Okeechobee County

Camera Club

By: Bobbi Poole

We would like to thank everyone who donated time and/or talent at the Farm/City Day luncheon. If you cooked, served, gathered children or set up tables and chairs, your efforts are greatly appreciated. 4-H is tried and true and I am proud to be a part of it!

If you have a camera and would like to learn how to use it, join our group, we can show you how. Our next meeting is December 8^th@ 5:30 pm at the Studio of Photography by Bobbi. 213 SE 2^nd Street. Please call if you have any questions 467-2614.

Remember to keep your eyes focused!

Barnyard Buddies

By: Janet McKenna

The Barnyard Buddies held their third meeting of the year on Saturday, November 8^th at the Extension Office. We had a short business meeting then made pinecone turkeys to take home and pinecone Christmas trees for next month’s meeting. Our December meeting will be Saturday, December 13^th at the Extension Office starting at 10 am. After the business meeting and song practice we plan to go to the Okeechobee Health Care Facility (nursing home) where we will sing our Christmas songs and give out the trees we made at our last meeting. Please be sure to wear red or green, like a Santa hat or your Barnyard Buddies shirt and bring a big smile. We will be having a good time!

County Council/ Jr. Leaders

By: Austin Pluskot

Our last meeting was held on November 17^th. We started our meeting with Brooke Stokes and Jamie Burnham leading us in the Pledges. Nathan Candler gave a thought for the day. Mrs. Gwen Chandler, Supervisor of Elections was the quest speaker at the meeting. She spoke about election days and how elections work. Our next meeting will be December 15^th at 7:00 pm at the Spann residence. If you have questions or need directions call Ms. Dianne at 467-1695.

We had a great meeting last month! We discussed many upcoming events. The Hog Weigh-in for OLYS is December 6^th from 8:00-10:00 am do not be late. The gates will be closed at 10:00 am. Please remember your entry forms. All animals being weighed must have an entry form.

Our next meeting is our Christmas party. It will be held at Osceola Middle School on December 16^th at 6:30 pm. Everyone will want to attend. After a short business meeting we will have Pizza and soda. This year we are ordering shirts for show. At the meeting there will be shirts available to try on. If you are not there to be sized we will not know what size shirt to order for you. Please remember each member is responsible for bringing two dozen homemade cookies to the meeting. We will be putting together 250 goodie bags for Meals on Wheels. Also we need members to bring tape, scissors and/or staplers for putting together the bags. This holiday season we have adopted a family that needs our help. We will be calling you through out the month to let you know the items needed for this family. It is a wonderful thing to have members that are willing to help those who need us.

Our last meeting was held November 4^th. We would like to welcome our two new members Kayla Crawford and Angel Maldonado.

Our program for this meeting was recognizing the different breeds of horses. Our next meeting will be held on December 9^th at the Extension Office at 6:00 pm. Please bring a wrapped $5.00 or less gift that can be used for a horse project.

Steaks and Chops

By: Samantha McKenna

The Steaks and Chops 4-H Club held their monthly meeting on November 10^,2003. We had a presentation on swine selection by Mr. Pat Hogue. The presentation was very informative and interesting. Thank you Mr. Hogue. After the presentation we divided into our project areas. Swine members discussed their signs and the steer members had more discussion on selection.

Steaks and Chops will meet on December 13^th at 10:00 at the Ag barn. The swine members will have a workshop and the steer members will take a trip to each member’s barn to see how the projects are coming. We will all meet back at the Ag barn for a hot dog lunch. See you there!!

By: Marcia Candler

Chobee Cattle Kids met on November

5^th at the Extension Office. We made plans for our Farm/City Day booth. We will have a display showing all of the equipment used for beef cattle projects.

Our program for the meeting also discussed show equipment. We learned about the different kinds of halters, ropes and brushes, and what they are used for.

For our December meeting we are doing a community service project. We plan to decorate and fill Christmas goody bags for a local children’s group. We will also celebrate Christmas with Pizza and snacks. Please remember to bring candy for the goody bags and other items you volunteered to bring. We will meet at the Extension Office on Wednesday, December 10^th at 6:00 pm. If you have any questions call Mrs. Candler at 467-9029.

Sharp Shooters

By:KolbyTrimnal

Hello shooters and Parents! Being organized and on time is a lesson that the Sharp Shooters learned at their last meeting. This is a wonderful lesson. On November 15^th we participated in the Concert in the Park along with the Steaks and Chops club by selling tea and chili to the community.

We will be taking part in helping the needy this holiday season by donating gifts to the Toys for Tots. Please bring in at least one unwrapped gift for a boy or girl age 5-8. All donations are greatly appreciated. Our next meeting will be December 11^th at Mr. Sellers’ home at 7:30 pm. We will be shooting open peep and telescopic sights during Christmas break. See ya at the meeting!

Udder Bunch

By: Kelly Buchanan

At our last meeting we had a guest speaker. Mr. Raulerson gave a great presentation on reproduction. Thank you Mr. Raulerson.

Show time is right around the corner. Please remember to have your animal’s vaccinations up to date. Health papers are required for all animals for all shows. Be sure you have your veterinarian appointment scheduled for the month of January. Don’t wait until the last minute! Start watching for deadlines for entry forms for upcoming fairs. Please make sure you have all necessary forms and registrations turned into the Extension Office prior to the listed deadlines.

Thank you to everyone who brought in canned goods and participated in our food drive for the needy. Remember this can be listed as community service in your record books.

If you picked up a paper ornament from our tree, please remember to bring in your unwrapped gift to our next meeting on December 8^th. The meeting will be held at the Extension Office at 7:00 pm.

The Florida 4-H Dairy Program will be having a clipping contest at the Desoto County Ag Center on January 10, 2004.

The Wild Bunch hosted a game booth at the awesome Open House at Arnold’s Wildlife on November 1^st. The booth had games to play such as The Duck Pond and The Fish Pond. You know that old saying “It’s like finding a needle in a hay stack”? Well, prizes could be found in our hay stack! Many of the visitors enjoyed viewing the large cats and the exotic birds. We would like to thank everyone who came out to support the wildlife center. We enjoyed your visit. Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, December 20^th from 10:00 until noon. Hope to see you there!

Heels Down Horse Club

By: Katie Wallace

Heels Down worked the Big Lake trailriders concession stand in October as a fundraiser. We plan to work in the concession stand in January and February as well. Our last meeting was held November 6^,2003. We discussed funds and requirements for Area E and the State Horse Show as well as Horse Camp scholarships. For more information see Tamera Higgins or Diane Cletzer.

Our next meeting will be January 8^th at the Extension Office at 6:30 pm. Hope to see you there. Have a happy holiday!

Places To Go

By: Pat McCoy

The Places to Go Club has not had our meeting for the

month of November, at press time, but we are expecting a good one. Our club will have a busy month attending the Christmas play at Okeechobee High School on December 16^th and caroling on December 23^rd. We will meet on December 23 at the Extension Office at 6:30 pm.

Places To Go would like to wish all 4-H members, volunteers and parents a wonderful holiday season.

Newsletters Articles due December 15th

The holiday season is here! The postal service will be slowed with Christmas cards sent to loved ones and the Extension Office will be closed for holiday time off. In order for you to receive your January newsletter on time, it must be mailed earlier. I appreciate everyone’s understanding. We will be back on track at the first of the year.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Ms. Jackie

Florida State Fair

Saturday, December 6, 2003

Youth and Adults

The Cooperative Extensive Service would like to wish everyone joy this holiday season!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call our office at (863) 763-6469.

The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS /University of Florida. Christine T. Waddill, Dean.

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