The Town ‘N Kountry Kids Red Crew 4-H Club met on Aug. 17 at the ballpark in Woonsocket.

The meeting was called to order by Co-President Megan Linke. The Flag Pledge was led by Ezra Schultz, and the 4-H Pledge was led by Ty Burkel. 

Roll call was led by Co-Vice President Xavier Baysinger with the topic, “What is Your Favorite Subject in School?” which was answered by 19 members.  

The secretary’s report was read by Co-President Dilyn Brooks and approved as presented. The treasurer’s report was given by Co-Treasurer Bailey Feistner with a balance of $1,458.98. It was moved by Lane Burkel, seconded by Dilyn, to approve the report as presented.  Motion carried.  

Hope Baysinger told the group about her experiences with the 4-H Summer Adventure Series. Bailey talked about competing in the Sanborn County Horse Show. Tyson Eddy and Acaiya Schultz reported on Achievement Days, and each member shared their favorite Achievement Day project.  

Over the summer, the club has been doing a community service project of weeding the flower bed south of Steichen Service on Main Street in Woonsocket. Families that have helped with this project are the Blake/Luke/Chaz Larson family, the Avery Miller family and the Sutton/Shiloh Senska family.

Club members have been asked to help with a tree clean-up project at the Barb Maurice residence for a donation to the club. They planned this project for Friday, Aug. 21, at 5:30 p.m.

After discussion, members decided on a community service project at the nursing home in Woonsocket.  They will bring one or more 4-H projects to show the residents, display exhibits and/or animals through their window.  Members may also want to make a sign/poster with information like their name and a little about their project, for example “my crossbred sheep, Muffin” or “my shadow box about my Grandpa,” etc. Make sure it is written in big letters so they can read it. Tyson will work with Leader Paula Linke to contact the nursing home to set up a time and the details for Sunday, Aug. 23.

The crew talked about what the group needs to do to prepare for record books and awards. The next meeting will be scheduled after the State Fair. Members were encouraged to mail a letter to the group’s elderly friends.

Following the meeting, Myles Larson presented an illustrated talk on how to make a beaded snowflake. Ezra gave an illustrated talk about obsidian rocks that he found from volcano lava by Lake Superior.

  The evening concluded with a game of kickball. 

…See photos in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!

There is so much space for growth and opportunity within 4-H. The experiences and things you do in 4-H are endless. It really is a program that will give you just as much as you put into it. It can at times take dedication and responsibility to get things done. But with that said, the leaders we have in this organization make every opportunity available and constantly try to keep kids active and involved.

One way that they have kept kids active throughout this summer and pandemic is with the South Dakota Summer Adventures Virtual Program. The goal was to provide youth across the state with an opportunity to learn, create and develop skills virtually with their peers through the program. They hosted the program with a kickoff on June 1, and it continued through the 11 weeks of summer. There were activities from live Zoom sessions to discussion boards to at home projects. There were challenges each week for the youth to participate in and get involved. One motivator for these challenges was that the top five individuals from each challenge received a monetary prize. At the end of every week, there was a family challenge used to encourage youth to use skills and tricks they learned from the week and share them with their family. 

Xavier Baysinger and Bailey Feistner from the Town ‘N’ Kountry Kids 4-H club in Sanborn County put together a presentation for Week 8’s theme, which was “Critter Crazy Days.” This week highlighted different animal projects they could take part in. Their presentation was called “Poultry Perfection” and explained the basics of raising and showing poultry.

Bailey told about what should be looked for when picking out poultry and tips on raising them.

Xavier demonstrated how to show poultry with a live presentation on poultry showmanship.

Their presentation was done via Zoom and also included a question and answer session. Xavier and Bailey have showed poultry at the county and state level in 4-H and in open class with great success.

…See photos in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!