Important club deadlines
- Sept. 20 - Re-enrollment in 4-H Online opened; please re-enroll to continue to receive information about Olmsted County 4-H
- Oct. 1 - The new 4-H calendar year officially starts
- Oct. 31 - Club charters are due
- June 15 - Club project registration deadline
- July 22-28 - Olmsted County Fair
You can review our timeline for 4-H clubs to find more details on deadlines and events.
Volunteer opportunities
Read about all of the volunteer opportunities with Olmsted County 4-H.
Club structures
There are many youth and adult club leadership structures that can be adapted to your club.
If your club is looking to try something new or create a transition plan, check out these documents: Adult Leadership Strategies and Youth Leadership Strategies.
These are drafts a 4-H team from across the state has been working on, and will be introduced eventually. If you're looking to talk through new structures and options for your club, don't hesitate to reach out to the office.
Council meetings
The full council is made up of at least one youth and one adult from each club (they can be club officers or a rotating 4-H'er), while the executive board is five youth and five adult elected officers.
Dates for the 2023-2024 meetings are January 22, March 18 and Aug. 12.
Meetings last around an hour and include an opportunity for an educational element that can be brought back to your club. Previous topics have included specific project areas and alternative structures.
The What is the Olmsted County 4-H Council document provides the September meeting agenda and information on the council and executive board roles.
Upcoming opportunities for club support
Youth Program Quality (YPQ)
If your youth/adult leaders are looking for guidance in strengthening your club, this is a great opportunity for you!
The process includes three steps:
- An Extension Educator attends one of your club meetings.
- Youth/adult leaders meet with an Extension Educator to dive into what program quality looks like in a club setting, discuss ideas on growth and identify action steps unique to your club.
- Club leaders implement changes and the Extension Educator returns for another club visit.
Multiple clubs have participated in this process and we would love to work with more clubs this program year. Let us know if you are interested or have further questions so we can set aside dates.
Information and resources
The office is notified when families enroll in 4-H. We will then send the names and contact information for new families to club leaders. New members receive the Spotlight newsletter every other month for their first year.
View the list of clubs, meeting times/places and leader information that we provide to new families.
- The Olmsted County 4-H Newsletter is a great way to advertise local events! If you have an event or program to add to the next Clover Update, send the info to the office by the 25th of the month before.
- Full council meetings happen quarterly and should be attended by at least one youth and adult from each club.
- If there are any changes to your club calendar (for virtual or in-person events), please continue to update the office so our information is correct for insurance purposes, and for people trying to find events or meetings.
- Continue to follow the Extension guidelines for in-person events.
- Minnesota 4-H has been collecting ideas and resources from volunteers across the state. You can see the compilation and more helpful information for volunteers.
- Check out this guide for winter activities to see if your event will need special activities insurance. Contact the office if you have questions.
- Is your club meeting virtually and looking for monthly activities? Check out the 4-H club meeting slide decks. These can be used for virtual or in-person meetings, and modified to fit your club's needs.
- Resources to support meeting virtually - various tools for online meetings
- Activity resources for social distancing: includes meeting outlines and activities for use in virtual or socially distanced events
- Minnesota 4-H @ Home - learning opportunities for youth/families; follow the link on the right side of the page for volunteer resources
- Pivot, but build community, too - a Youth Development Insight blog post
- Building Developmental Relationships From a Distance - a checklist from Search Institute
- Minnesota 4-H Volunteer Website
- Cloverbud Project Record
- Volunteer and Club Leader Helpful Links Document
The Olmsted County 4-H Newsletter is sent on the first of each month and is one of the most important ways you can stay up-to-date on what's happening in Olmsted County! You can always see the most recent edition of the newsletter at: z.umn.edu/OlmstedNews, but previous versions are linked below. Please note that links from past newsletters may not always work. Contact the Extension Office if you have questions.