08/14/20 Email Blast: Enrollment Reminders and 4-H Updates

 

INFORMATION IN THIS EMAIL BLAST (IN ORDER):

• Quick Update
• New 4-H Year Enrollment
• Virtual Banquet Update
• Community Service Opportunity
• Fall Event Cancellations
• Guidelines for 4-H Meetings this Fall

Hey all!

We hope you are having a fantastic week!  We are getting ready to start a brand new 4-H year and, even though much of it will be virtual at first, our youth leadership groups have some cool ideas in the works that we can’t wait to share with you soon!  We wanted to pass on a few reminders for the beginning of the 4-H year to you – we’ll be sending a few more updates and reminders for opportunities on Monday.  Please let us know if y’all need anything and have a great weekend!

New 4-H Year Enrollment:

• It’s a brand new 4-H year!!!  Please remember that we need everybody to re-enroll in 4-H to continue to be recognized as a 4-H member and to continue receiving the email blasts (we will revert to sending our email blasts through 4-H CONNECT in September)
• If you are planning on exhibiting at the State Fair or Heart O’ Texas this fall, we need you to  enroll starting tomorrow, Saturday, August 15, 2020
• We are excited that the 4-H CONNECT enrollment system is being updated this year!  It is supposed to be a little easier to navigate and will have a different look to it
• Your old information is still in the system; please double check your information and update anything that might have changed (address, email, phone number, grades, etc)
• You will still log in with your normal email and password; you may be prompted to change/update your password on your first log in
• NOTE: If you are enrolled as a virtual learner at your school for this year, we still need you to select that you are attending public school and select your “normal” school name. 
• Website: https://tx.4honline.com/

Virtual Banquet Update:

• Our banquet won’t be quite the same this year, but we are looking forward to recognizing everyone’s accomplishments this Thursday, August 20, 2020, in the evening - we are going to be posting our virtual banquet video via Facebook and via Email Blast. 
• We are finalizing a couple of details on award pickups – our plan is for award recipients to be able to make an appointment to drop by the Extension Office, pick up their awards, and take a picture in front of our banquet background to share with everyone!  We are tentatively planning for this to take place next Saturday, August 22, 2020, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  We will send out confirmed details and the appointment sign-up on Monday.
• We will also be hosting a Food Drive Drop-Off during this activity – see details under Community Service Opportunity.

Community Service Opportunity:

• In conjunction with our banquet award pick-up, we are going to be hosting a food drive!! 
• We are sharing a flyer on Facebook and need your help sharing it to get the word out!
• Please see the message from Weston Bauer below on the details:

Hi Everybody!  4-H is hosting a canned food drive on August 22 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Extension Office (which is the day that we take 4-H banquet pictures).   They will also take donations during the week.  If you would like to bring canned items or non-perishable food items to the Extension Office, we will donate them to the Bastrop Food Pantry.  You can also donate cash, which the Food Pantry can use to purchase the food they need in bulk. ($1 will purchase 6 lbs of food, which equates to 5 meals). This will help benefit the Food Pantry and people affected by COVID-19 in our county.  And, it’s a great community service activity for your 4-H Record book!

Fall Event Cancellations:

• We are sad to announce that the following events have been cancelled for this fall:
• Bastrop Homecoming
• HCC Fair
• Cake Auction
• If you have any ideas or suggestions for an alternative Cake Auction event that does not include food; please let us know.  Our donors have expressed interest in giving to the program in an alternative way this year and we would like to find an alternative activity for them to participate in. 

Guidelines for 4-H Meetings this Fall:

• The guidelines for In-Person 4-H meetings have been developed and posted to our Club Manager Page on the website – they are available for your convenience and through this link. 
• We are STRONGLY encouraging clubs/project groups to meet virtually at this time; the best practices for online virtual meetings and the District meeting guidelines are available for you reference in the Club Manager Page
• All Club Managers and Adult Leaders are expected to know the policies and procedures for in-person and virtual meetings this year; if protocols are not followed, it may result in a 4-H Club’s charter being revoked
• We are here to help with any of your meeting needs – we are happy to help prepare for meetings and have a paid zoom account that will accommodate up to 300 people, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need anything!

That’s all we have for now!

M

Mellanie L. Mickelson
Bastrop County Extension Agent - 4-H & Youth Development
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services

P.O. Box 650 | 901 Pecan Street | Bastrop, TX 78602
p: (512) 581-7186 | c: (512) 522-9174 | f: (512) 581-7187
MLMickelson@ag.tamu.edu

Website - https://bastrop.agrilife.org 
Blog - www.bastrop4h.blogspot.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/BastropCounty4H