• Aug. 21 - Sept. 5: Colorado State Fair, Pueblo
• Sept. 6: University holiday, offices closed
• Sept. 14: 4-H Youth Fund Board meeting
• Oct. 1: Blue Ribbon Youth Enrollment data due
• Oct. 1-3: Colorado Leadership Camp, Glenwood Springs
• Oct. 3-9: National 4-H Week
• Oct. 8-10: 4-H Leaders' Forum, Steamboat Springs

• 2004-2005 Project List
• Health Rocks! information

New Project List

Please review the attached project list for the 2004-2005 project year. Please get any comments, suggestions, etc. to me by Aug. 27. After corrections are made, the project list will be posted to the 4-H web page as a PDF file and also as a Word document. Thanks in advance for your help. - Gail McKee

ES237 Reminder

As you wind down the enrollment year, remember that your final ES237 data is due by Oct. 1, 2004 in the State 4-H office. Joy has posted the revised version of "ES237 in a Nutshell" on the web at www.ext.colostate.edu/ye/. We will need a paper copy of the report as well as the ES237 and data files. - Gail McKee and Joy Bauder

4-H 501(c)3 Organizations

Cathann Kress, Deputy Administrator, CSREES U.S. Department of Agriculture, recently clarified that all 4-H 501(c)3 organizations (clubs, foundations, councils, etc.) may continue to use 4-H in their titles if they have been sanctioned and monitored by some part of Extension. There had been some confusion as to whether these groups would need to submit new requests to CSREES to use the name and emblem. They do not have to as long as they are working with Extension agents within their communities and properly using the name and emblem. - Sue Cummings

4-H Professional Research, Knowledge and Competencies (4-H PRKC) 2004

The new 4-H PRKC 2004 matrix is now available at www.4h-usa.org. It was accepted by the National 4-H Leadership Trust at their June 2004 meeting. It represents the most current and comprehensive research and knowledge in the field of 4-H youth development as well as the competencies that are essential to conducting 4-H youth development programs. - Sue Cummings

Curriculum of Interest

At the recent Western Region State 4-H Program Leaders' meeting, information on new curriculum was shared that may be of interest to you.

Montana - "Meth Power" PowerPoint presentation, includes a teacher's guide and youth materials. Contact Kirk Astroth, State 4-H Program Leader, at astroth@montana.edu for further information.

Washington - Outdoor Adventures Curriculum which includes learning experiences using the ropes course, rock climbing, canoeing, orienteering, etc. and a camping curriculum. Please contact Pat BoyEs, State Program Leader, at boyesp@wsu.edu for more information on this curriculum. - Sue Cummings

4-H Columns

When you need a 4-H related article for the newspaper, check out this site: www.napsnet.com/. Just type 4-H in the search box, and you will get the first four articles David Henderson from National 4-H Council has prepared for newspapers around the country. They are used as "fillers" for the most part -- not hard news. You can localize/personalize them in any way. I hope this will be a useful site for you. It would be great if you put the umbrella statement for 4-H in your e-mail signature block and used it in your county 4-H publications. You can use "Colorado" instead of "America" if you want: 4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. - Jan Carroll

Discover Health Rocks!

Health Rocks! is a decision-making program for youth eight- to 12-years of age. The program is taught by teens to help youth learn skills such as critical thinking, how to manage stress, how to handle peer pressure and how to communicate effectively. Health Rocks! is a joint program between National 4-H Council and Mississippi State University Extension.

If you are interested in learning more about this program and/or sending a team to gain skills to conduct the program in your county, you may want to take note of the following opportunity.

Utah State University Extension is sponsoring a Health Rocks! training program at Utah State University on Nov. 19 - 21, 2004. Counties are asked to send a team consisting of one adult and two teens (ages 14 - 18) interested in learning how to teach Health Rocks! Attached is registration information, a tentative program agenda and the registration form for your convenience. - Sue Cummings

National Video Teleconference

Cathann Kress, Director of Youth Development at CSREES-USDA, will address educators on "The Essential Elements of 4-H Youth Development" at West Virginia University on Thursday, Sept. 30. The one-hour presentation, which will be broadcast via satellite throughout the country, will begin at 2:00 p.m. Uplink coordinates will be announced prior to the presentation.

Kress will speak during a meeting of the National 4-H Council's board of trustees at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy on WVU's Evansdale campus in Morgantown, WV. The essential elements - which include fostering belonging, mastery of knowledge and skills, independence and generosity in youth - represent a philosophy that values youth. The presentation will help professionals and volunteers who work with youth learn about strategies for incorporating that philosophy into program planning and implementation. - Dale Leidheiser