• April 1: Collegiate 4-H Scholarship application due
• April 1-6: National 4-H Conference, Washington, D.C.
• April 12-14: CAE4-HA, Winter Park
• May 2: Blue Ribbon Enrollment data due
• May 13: Catch a Calf Breakfast, Denver
• May 24-27: CYFAR Conference, Boston

• Outstanding Volunteer Leader Application/Nomination Form
• Outstanding Youth Leadership Application/Nomination Form
• Outstanding Citizenship Recognition Application/Nomination Form
• State 4-H President Application/Nomination Form
• State 4-H Vice-President Application/Nomination Form

Outstanding Volunteer Leader and Youth Leadership and Citizenship Recognition

These awards support 4-H leaders, junior leaders (youth between 14 and 19 years of age) and alumni who provide leadership and support to 4-H Youth Development educational programs. They help to provide a positive learning environment for Colorado youth. The awards enable individuals to be recognized for outstanding efforts on behalf of others within the 4-H program and their community. These awards recognize individuals for:

• Leadership in elected and appointed positions.
• Positive impacts of their efforts on behalf of youth and their communities.
• Service provided to their community.
• Personal growth due to participation in the program.
• Outstanding service to the 4-H program.
• Personal achievement.
• Continued participation in leadership roles.

Each county may nominate two leaders, junior leaders and alumni for recognition. Recipients are selected by a committee in June the year prior to recognition. Those selected receive their recognition and plaques during the recognition program at Leadership Development Conference.

Adult and youth strive for excellence in their volunteer roles at the club, county, district, and state levels, thereby increasing personal involvement and commitment to the 4-H program. Please take time to nominate (applications attached) the deserving individuals in your county. —Melissa Oliver

State President and Vice President Nomination and Application Forms

Attached are copies of the nomination and application forms for State 4-H President and State 4-H Vice President. They need to be completed and sent to the State 4-H office no later than May 20. Below is eligibility information from the Constitution and By-Laws. —Melissa Oliver

Article II — Officer Terms and Eligibility

15. Term

1. All members of the Officer Team shall start their term at the close of Colorado State 4-H Conference in June of the year they are elected.
2. All members of the Officer Team shall end their term at Colorado State 4-H Conference in June the year after they were elected.
3. Adult leader-advisors will be on two-year alternating terms and can be re-elected.

16. Eligibility

1. President and Vice President
   1. Presently enrolled in 4-H and have one (1) or more years experience in 4-H.
   2. Must be an eligible 4-H member during their entire term. An eligible 4-H member is no older than 18 as of Dec. 31.
   3. Outgoing district presidents have the right to run if they so choose. If they do not choose to run, then a person may be chosen from that president’s district to run. (Individual districts may set stricter eligibility requirements.)
   4. Must submit nomination form to the State 4-H office by May 20 or be nominated by the Nominating Committee.
2. Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian
   1. Must be enrolled in 4-H and have one (1) or more years experience in 4-H.
   2. Must be an eligible 4-H member during their entire term. An eligible 4-H member is no older than 18 as of Dec. 31.
   3. Must be an incoming district president.
3. Adult Leader-advisors
   1. Must currently be serving as a 4-H leader for at least five (5) consecutive years with the following criteria within those five (5) years.
      1. Must have attended at least two (2) Leadership Development Conferences and two (2) Colorado State 4-H Conferences within the past five (5) years.
      2. Must have served as a chaperon for a district retreat and/or attended at least three (3) district meetings within the past five (5) years.
   2. Must submit nomination form to the State 4-H office by May 20.

Alcohol Awareness Month

April is Alcohol Awareness Month and the Colorado 4-H Youth Development program wants to remind you that drinking is associated with the leading causes of death among young people, including car crashes, murder and suicide. 4-H is a place where young people have been able to participate at their own level and where they have been accepted without many of the stereotypes and pressures they face in schools. Colorado 4-H will take action to keep its events free from alcohol and its influence. Currently, we are developing a new resource with policies and procedures to help agents and volunteers deal with alcohol-related issues.

Alcohol is the drug most often used by American teenagers. It is consumed more frequently than all other illicit drugs combined and contributes to an estimated 1,400 student deaths, 500,000 injuries, and 70,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year according to a report issued by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

“It's time for the nation to acknowledge that alcoholism is a disease, not a rite of passage,” says Stacia Murphy, President of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. “America's adults can no longer evade the serious consequences of underage and excessive college drinking. Alcohol is constantly marketed to underage drinkers and is strongly associated with athletic and social events popular with high school and college students. Establishments knowingly serve underage drinkers at happy hours, two-for-one and all-you-can-drink specials, often with a wink and a nod to fake identification. And, sadly, many underage drinkers are often first presented with alcohol in their own living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens.”

“Most of us in the medical profession are not against drinking socially,” says Dr. Nicholas Pace of the Medical/Scientific Committee at the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. “What we are against is a society that promotes the heavy use of drinking without considering its many negative consequences. Then, when people get sick from the drug alcohol, the uninformed turn their backs on these people call-ing alcoholism a moral failure rather than a medical disease.”

Binge drinking, the most prevalent form of underage drinking, is as common as it was in the early 1990s, indicating that efforts to combat the phenomenon have so far failed. “You've seen the footage on television news programs and print publications,” says Murphy, “Young men and women literally pouring beer and other alcoholic beverages down their throats without any regard for the tragic consequences that typically follow from this kind of behavior. These students think they're having a great time, being 'grown-up.' Unfortunately, as many as 360,000 of the nation's 12 million undergraduates will ultimately die from alcohol-related causes. This is more than the total number who will be awarded advanced degrees.”

While the issue of underage drinking is a complex problem, one that can only be solved through a sustained and cooperative effort between parents, schools, community leaders, and the children themselves, there are three areas which have proven to be effective in prevention of underage drinking: curtailing the availability of alcohol, consistent enforcement of existing laws and regulations, and changing norms and behaviors through education.

According to Murphy, “As a society, we've got to do a far better job persuading our citizens and our young people that alcohol use is a dead end, that they are playing Russian roulette, not only with their own lives, but with the lives of friends, neighbors, and loved ones. Education and strong parental supervision are the ways to head off and heal the devastating consequences of underage and excessive college drinking.”

For additional information go to www.ncadd.org for National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence resources on Alcohol Awareness Month. —Dale Leidheiser