Dear 4-H Families:

Whew! Where did spring go?!?! As I am writing this newsletter, it hardly seems possible that summer (and fair) time will soon be upon us. The weather of late certainly wouldn't indicate we are close to summer – BRRRR! I'm sure we will wish for some of that cooler weather come fair time.

It certainly has been an interesting spring with all of the budget issues for University of Illinois Extension! Frankly, I could do without all of that excitement J. I would like to offer a huge THANK YOU to all of you who contacted your state legislators and the governor about this funding crisis. We sincerely appreciate your support and help in educating our state leaders about the value and importance of University of Illinois Extension and 4-H Youth Development programs. While we are okay for now, we must keep up the education of our state legislators for the future.

There is lots of information in this newsletter – especially as it relates to fair. Please take some time to read through it. You don't have to read everything, but read the items that pertain to you, your family, your 4-H club or your 4-H projects. The Kane County Fairbook is also another good source of information related to fair.

I'm looking forward to seeing each of you at the fair this year and the wonderful projects you develop!

As always, if you have questions please don't hesitate to call us. We may not always be available or know the answer, but we will do our best to find the answers for you.

See you at the fair!

Deanna K. Roby

Unit Educator, 4-H Youth Development

P. S. Congratulations to all of our 2008 graduates! Best wishes for your future endeavors.

This year's Performance Showcase was held on Friday, April 11. The evening was a fun-filled one! Below is a list of the performances:

Elizabeth & Luke Bretscher – piano duet*

Julia Laski – vocal solo

Leah Knorst – dance solo

Alexandra Kirchner – vocal solo

Fabulous 4-H – original group skit

Lisa Holmberg – piano solo

Jessica Glas – dance solo

Kendra Knorst – vocal & dance solo

Go-Getters 4-H Club – original group skit

Ian Armesy – piano solo

Paige Knorst – vocal solo

Galina Knorst – piano solo

Fantastics 4-H Club – original group dance

Jaclyn Armesy – piano solo*

The Challengers 4-H club – original group skit*

Carolyn Gehrke – vocal solo*

* denotes IL State Fair Performance Showcase nominee

Congratulations! Everyone did a great job and they should be proud of their efforts. A special thank you to Helen Feuerborn for organizing this event and recruiting judges.

The Public Presentations Contest was held on Friday, April 25. 17 youth gave 25 different presentations at this year's contest. Below is list of the winners from the contest:

Grand Champion Public Presentations (8-12 yr. olds) – Nathan & Nicholas Holmer

Reserve Grand Champion Public Presentations (8-12 yr. olds) – Abby Kulisek

Grand Champion Public Presentations (13-18 yr. olds) – Elizabeth Bretscher

Reserve Grand Champion Public Presentations (13-18 yr. olds) – Luke Bretscher

Grand Champion Public Presentations (Food Demonstration) – Carolyn Gehrke

Reserve Grand Champion Public Presentations (Food Demonstration) – Larisa Sica

State Fair Delegates – Elizabeth Bretscher (formal speech), Kayla Kulisek (illustrated speech), Josh DeDina (extempore speech), Luke Bretscher (oral interpretation), Julia Laski (original works speech), Carolyn Gehrke (food demonstration), and Larisa Sica (food demonstration)

State Fair Alternates – Wayne Gehrke (formal speech), Elizabeth Bretscher (illustrated speech), JC Gillett (oral interpretation), Luke Bretscher (food demonstration)

Congratulations! Everyone did a wonderful job and they should be proud of their efforts.

Each year the Kane County 4-H Foundation offers scholarships to current 4-H members or alumni attending college or vocational/technical schools. This year, $3,000 in scholarship monies was available; each winner will receive a $750 scholarship. Winners of this year's scholarships include:

Kimberly Braddock – St. Charles (attending Eastern Illinois University in Fall 2008)

Sarah Carson – Maple Park (attending University of Illinois in Fall 2008)

Deidre Cwian – St. Charles (attending Northern Illinois University in Fall 2008)

Stephanie Horton – St. Charles (attending University of Illinois in Fall 2008)

Congratulations to the scholarship winners and much success to you and your educational goals!

Again this year, the Kane County Fair Association offered three, $3,000 scholarships to current 4‑H members who are high school seniors and planning to attend college. Winners of those scholarships included:

Sarah Carson

Katherine Fabrizius

Carolyn Gehrke

Congratulations to the scholarship winners and much success to you and your educational goals!

This year's Club Awards Packet will be mailed to club leaders during the month of June – hopefully the earlier part of the month, but definitely by the end of the month. Please note that deadlines will again be earlier this year so that we may plan for the youth recognition event in late September/early October.

A Recognition of Excellence workshop has been scheduled for Thursday, July 31. It will be held at the Extension Office in St. Charles. At 6 p.m., we will focus on the club awards packet. Beginning at 7 p.m., we will focus on the Illinois 4-H Award Application. The first portion of the workshop is for 4-H club volunteers who would like to learn about the club awards packet, which includes awards for clubs and individuals members. The second portion of the workshop is for club volunteers and/or parents and teens who would like to learn more about the Illinois 4-H Award application which is used to determine county and state awards. Pre-registration is required for this event. Registration deadline is Monday, July 28. If we don't have 10 individuals registered at that time, we will cancel the workshop.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is looking for high school freshmen and sophomores who want to make the region a better place to live, go to school, work and play. Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) is CMAP's new leadership development program for students from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry or Will counties. Selected participants will collaborate with and learn from elected officials and planners who are developing the new GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan. The program is free, and applications are due June 2. FLIP runs from September 2008 to March 2009. See http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/flip.aspx or call 312-454-0400.

We welcome the following youth and volunteers to the Kane County 4-H Family.

Congratulations and thanks for joining the 4‑H program! We wish you much success in your 4‑H career and involvement.

Burlington Ag

Megan Tully

Campton 4-H

Christine Hohe

Central Wranglers

Abigail Brown

Madelyn Brown

Jessie Goff

Kayla Nagl

Allyson Wilcox

Country

4-H'ers

Dillan Holderfield

Fabulous 4-H

Gabrielle Galusha

Fantastics

Mallory Mollenhauer

Averi Paulsen

Grayson Seymour

Lincoln Highway

Megan Wiesbrock

Westdel

Julie Gerdes

Nicholas Gerdes*

Ely Greenfeld*

Noa Greenfeld*

Adult Volunteers

Christopher Gould

Lincoln Highway

Michael McKellar

The Challengers

Joseph Zine

Techno Troopers

* indicates member is a Cloverbud