-H Fair July 21-23 Elizabeth Community Fair August 11-204 Illinois State Fair August 14 Northwest Region Exhibit Day at State Fair

- Peter Morhardt

The May Federation meeting will be held Wednesday, May 31^st, 7 pm at the Extension Office, Elizabeth. We will be holding Federation Officer Elections for the 2005-2006 4-H Year at this meeting. We will also discuss the spring tour.

Officer Elections:

We need you to become involved in YOUR county Federation. Officer elections will be held at the May 31^st Federation meeting. An officer application is enclosed in this newsletter. Applications are due to the Extension Office Wednesday, May 24^th. Any questions, please call the office.

REMEMBER: ALL CLUB OFFICERS AND 4-H MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE FEDERATION MEETING – HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!

IL 4-H LEADERSHIP CONVENTION

June 23-25, 2006 – Holiday Inn Select, Decatur

This 3-day event for high school teens (age 14-18) is designed to provide Illinois teens different opportunities to develop their leadership skills. The theme is "What Box? We're Throwing Out the Box!" The focus of sessions and speakers will be on Team Building, Active Learning, Community Leadership, Real Live Situations and Self-Improvement. All forms are due to the State 4-H Office by May 17^th. Contact the Extension Office or go to the Illinois 4-H webpage (http://www.4-h.uiuc.edu/events) to find more information.

Illinois Farm Bureau Youth Education 4-H Representative Opportunity

The State 4-H Office is looking for an older 4-Her (16 or older) with a strong interest in agriculture to be a 4-H representative on the Illinois Farm Bureau Youth Education Committee. If anyone is interested, please contact the Extension office for an application.

On Saturday, April 8, Jo Daviess County held their Dairy and Livestock Judging Contests. Thank You to Ron Lawfer and Phil Crome for coordinating the contests and to Keith Morhardt for scoring the contest. Official results are as follows:

Dairy – Total 350

1. Darcy Steffes-285, Top Notchers

2. Logan Smith-273, Top Notchers

3. Codie Geisz-270, Top Notchers

4. Morgan Smith-269, Top Notchers

5-tie Allison McLane-267, Top Notchers

5-tie Michael Offenheiser-267, Top Notchers

7. Jordan McLane-250, Top Notchers

8. Ryan McLane-242, Top Notchers

9. Kyle Hubb-231, Chelsea Busy Bees

10. Kelley Koester-229, Top Notchers

Livestock – Total 500

1. Jake Crome-441, Chelsea Busy Bees

2. Darcy Steffes-403, Top Notchers

3. Laura Dittmar-376, Top Notchers

4-tie Codie Geisz-364, Top Notchers

4-tie Michael Offenheiser-364, Top Notchers

6. Ryan McLane-357, Top Notchers

7. Jordan McLane-340, Top Notchers

8-tie Logan Smith-332, Top Notchers

8-tie Morgan Smith-332, Top Notchers

10. Allison McLane-309, Top Notchers

11. Kelley Koester-306, Top Notchers

All of these participants will have the opportunity to attend the State Dairy and Livestock Judging Contests on June 20^th on the U of I campus. Good Luck!!!!

The State Judging & Quiz Bowl Contests will be held on the University of Illinois Campus, Champaign-Urbana in June. Please see the April newsletter for details. Registration for the State events needs to be completed by Extension Staff so we will need to know who plans on going and we will provide registration materials for those going. Please notify the Extension Office by May 26 if you are interested in attending any of the state contests.

The Jo Daviess County 4-H Public Presentation and Food Demonstration Contests were held Saturday, April 29, 2006 at the Extension office in Elizabeth. There were 10 participants that competed in Junior (ages 8-11) and Senior (ages 12-18) Divisions. In the Public Presentation Contest, the Top Junior presenter was Ellen Bonvillain, Good News Clovers 4-H Club, with her Original Works, "Extreme Boot Camp for Fat Cats". Laura Dittmar received the Top Senior Award with her Oral Interpretation, "Sticks and Carrots". In the Food Demonstration contest the Top Junior was Austin Wachter, Top Notchers, for his "Mother's Day Surprise!".

Other participants in the Public Presentation Contest included Peter Bonvillain & Alan Myelle-Good News Clovers, "Duck and Goose"; Alan Myelle, "On the Air-Alan's Arena with Alan Myelle"; Jennifer Schoenberger-Menominee Achievers, "Irish Dance"; Cori Elliott-Good News Clovers, "Why Microchip?"; and Elizabeth Myelle-Good News Clovers, "Cori's Corner".

Also participating in the Food Demonstration Contest was Codie Geisz-Top Notchers, "Pineapple Rightside Up Cake Codie Style" and Corey Wachter-Top Notchers, "Batter Up!".

State Fair Delegates were also chosen at these contests. The Delegates for the Public Presentation Contest include Ellen Bonvillain, Laura Dittmar, Cori Elliott, and Elizabeth Myelle. Jennifer Schoenberger received the Public Presentation State Fair Alternate selection.

Austin Wachter is the State Fair Delegate for Food Demonstrations.

The Jo Daviess County Office in Elizabeth will be closed Monday, May 29th to observe Memorial Day.

Your 4-H Leaders will soon have the 4-H Fair Books and member registration forms! Be sure to read the fair book carefully and thoroughly! There are many changes from last year.

ALL FAIR ENTRIES ARE DUE INTO THE EXTENSION OFFICE BY JUNE 23 AT 4:30 P.M!

FAIRBOOK COVER WINNER

Congratulations to Ryan McLane of the Top Notchers 4-H club for entering the winning Fairbook cover design. Ryan will receive his award at the fall Achievement program.

