Boone County
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ORGANIZING A NEW 4-H CLUB:
A STEP-BY-STEP METHOD
When you decide to form a new club or assume leadership of an existing club, visit with your county Extension 4-H staff or key volunteer leader. They can provide assistance that will make your job easier.
Minimum number of members required to start a club is five.
THE FIRST THREE CLUB MEETINGS:
The 4-H meeting is one of the major tools 4-H leaders use to help boys and girls develop and learn. The 4-H meeting offers the opportunity to participate in democracy in action to develop friendships, exchange ideas, explore new ideas and areas of interest, and develop life skills. The 4-H meeting is often the first contact that 4-H members have with the 4-H program. For many youth, the experiences in the local club are the major involvement they have with 4-H. Thus, the experiences in the local club either enhance the 4-H experience for most youth or detract from it.
A 4-H club meeting is a place where members can have fun and learn. NO 4-H meeting should be so concerned with education that it lacks the sounds of laughter and friendly conversation.
Planning: The 4-H club parents leadership team should meet several weeks prior to the first 4-H club meeting and plan the first three club meetings in detail. Leadership team members and resource people they invite to assist will be responsible for conducting the club meetings until the club officers are elected and installed during the third club meeting. At the fourth meeting the club president and other officers will take over and run the meeting under adult leader supervision.
The first few club meetings should focus on acquainting 4-H members and their parents with 4-H and in getting the club off to a good start. Parent involvement is necessary for a successful club, so parent participation should be encouraged from the beginning.
Who Will Do What? During the leadership team planning meeting, a list of responsibilities for the first three club meetings should be developed. You will need people to do the following:
Contact prospective members and parents concerning the club meeting. Encourage parent participation. Follow affirmative action guidelines, see page 2.
May need to run a radio spot and/or newspaper article about the club meeting.
Secure and arrange the facilities for the meeting.
Secure the needed printed and human resources for each meeting.
Plan and conduct different parts of each club meeting. The club officers will not take over until the fourth meeting so leadership team members will be responsible for conducting the first three meetings.
Before proceeding, it should be mentioned that 4-H Youth Programs are open to all youth for membership and adults as volunteers. Affirmative action is special efforts to include various racial/ethnic or handicapped persons. Special considerations include:
How is information about the program disseminated? Is it easy for interested parties to find out how to join or attend the meetings?
Does the meeting place present physical or historical barriers to handicapped or minority persons?
Is the time of meeting convenient to most people?
Consider offering services such as transportation, babysitting for younger siblings, or financial support for project materials, and other things for those in need.
Suggested outline for your first three club meetings follow. These outlines can be modified to fit your club situation. The important thing to remember in planning the meetings is to make sure they are well organized, that people in the program understand their responsibility and prepare themselves to carry it out, and that the meeting is enjoyed by all in attendance.
THE FIRST MEETING:
All information publicizing this meeting should indicate that parents are to attend with their children.
1. Welcome and Get Acquainted: The members of the leadership team who will be presiding during the meeting welcomes everyone and introduces the get acquainted activity.
2. Suggested Get Acquainted Activity:
A. Give each person an index card or small piece of paper. Instruct them to write their first and last name in large letters in the center of the card. In the corners of the card instruct them to write the following.
1. Upper left: Where they work or go to school
2. Upper right: Hobbies or what they like to do for fun or relaxation
3. Lower left: One thing they expect to do in 4-H
4. Lower right: Facts about their family
Once they have completed the card, instruct them to find a person they don’t know and discuss the information on the card with them. After a few minutes, have each pair join another pair (group of four people). Each person then introduces his or her partner to the others.
B. Distribute a copy of "Making the 4-H Pledge Meaningful" to every family. Using newsprint, brainstorm for more meanings to each line of the pledge. Parents should be asked to help their children learn the pledge for the next meeting.
Hand out to each family present a copy of "The Clover". Share a personal experience you have enjoyed in the 4-H program.
3. 4-H Projects: 4-H members take projects, which teach life skills and knowledge they can use all their life. Project books are furnished to each 4-H Project Leader. There are about 180 different projects a 4-H member can chose from.
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Refer to "The Clover" (Y-603) and encourage them to look at it before leaving the meeting.l
Invite two 4-H members of existing clubs, to discuss their 4-H projects. They should tell what they have done in their project, what they have learned, and how the project work has helped them develop as individuals.Explain that the club will eventually have several project groups. The formation of project groups will be based on the interests of club members and project leader availability. A
4-H’er can take projects to work on individually if there is no group project. Review the project enrollment limitations found in "The Clover".
