Washington County 4-H Newsletter

Welcome to our Family Newsletter! The most up-to-date information about events and activities going on in or near Washington County. Please pass along to friends and family that might be interested in attending a 4-H event. Once you have enrolled, you will also receive the monthly Clover Update at the beginning of each month highlighting regional and state events.

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Here we are at the beginning of another 4-H year! The month of September provides our 4-H youth an opportunity to showcase their learning at State Fair, State Shoot, State Horse Show and State Dog Show! It is a rewarding and fun experience to watch youth grow and learn in their project areas. Now on to another year!

This is a reminder that you need to re-enroll each year in the 4-H program. AFTER September 15, please go into your family account in 4honline and update all those enrolling for the 2026-2027

4-H year, including adults.

We would also like to say THANK YOU to our volunteers who help make all these learning opportunities possible! To the Livestock, Horse, Performing Arts and Dog PDC’s (Project Development Committees). To our Club Leader’s, Animal Superintendents, Dan Whittaker (Llama), to our dedicated Shooting Sports and Dog Trainers, the Food Stand Committee, all the volunteers who helped in some capacity during the county fair and state fair! The list could go on and on! We always welcome new volunteers as our numbers continue to grow, additional volunteers are needed to help provide quality programming for the coming year.

We want to say welcome to our new families, we know it can be a challenging to navigate the 4-H year the first year or two but we hope you learned some tips and tricks to make this coming year even better. We can’t wait to venture into the 2026-2027 4-H year! We look forward to working with all of you to continue to grow and improve your 4-H experience.

Those who have not picked up your State Fair project and there are a few, please reach out and schedule a pick up time with Kathy at eber0002@umn.edu Anything left after Open House on Oct. 9 will be discarded.

Come help us promote Washington County 4-H!

Our annual 4-H Open House will be held at Hooley Hall on the evening of Friday, October 9th from 5pm-7pm. We invite all of our clubs to participate by bringing information about your club, along with project examples, and a simple, fun activity for interested families. We also love to have our PDC’s and livestock project areas represented at this event!

Please email Lani at xion1389@umn.edu if you have any questions. This is great opportunity to show what your club is all about. New families are looking for clubs that best matches their interests and clubs are always looking for new volunteers! Lets help each other. Food, fun and give aways provided!

Come join us for the first Ambassador meeting of the year! We will be meeting at the Government Center on Monday, September 28 from 6-7 PM.

Washington County 4-H Ambassadors are youth in grades 7-13 who take on a leadership role on the county level. Ambassadors plan cloverbud workshops, service projects, social events, and so much more! Our meetings consist of snacks, games, leadership development, planning and laughter!

Sign up to be an Ambassador here!

Contact Megan at slate187@umn.edu with any questions.

July 17, 2026

Our club participated in the lumberjack days parade our club presented penny the pig the Washington county fair mascot. It was a lot of fun and a lot of kids enjoyed watching we hope to have even more participants next year.

Julia Lesmeister

Congratulations to Jack Matvick on being selected as a 2026–27 Minnesota 4-H Agriculture Ambassador! Jack was selected to represent our county and the Minnesota 4-H Youth Development Program as a leader and advocate for agriculture! Way to go Jack!

Our apologies for missing Calissa Newton in the recognition of our 4-H grads during the County Fair Awards night! Calissa was a 13 year member of Country Cousins. Calissa's most valuable 4-H experiences were those where she could see the impact of her actions. Calissa values the opportunity to inspire growth in younger members and contribute meaningfully to her community. Calissa said that 4-H has been one of her greatest teachers, providing experiences that have taught me communication, leadership and organization. More importantly, 4-H gave her a passion for lifelong learning and the confidence to pursue a degree in the challenging field of biomedical engineering. Calissa is currently attending the U of M Twin Cities! Congratulations Calissa!

We are very appreciative to the Club Leaders who have stepped up to take on that leadership role!

Special thanks to Retiring Club Leaders!

Nicole Filler who is stepping down from co-leading Sunnyside 4-H. We always appreciated Nicole’s wonderful organizational skills and her quick response and follow up! Sunnyside welcomes Clarissa St. Claire who will be joining Jill Leyde as co-leader moving forward.

Laura Kruse and Mary VandeVoort are turning the leadership of Woodbury 4-H Club to Ashley Ng and Rachel Haney. Laura and Mary have grown the Woodbury Club over the years! We thank them for their years of service and involvement in many other activities as well! We look forward to working with Ashely and Rachel!

The Leash League has welcomed Nicole Glickman to co-lead with Tina Jarosch. Many thanks to Andrea Kent for her years of service and getting the club off the ground a few years ago with Tina!

Wranglers 4-H Club welcomes Amy Delaney as a co-leader! Amy brings with her a wealth of background and leadership and will take the reins moving forward with assistance from Jodi Collette and Colleen Bergmann.

Joellynn Tinklenberg will be stepping down from Forest Lake Rangers this Fall. Joellyn always had creative and wonderful ideas to share at our Leader Meetings. Abby Brown and Ashley Rueter will be new co-leaders of the club!

State Fair Chaperones!

Thank you to the volunteers who chaperoned the Livestock and General Encampments at the Minnesota State Fair! This is such an important role, and we are so grateful to all of you who made the commitment to oversee our Washington County youth!

Livestock Chaperones included; Dan Fritsche, Maria Bjorkman and Sara Delaney! Lama Encampment chaperone was Sue Burroughs! General Encampment chaperones included our long term chaperone, always willing, always committed to fun, Avis Peters, along with Fabian Stolzenburg, and Becky Richter!

