Youth Development (Lea County)

Photography Contest guidelines and requirements have been updated and reflect more timely and diverse skills. In 2007, 88 photos were received from 31 youth representing eight counties. A Promotional 4-H Calendar is created annually using the top 12 photos from the photography contest, increasing recognition of youth participating in the photography contest. Calendars include 4-H and other organizations dates. Printing costs are sponsored by El Paso Electric Company. Over 300 calendars are distributed annually with proceeds going to support 4-H programming.

Youth and adult Record Book trainings were conducted across the state, increasing knowledge and skills in record keeping and written communication. Ten youth submitted State Records in 2007.

After winning the CDM contest at the 2007 State 4-H Conference, 3 youth gathered and studied contest materials in preparation for competition at the Western National 4-H Round Up in Denver, CO. Youth worked with adult partners to conduct a fundraiser to raise money for this trip. The youth on the team with help from other 4-H members sold programs and T-shirts at the NFR Steer Tripping Finals. The youth raised over $1,000.00 toward providing coverage for their expenses. Youth gained knowledge in organizing fundraisers, money management as well as team work and time management.

Lea County 4-H has participated in many leadership activities over the last year. The seven member 4-H Council worked together to put on the Annual Awards Banquet and dance in which a silent auction was held that raised over $350.00 for the council. In conjunction with this event, a canned food drive was also held in which 50 pounds of food were delivered to local food banks. Over 180 youth and parents attended this event. The Lea County 4-H Council took part in the Roosevelt County Officer Training that involved council members from other counties as well as members of the State Officer team. Seven youth attended this day long workshop and brought back skills to help encourage younger members within their clubs for running for office. Six youth attended Teen Get Away and brought back leadership and teamwork skills that enabled them to be more cohesive with their clubs and respective judging teams. Fifteen youth from all seven 4-H clubs participated in this year's Relay for Life Event which helped to raise money for cancer awareness.This event encouraged youth to participate in a community service project. 26 youth participated in various contests at District Contest. The agent trained several teams in which youth learned about menu preparation, how to properly set a table, time management in the kitchen, consumer spending tips as well as public speaking skills. Ten youth attended State 4-H Conference. Out of the 10 youth in attendance, five earned their way to national trips by winning the Consumer Decision Making contest and Impromptu Public Speaking. During this busy week, all ten youth learned valuable public speaking skills through participation in contests. The four youth on the CDM team used critical thinking skills to determine spending habits on every day goods and applied those to real life situations in order to get the best product for the most reasonable amount of money. The county's impromptu public speaker added to her public speaking abilities by creating a speech with minimal prep time resulting in using critical thinking skills and applying those skills to previously learned information.
From October of 2006-May of 2007, 585 non- traditional youth were reached via school enrichment programming in the community. Youth in Lovington, Jal and Tatum were visited on a weekly or month to month basis and learned from the following 4-H curriculum- Housing and Interior Design, Uniquely New Mexico, Ag in the Classroom, Talking with TJ and Food and Nutrition.
Through lessons from the Housing and Interior Design project students were able to see how recycling items can result in unique and budget friendly gifts to share with family and friends. From Uniquely New Mexico, children learned about corn and its relation to many of the products we eat and use each day. Students also were able to see the history of the Native Americans in New Mexico by making corn husk dolls and understanding that children 3-400 years ago did not have the toys and technology we have today. Through Ag in the Classroom, youth were educated on agriculture commodities mostly grown in New Mexico as well as the U.S. From these lessons youth were able to understand that food, clothes, crayons and other items don't just come from the store but that there is an agricultural commodity that serves as an ingredient to those goods we use everyday.
Through Talking with TJ, youth at Tatum Elementary's after school program were able to understand conflict resolution. Because of this educational experience youth became more aware of the importance of teamwork as well as the value of compromise.
Food and Nutrition lessons and workshops offered to non-traditional youth allowed for youth to understand the new Food Guide Pyramid and how important it is to get the daily recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. Through these lessons, youth were able to identify the amount of servings from each food group as well as the how/why foods fit into respective groups. Youth also discussed healthier snack options and how lack of exercise/activity can cause one to gain weight.

Shannon Franklin has signed on to support Youth Development within Lea County.