Youth Development (Rio Arriba County)

School Enrichment
The agent has made significant efforts to collaborate with local schools to promote 4-H and program related opportunities. With the help of support staff, the agent was able to conduct school enrichment programs in 12 different topic areas which included: Germ Detective, Cloverbud Food Fun, Egg to Chick, Consumer Savvy, Jump into Food and Fitness, New Mexico Flavor, Food Land People, The Purple Coat, The Boy & the Quilt, Kids on the Grow, Sewing Expressions and Aerospace Adventures. A total of 504 youth were reached, note this is almost double the number of students reach year prior. Through the various topics, students practiced goal setting, were exposed to key terminology, experienced following instruction, how to assess outcomes and self-evaluate. Many meaningful, working relationships have been established from visiting individual classrooms. The agent is in the process of working with a couple local Elementary schools to plan, organize and construct a hoop house, which will be all the staff to incorporate school wide agriculture and environmental science related curriculum.

Youth Camps
Fifty-four youth and 12 adult volunteer leaders attended the 2011 Rio Arriba County Camp held the first weekend of June. The activity-filled event provides senior 4-H members the opportunity to help plan, organize and conduct the event. Five devoted and enthusiastic senior leaders lead this year’s event. Topics and activities explored during the 3-day, 2-night event included: Orienteering, Karate and Respect, 4-H Spirit actives and group hike. Over 75% of participants reported an increase in belonging and generosity. Participants frequently noted they learned “respect and to help other” from camp. Other common theme form camp evaluations were “teamwork” and “working together.”
County Cloverbud Day Camp is dedicated to youth ages 5-8. The week-long program welcomed participants with a morning snack and fitness activity. The day’s activities included the following topics: the 4-H slogan & motto, nutrition education, water safety, forest fire prevention and emergency readiness. Many local agencies were invited to participate as guest speakers. Support was received by the US Forest Service and US Army Corps of Engineers. Parents of the participants reported increase environmental awareness and increase belonging in the event’s evaluations. All youth participants expressed enjoyment and the opportunity to making new friends.

County Leadership
The purpose of the Rio Arriba County 4-H Council is to give 4-H club leaders and officers and opportunity to assist in planning the county 4-H program by providing a means of leadership trainings and promote 4-H public relations and cooperation with the general public. The County Council also works to promote and establish program guidelines on how to reward clubs and club members for participation in and raising funds for the council. There were six enthusiastic and driven young individuals and four adult volunteer advisors, who lead the County Council Officer Team. The officer team’s responsibilities are but not limited to: representing Rio Arriba County 4-H, organizing and conducting the Annual County Leadership Training, County Fair responsibilities, coordinate the annual County Fundraising event, and planning and conducting the Annual County Awards Program and the Community Service Project.
Goals for the annual 4-H Leadership Training include: providing an opportunity for 4-H members and leaders to interact with others of across the county; provide 4-H members with activity ideas they can incorporate at their club events; uphold the mission and objectives of 4-H by providing opportunities to learn life skills, gain knowledge while having fun, and make contributions in such areas as environmental education, community service, and current youth issues. This year’s event was organized and conducted by the Rio Arriba County 4-H Council officer team and six senior members, who attended the State Senior Leadership Retreat. Topics explored during the training included: effective communication, teamwork, club leadership and positive leadership. A total of 16 youth attended the one day event. 100% of the participants noted a how fun the event was and that they had learned “how important teamwork and communication was”.
The Annual County 4-H fundraising event is the main provider of funds for countywide events such as the Annual Awards program, livestock clinics and youth camps. This year’s fundraiser raised over one-thousand dollars and had over 147 attendees. The event’s activities included: Egg hunts, 5K run/walk, coloring table and pancake breakfast. With great community support and attendance the event was deemed a success.
In hopes to give back to the county and community members, the 2011 Rio Arriba County 4-H Community Service Project was dedicated to giving assistance to those who needed additional assistance during the high cost winter months. Rio Arriba County 4-H clubs donated non-perishable groceries, wood pellets, and winter items to a local community service program, which is structured to provide quality services, public awareness, and integrated community supports for children, adults and families facing social, emotional and/or developmental challenges. A total of 17 gift filled holiday care baskets were donated to the endeavor. Many meaningful relationships were also established with local community service organizations following the project.