We were reminiscing about how Washington County families are well represented at the State Fair serving on various committees, volunteering, working on various tasks and events throughout the 12 days (and ahead) of the fair. Thanks to all of you for the part you play to make this experience a success for the 4-H youth!

Volunteers!

Washington County has the best volunteers! We would not be able to offer the opportunities we do in this county without the support and help of many volunteers! Every volunteer makes an impact on our program! Thank you for your time, energy and passion! We can’t include everyone, but we want to thank our key leaders; Club Leaders, Shooting Sports Trainers, Dog Trainers, Horse Camp Committee, Horse PDC, Livestock PDC, Dan Whitaker (Llama), Food Stand Committee, Dog Trainers, Performing Arts Committee, Exec Board adults….the list goes on! You are appreciated!

Congratulations to Washington County 4-H members exhibiting at the Minnesota State Fair. We had many receiving purple ribbons and special awards. Looking for State Fair results? Check out the state website to find results and photos!

State Fair Results

Preliminary results can be found here!

Dog

• Sept. 26-27- State 4-H Dog Show - MN State Fair

Events

• Sept. 28 - Executive Board Federation Meeting
• Oct. 9 - County 4-H Open House @ Washington County Fairgrounds 5-7pm

Horse

• Sept. 17-21 - State Horse Show - MN State Fair

Livestock Reminders - 2027

• Feb. 15 - Market Beef and Dairy Steer Animal ID deadline. (Must be enrolled in Beef project to receive email reminders) This is a statewide deadline.
• May 15 - Animal ID deadline (Dog, Horse, Llama, Rabbit, Dairy, Breeding Beef, Sheep, Swine, Goat (market & dairy) and leased poultry). Must be enrolled in an animal project to get email reminders. This is also a statewide deadline, you only have one week to use an exemption if this deadline is missed.
• July 1 - County Fair registration due (Using FairEntry, tell us which animals and classes you will be participating in) This a county deadline with consequences if missed.
• LQA Training - Livestock Quality Assurance training needs to be completed BEFORE County Fair to be eligible for a State Fair trip with an animal (Must have completed 6th grade to attend State Fair with an animal). In-person training lasts 3 fair seasons versus online training which is only good for 1 year and has a fee.
• TBD - Washington County Fair

STEM (Mark your calendar for these dates, topics will be announced as details are finalized)

• Oct. 21
• Nov. 18
• Dec. 16

Youth Leadership

• Sept. 28 - Ambassador Meeting - Stillwater Government Center - 6-7 PM

Youth enrollment and animal ID deadline

• May 15, 2027 - Enrollment deadline for full County Fair participation and eligibility for State Fair, State Shoot, State Horse Show and State Dog Show.
• Participation is limited after May 15 (Not eligible for champions, auction, state trips) Blue, red and white ribbons only.

State Fair 2027

• Aug. 25-29 - MN State Fair 4-H Livestock Encampment
• Sept. TBD - MN State Fair 4-H General Encampment

We have many new leaders coming up this fall! Please consider joining this zoom call to help support you in your role as a club leader.

Do you want to learn alongside other volunteers and connect with quality resources and tools to support your club? Join us for one of two virtual learning opportunities.

• Thursday, Sept. 24 from 7 to 8:15 p.m.

• Tuesday, Nov. 17 from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

This 75-minute online training is open to Minnesota 4-H volunteers, potential volunteers, and youth leaders as part of our statewide volunteer development webinar program. While the content is geared towards new club leaders, anyone providing leadership and support to a 4-H members' experience will benefit from the material. Registration is open now and will be available until one week before the webinar. Contact 4-H Volunteer Systems Director Jeremy Freeman at jeremyf@umn.edu with any questions. Learn more and register.

4-H volunteers contribute to youth thriving. They make their communities stronger and develop skills they can use in other settings. These are all great reasons to take a step to becoming a volunteer—If you’ve been thinking about volunteering but aren’t sure where to start there are steps you can take to learn more:

1. Complete our volunteer interest form. The info you share will be given to 4-H staff so they can work with you to find or create a volunteer role that meets your skills, interests, and availability.
2. Reach out directly to your local 4-H staff to inquire about specific volunteer opportunities in your community.

Whether you join us for one day or for multiple events, we value the impact we make together for our youth and our communities! For more information contact MN4-HVol@umn.edu.

University of Minnesota Extension works across the lifespan. We create and support positive non-formal learning opportunities for youth. We foster resilient, healthy and secure futures for families and seniors. Extension works with Minnesotans to make informed decisions leading to better health and well-being. Learn more at: https://extension.umn.edu/working-youth/contacts-families-and-youth

University of Minnesota Extension improves food literacy, physical activity, food safety and healthy food access for Minnesotans and the food service industry. Learn more at: https://extension.umn.edu/food-health-and-nutrition

The best plants and gardening practices for Minnesota gardeners, homeowners and hobbyists to grow healthy lawns, landscapes and gardens. Learn more at: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden

Ann Church - Livestock (Beef, Dairy, Llama, Sheep, Swine, Poultry, Rabbit), Horse, Shooting Sports, Federation, Community Clubs, Fair, Charters and Finance, Foods & Creative Arts projects and Food Stand.

Megan Slater - Youth Teaching Youth, Ambassadors, Performing Arts, Overnight/Day Camps, Dog, Goat, Cloverbud workshops.

Lani Xiong - STEM, New Families, Promotion, Outreach, and Project Workshops.

Contact information is listed below.