• 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

Colorado 4-H Youth Fund, Inc. Names New Director

Becky Fry has been named the new Director of the Colorado 4-H Youth Fund. While new to the Fort Collins area, Becky has more than 16 years experience in a university environment at Purdue University with extensive knowledge of advancement and development. She brings much experience working with advisory, fundraising, and non-profit boards. Becky was a 10-year 4-H member, junior leader and was active as an adult 4-H fair board member.

Along with an expertise in development, she also has an extensive background in the 4-H program. She will assume the role of Youth Fund director on Monday, April 18, 2005.

I believe that with Becky's leadership, the Colorado 4-H Youth Fund will move to the next level of resource development for the future of 4-H. —Jeff Goodwin

Blue Ribbon Data Due

It's that time of year again and we need a copy of your county Blue Ribbon data. This consists of Youth2A through Youth2Z files. Backup instructions are located at http://www.ext.colostate.edu/staffres/faq/brfaq.html#backup. To verify total Community Club 4-H members, run the ES237 Verification Report and look at the grand total on the last page. This number must equal the number reported on your enrollment report confirmation, which is attached to this Update. The form will need to be signed and sent in with your data files by May 2. This document is new to Colorado 4-H and is now required because of the 4-H Enrollment Fee structure. Please contact me at 970-491-7879 if you have questions. —Gail McKee

4-H Programs of Distinction Information Sessions

National 4-H Headquarters will be holding two 4-H Programs of Distinction information sessions for people who would like to learn more about how to submit a manuscript. The information session will walk people through the submission process and provide information about the criteria that peer reviewers use to assess manuscripts. The two time slots are:

• 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. April 14, 2005 Mountain time
• 12:00 Noon - 1:30 p.m. April 21, 2005 Mountain time

The sessions will be conducted using CENTRA Web Meeting. In order to register, please send an e-mail request indicating the time slot that you would like to participate in to Shannon Bedo, sbedo@csrees.usda.gov. Participants will receive a web link and call-in number prior to the session. Please note that registration is limited to 15 people per session. —Jan Carroll

2005 National 4-H Youth in Action/Community Tree Planting Grant

Awards: $500-$1,750 each
Deadline: May 6, 2005

The 2005 National 4-H Council Youth in Action/Community Tree Planting Grant Program offers a limited number of youth grants in the amount of $500 to $1,750 to 4-H/Extension groups in local communities, counties, and at the state level. This program provides opportunities for young people and adults to take action with ongoing community tree planting and/or reforestation projects or to stimulate new and creative youth-led projects. National 4-H Youth Grants put resources directly into the hands of youth, and they take the lead in the design of the project, the proposal writing process, implementation, and then evaluation.

The application can be found at http://www.fourhcouncil.edu/pGrntTreePlanting.aspx. Click on "2005 Tree Planting RFP" at the bottom of the page under "Related Links" to open or download the application. Completed applications are due on Friday, May 6, 2005. If you have any questions, email smiske@fourhcouncil.edu. Funding for this grant is provided by Deft, Inc. —Jan Carroll

4-H Leader Line Online

The April issue of 4-H Leader Line is posted online at the CSU Extension 4-H web site. We would like to send you an email reminder to view it online each time a new issue is published. We would also like to ask you to encourage 4-H leaders in your county to subscribe. To register to receive a reminder that a new issue is posted on the web site, please go to http://4hweb.ext.colostate.edu/leaderline.

Leader Line is published on Apr. 1, Aug. 1 and Dec. 1. If you go to the CSU Extension 4-H web site during the first week of each of the above-mentioned months, you will find the current issue of this publication. —Susan Cuckler

Youth (21 and under) and Adult Proposal Reviewers Wanted!

National 4-H Council seeks proposal reviewers for the 2005 National 4-H Youth in Action/Community Tree Planting grant funded by Deft, Inc. Serving as a reviewer on the Selection Committee is a great way to educate yourself about the grant writing and evaluation process. We would very much appreciate your time and efforts in this process.

Reviewers read through proposals and score them. They MUST be able to read all proposals between May 15-22, and be available for a conference call on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 to discuss scores. The conference call will be approximately two hours long. Please let us know as soon as possible if you can volunteer as a reviewer.

To apply to be a part of the Selection Committee send an email to smiske@fourhcouncil.edu with the following information:

1. What is your name?
2. Are you a youth or an adult?
3. What is your professional title, and who is your employer?
4. Please list any applicable volunteer position(s) and/or your participation in community/professional organizations.
5. If you are a student, please list your year in school, major, and the name of the school you are attending.
6. What is your address? (If you have a post office box number, please also include a street address.)
7. What is your telephone number?
8. What is your fax number?
9. What is your e-mail address?
10. How did you hear about this opportunity, and why are you interested in participating?
11. Briefly tell us something about your background that you believe would make you a valuable member of the Selection Committee.
12. Will you be available for a two- to three-hour conference call on the designated day?

Please note: You are not eligible to be a member of the Tree Planting Grant Selection Committee if your group currently is applying for the grant. —Jan Carroll

Office of Suicide Prevention - Taking Care of Suicide Survivors

As a member of the Colorado Prevention Leadership Council, I was invited to speak to state-level program managers. In a follow up meeting with Karen Mason and Julie Reichenberger I learned some things important to share with 4-H professionals and volunteers. This is the fourth of five messages from Karen.

Suicide survivors need our care. Grief from suicide is more complicated than grief from other deaths. There are several peer support groups for suicide survivors that can help. A grieving mother started Heartbeat support groups. They are now all over Colorado. For more information about Heartbeat and all their chapters, some for teens, go to http://www.heartbeatsurvivorsaftersuicide.org. Parents Surviving Suicide is a Denver-based support group for parent survivors. For more information contact Vivian Epstein at 303-322-7450.

If you are a clergy or lay leader, After a Suicide: Recommendations for Religious Services and Other Public Memorial Observances can be very helpful. Click on: http://www.sprc.org/library/aftersuicide.pdf.

Thank you for all your help preventing suicide in our Colorado communities. If you have more questions about how to support survivors in your community, you can contact the Office of Suicide Prevention at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment at www.cdphe.state.co.us/pp/Suicide/suicidehom.asp or contact Karen Mason, Ph.D., 303-692-2539 or karen.e.mason@state.co.us, or Julie Reichenberger at 303-692-2560 or julie.reichenberger@state.co.us—Jan Carroll