4-H/Youth Development
Award Trips

The Big E Trip

The trip to the Big E in Massachusetts was an adventure. We had a great time, learned many new things about the Big E and each other. We saw many livestock shows. There was a Tunis sheep show; a Hereford beef show and a Hunter-Jumper horse show all going on at the same time. We attended the evenings Mardi gras parade, which was pretty cool, another horse show and a free concert by an American Idol R & B singer. The next day we went to a quad of museums and the Dr. Seuss national museum/garden in Springfield, Massachusetts, his birth place. We spent a lot of time exploring the museums and even got a picture with Dr. Seuss. It was a great trip having fun, playing cards, seeing the sights, talking and just getting to know each other.

Citizen Washington Focus Trip

This year Steuben County sent two delegates on the Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) trip which was July 6-12. They were Jenna Kurtz and Amy Quanz, both members of the Southern Tier Livestock and Willing Workers 4-H clubs. They were joined by two boys from Tompkins-Cortland County and the delegation from New Jersey. CWF was a week long experience in which its participants were given the chance to learn about the capital and being a good citizen

Activities started Sunday at the National 4-H Conference Center with group discussions on citizenship. The real fun started on Monday with a trip to George Wahsington’s house, Mount Vernon. There we saw how he lived and learned about his life as a plantation owner. This was followed by workshops, a keynote speaker, and a tour of the Washington D.C. memorials. Tuesday’s highlights were a tour of Arlington National Cemetery, Iwo Jima, and the WWII memorial. Wednesday was capital hill day.

The delegation met with Congressman Randy Kuhl and Congressman Michael Arcuri. The day also included an extensive tour of the Library of Congress and the Capitol. During the tour of the Capitol the group was able to visit the Senate and see Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as the Senate was voting that day.

Thursday’s main events were the tour of the National Cathedral and going to Toby’s Dinner Theatre to see “All Shook Up.” Friday was delegation day and the group toured the Washington Monument together. Then some went to the Holocaust Museum and other to the American Indian Museum. The entire group then traveled to the National Zoo, where they were able to see pandas! Afterwards at the conference center there was a talent show and dance to conclude the weeks activities.

CWF was an exciting week full of fun, and educational, activities. It was a good experience and Jenna and Amy would both like to thank the CCE office for this opportunity.

Local 4-H'ers Explore Careers in Agriculture

On October 2 & 3, 4-H members from around the state, including a teen from Steuben participated in the 4-H AgriBusiness Career (ABC) Conference, traveling to Cobleskill for two intensive days of tours and workshops.

Ashley Warriner, a 4-H member in the J-T Rough Riders 4-H Club, participated in mini tours on raising pastured poultry and a horse training stable and campus study session on Equine Studies and Thoroughbred Management. All the participants had the opportunity to work with Jessica Chittenden, Director of Communications for New York State Ag & Markets, designing a power point presentation about their “on-site” workshops.

"This conference offers not only an opportunity for the students to experience possible career options, but exercises their ability to retain information and communicate what they have learned,” states Ms. Chittenden. “Their excitement for the tours and the youthful ingenuity they possess in creating their power point presentations made for a fun, educational and hands-on activity that everyone enjoyed and learned from, whether they were presenting or listening to their peers."

The youth had an opportunity to showcase their presentations at a banquet attended by members of the SUNY Cobleskill Postsecondary Agriculture Student leadership group, who awarded prizes for the top workshop teams.

The college connections continued on the second day when the 4-H members visited the SUNY Cobleskill campus. Youth met with various faculty members and had the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities, like operating a remote-controlled BobCat in the Agriculture Engineering Department.

Long-time ABC Committee member and SUNY Cobleskill Career Pathways Director Terry Hughes sees great value in this 4-H event.

“The 4-H AgriBusiness Career Conference is one of the best Career Awareness activities that I have been involved with in my 33 years as an agricultural educator. The students are exposed to a wide variety of agricultural career pathways by both individuals who are directly involved in each career field and then students are provided educational
pathways by the SUNY Cobleskill college faculty to help them see how they can prepare to pursue their dream job,” says Mr. Hughes.

The 4-H ABC Conference has been a collaborative effort of Cornell Cooperative Extension and SUNY Cobleskill staff for over 30 years. It is supported by Schoharie County agricultural businesses and New York State Farm Bureau.

As the youth serving organization of Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-H Youth Development actively involves youth in opportunities that help them learn to lead, build their communities, and connect with each other. To find out more about 4-H in Steuben County, contact the CCE Office at 607-664-2300 or at www.putknowledgetowork.com.