Congratulations to all members that entered the Fair book cover contest. We have included copies of all the entries in the 2006 Fair book, so take a look to get ideas for next year.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Congratulations to the 4-H members and their coach who participated in the 2006 State Hippology Contest on April 22.

Cori Elliott placed 15^th in the Intermediate division. Also attending were Mary Bonvillain and Zane Elliott. Their coach is Elaine Elliott and all are members of the Good News Clovers 4-H Club.

Congratulations to these hippology participants. They have worked hard all year long to prepare for these events and represented Jo Daviess County well.

We have many outstanding 4-H'ers graduating from high school this year. Some will be going to college, others to the service and others will enter the work force. We are very proud of our Seniors and with them the "Best of Luck!!!" We hope your years in 4-H helped shape and guide you for a better tomorrow.

Also, Congratulations 8^th grade graduates! The best is yet to come.

You will soon have the 2005 4-H Fair books. Every family should receive one. The fair book contains all the policies and procedures for the fair. It is very important to read and follow the rules. Keep it in a safe place and remember where you put it. If you lose it, ask your leader for a new one. There are many changes from last year, so make sure you refer to the new guidelines.

4-H FAIR

The 4-H year is already past the halfway point and it is time to be thinking of completing your projects to be exhibited at the 4-H Fair. For those of you who are still in the planning stage...better get going! Things get pretty hectic as fair time approaches. Not only will you feel a whole lot better about yourself for completing your goals ahead of time, you will no doubt have a much nicer project to show than if you have to hurry at the last minute.

DON'T FORGET THE NEW FAMILIES!!

With the 4-H Fair coming up soon a lot of information will be coming out. Remember back to your first year you were in 4-H! There were a lot of mixed emotions and questions, so please take time and ask the new families and members if they have any questions or help them through their fair registration forms or scheduling questions.

SEEKING VOLUNTEER FOR STATE FAIR COUNTY 4-H PROJECT TRANSPORTATION

We are looking for a volunteer or several volunteers to transport our county projects to and from the Illinois State Fair.

Exhibits will need to be delivered to Springfield on Monday, August 7 or Tuesday, August 8.

Exhibits will need to be picked up on Saturday, August 19 or Sunday, August 20.

(We will know the exact day and time soon)

Anyone available to help out with this great opportunity for our 4-H'ers please call the Extension Office.

LIVESTOCK EXHIBITS

State Fair Premium books are now available at: www.illinoisstatefair.info. Animal class entry forms will need to be printed off the web site. HOWEVER, the entries will still

need to be submitted via the local Extension Office. If you do not have access to the internet, contact the Extension Office for the pages you need and they will be printed for you.

STATE FAIR JUNIOR DEPARTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE – YOUTH AND ADULT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Are you interested in serving as a member for the State Fair Jr. Dept. Advisory Committee? Committee members are responsible for the review, recommendations, and implementation of the non-animal portion of the Illinois State Fair Junior Department. Terms of a committee member are 2 years in length and the committee meets a minimum of three times per year.

This year, the Northwest Region is looking for 1-2 volunteers and 2 teens to serve.

If you are interested, please contact the Extension office for an application. Application deadline is August 22.

STATE FAIR JR. DEPARTMENT SEEKS

JOB APPLICANTS

If you are looking for a short-term job this summer, then the Junior Department at the Illinois State Fair needs you! There are many different job positions available for different dates of the fair. For more information, contact the Extension Office.

ENTRIES SOUGHT FOR 4-H

PERFORMANCE SHOWCASE

Are you gifted musically? Do you play a musical instrument? Do you like to tell jokes? Are you a dancer? Do you like to perform with a group of your friends? If you can answer yes to any of these questions then the 4-H Performance Showcase may be the opportunity you are looking for.

University of Illinois 4-H Youth Development is seeking entries for the 2006 4-H Performance Showcase to be held on Sunday, August 13, at the Illinois State Fair. This annual event is held to spotlight the talented 4-H members across Illinois who enjoy performing in front of an audience. Entries are being accepted from soloist, musical groups, instrumentalist, comedians, and performance groups such as comedy skits, singers, or dancers.

Applicants are to submit an audition tape (standard VHS or DVD format) for review by the Showcase director. Entries must be postmarked by May 15. Selected applicants will be invited to perform in this years show and will participate in rehearsals on August 12 in preparation for the performance on August 13. The Performance Showcase will be held on stage in the Illinois Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

For additional information and/or to obtain an entry form, contact the Extension Office.

As you may well be aware, Denise Snider accepted a position with the Stephenson County Sheriff's Department effective the beginning of May. In order to allow for a smooth transition through this summer's 4-H activities, I, Peter Morhardt, have been hired on as the Summer Youth Program Coordinator.

I know many of you from previous activities through 4-H (such as Foodstand Supervisor, Superintendent at the Fair, Achievement Day, etc.). To those whom I have worked with in these previous capacities before, I look forward to working with you this summer in this new role.

To those whom I have not yet met, I look forward to meeting you and working closely with you over the summer to further improve the Jo Daviess County 4-H Program.

If you need anything, or have any questions, please feel free to stop in or call the Extension office (858-2273), or drop me an email (pmorhar2@uiuc.edu), and I will do my best to help you in any way possible.

Once again, I look forward to working with all of you this summer.

Sincerely,

Peter Morhardt

P.S. On a personal note, I would really like to encourage all 4-H members (and especially the older 4-Hers) to get as involved as possible in state 4-H activities (conferences, judging contests, etc.). The sky is the limit with what you can do in 4-H. I never thought that I would accomplish all the things I did during my 4-H career, but with the right opportunities and support, I was able to meet and exceed all of my goals in 4-H. You, too,.H.HHH can go as far in 4-H as you set your mind to. I will try to help you accomplish your goals as much as possible while in this position.