4-H Enrollment
In attempt to assess the efforts made by the agent, since she accepted her extension position, past 4-H enrollment statistics were reviewed. The program year prior to the agent joined the New Mexico Cooperative Extension team (2007-2008); Rio Arriba County4-H had a total enrollment of 187 members and 64 adult volunteer leaders. When compared to the current program year (2010-2011), Rio Arriba County seen an increase in both enrollment areas; 4-H member enrollment grow to 214 members and 100 adult volunteer leaders. While the total enrollment increase was thought to be marginal, it is a crucial element of the program’s longevity and effectiveness. The agent has dedicated a great deal of effort to recruiting and welcoming new 4-H members and leaders into the 4-H program. Another key focus of the agent’s was retention of existing members, which included the practice of visiting each traditional 4-H clubs to conduct the enrollment process and introducing a County Program Open House to the event calendar. The agent visited all 17 4-H clubs in the county to conduct the enrollment and seen favorable attendance at the County’s first 4-H Open House with 16 attendees who were interested in joining the County’s 4-H program. A great deal of community support was given to the event. The news release for the Open House was featured in the local newspaper and advertized on the local radio station. Being that the event was very successful, efforts will be made to continue holding annual program Open House to attempt to increase new enrollment and stabilizing the retention of members and leaders.

Long Term Objectives:
Objective #15: 98% of youth with at least 4 years of experience in 4-H programming will learn subject matter concepts through hands-on experiences such as camps, clinics, workshops, etc.
Accomplishments:
See Accomplishments for all 4-H age levels under Objective #1.

Objective #16: 98% of youth with at least 4 years of experience in 4-H programming will develop life skills through project work, competitive events, real-life situations and career exploration opportunities.
• Competitive Events
o County – 33 Counties conduct competitive events and/or contest trainings to expand life skills and knowledge. Senior Age Youth (with 4 or more years 4-H experience) advance to State level competition. Contest Areas include:
Consumer Decision
Crops
Dairy
Fashion Magic
Fashion Revue
Favorite Foods
Home Ec Skill-a-thon
Horse Shows
Horse Judging
Horticulture
Land
Livestock Judging
Meats
Parliamentary Procedure
Presentations
Public Speaking
Quiz Bowls
Rodeos
Shooting Sports
Talent Contest
Wildlife Habitat
Wool Judging

o State – State 4-H Conference is conducted in July on campus at New Mexico State University for Senior age 4-H members qualifying at the County Level. Staff from the College of Ag & Home Economics serve as superintendents to conduct quality educational experiences for youth related to several subjects. Youth also participate in hands-on workshops and tours.
o National – Senior age 4-H members winning selected contests at the State Level are eligible to participate in National and Regional Contests.
339 senior age youth representing 30 counties participated in subject matter related contests (Ag & Natural Resources, Home Economics, and General) and hands-on workshops, increasing knowledge and life skills through education.

Objective #17: 50% of youth with at least 4 years of experience in 4-H will gain public speaking skills, strengthening communication and organization abilities and self-concept, through speaking at club, school enrichment and special interest events.
Accomplishments:
See Accomplishments for all 4-H age levels under Objective #3.

Objective #18: 75% of youth with at least 4 years of experience in 4-H club, school enrichment, special interest and county 4-H events will develop cognitive skills, teamwork, leadership and citizenship potential.
Accomplishments:
See Accomplishments for all 4-H age levels under Objective #4.
• In 2010, 339 youth with 4 years or more 4-H experience contributed to a statewide community service project during State 4-H Conference, donating funds to the Sunrise Lions Club to assist with the Lions Camp for the Deaf. New Mexico 4-H collected $3,000 to provide improvements to facilities and send children to camp.

Objective #19: 65% of youth with at least 4 years of experience in the 4-H club program will gain leadership and teamwork skills through leadership opportunities at the club, county and state levels and demonstrate effective leadership and teamwork skills to local community members, organizations and projects, and provide primary leadership to statewide events.
Accomplishments:
• See Accomplishments for all 4-H age levels under Objective #5.
• State Leadership – Senior age 4-H youth with 4 or more years experience
o Youth serve in leadership roles at the state level by performing the following duties:
o Elected Officer
o Appointed Diplomat/Ambassador
o Event Coordinator
o Youth received training in the following areas:
o Parliamentary Procedure
o Public Speaking
o Recreation
o Conflict Resolution
o Leadership Skills
o Goal Setting
o Recruitment & Diversity
o Event Planning

Objective #20: 50% of youth with at least 4 years of experience in the 4-H club program will have established partnerships with local administrators and community leaders, effectively managing programs and facilitating change through youth/adult partnerships.
Accomplishments:
See Accomplishments for all 4-H age levels under Objective #6.

Objective #21: 85% of Agents and staff with at least 4 years of experience will increase professional and personal skills related to life skills and youth development by receiving quality training through theory, contest training, subject matter training, policy training and evaluation training.
Accomplishments:
See accomplishments for all agent experience levels under Objective #7.

Overall Accomplishment for youth with at least 4 years experience:
4,659 youth ages 14-19 gained life skills through participation in the New Mexico 4-H
Program.