Advise the parents that at the next meeting everyone will be selecting projects. Encourage parents to take "The Clover" home to review with their child. Remind them to bring this back to the next meeting.
Explain that a 4-H project is something that the whole family can work on together.
4. Parent Responsibilities: Hand out and discuss the fact sheet entitled "Volunteers We Need You". Have the families complete and turn in the handout in the next meeting.
5. Enrolling Members and Leaders:
4 Provide volunteers with "Volunteer Enrollment Forms".
4 Members should be given the "4-H Member/Leader Enrollment Form".
These forms should be returned to the club leader with appropriate 4-H dues during the next meeting.
The Club Leader should arrange an appointment with the Boone County Extension Center to turn in Enrollment Forms and Members/Leader dues by November 1.
4 Dues: ( * See chart below )
After naming your club, decide on the location of your meetings, time and day of the
month, call the Extension Center so that this information can be included in the club roster.
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Effective: September 1, 2007 thru August 31, 2008 |
Total Dues |
| Clover Kids (age 5-7) |
$15.00 |
| Regular 4-H (age 8-18) |
$15.00 |
| Regular 4-H also
enrolled in the Horse Project Members |
$16.00 |
| 4-H Leaders and Volunteers | $1.00 |
6. Closing: Ask for questions. Thank everyone for attending. Announce date, time, and
place for next meeting. Remind parents to attend.
7. Refreshments: Serve refreshments and encourage people to look at project display.
THE SECOND MEETING:
Members of the leadership team will conduct this meeting. Follow the format found in "The 4-H Club Program Book" (Y612). You will find this book handy for recording information at the meeting. During the business portion of the meeting, do the following:
1. "Pick-A-Project" Activity: Each child should select projects with the parents’ assistance. Conduct a discussion concerning what project groups are needed. Let members and parents express their ideas.
2. Discuss 4-H Club officers’ responsibilities and explain that officers will be elected at the next meeting. Use "4-H Club Officers" (Y782). Have sign-up sheets or posters for each officer. Suggest that the members sign up for each office they may be interested in. Have them do this during refreshments.
Method Demonstration and Illustrated Talk: During the program section of the meeting have a 4-H member of an existing club give a method demonstration and one give an illustrated talk. Explain that club members will be learning to do these types of presentations and giving them at club meetings.
Recreational Activity: Get 4-H’ers and parents involved together in a recreational activity. Refer to the "Recreational Leader’s Handbook" (LG582).
Refreshments: Serve refreshments and enroll members.
Collect Enrollment Forms & Dues: Issue Enrollment Forms to new members. They should bring these forms back during their next meeting.
THE THIRD MEETING:
Members of the leadership team will conduct this meeting. Follow the meeting format found in the "4-H Club Program Book" (Y612). During the business meeting plan to accomplish the following:
Enroll new members: Hand out the forms to each youth and let them fill out the form. Review project enrollment limitations. Have leaders complete the "Missouri 4-H Volunteer Enrollment Form" (LG636). Turn the forms into the Extension Center with a completed "Transmittal letter ‘A’ " (Y633).
Project Group Formation: Introduce the project group leaders and let them explain what their project group will be doing.
2. Election of Officers: Use "4-H Club Officers" (Y782) as a guide.
3. Officers Installation Ceremony: Use "Installation of Officers" (LG800) as a guide.
4. Club Skill-A-Thon: Set up a club skill-a-thon using "Skill-A-Thon" (LG733) as a guide.
5. Set up simple stations that members and parents can try and succeed. Ask the project leaders to come with a station prepared for their project.
6. Refreshments: Serve refreshments. This is a good opportunity for 4-H’ers in the foods and nutrition project to get involved in their project by preparing and serving club refreshments.
PREPARING FOR THE FOURTH MEETING:
1. Have a planning meeting with the officers before the next meeting. Plan on developing club by-laws. Contact the Extension staff for guidelines. Review roles. Provide the appropriate organizational materials for the officers. See "4-H Club Officers" (Y782).
Plan for the initiation of members. Use "Initiation of Members" (LG801).
Review program planning with the officers. Prepare them to share this process with the club. The officers may want to invite a key leader, another 4-H club leader or teen leader to talk about their club program. Examples of club programs are available at the Extension Center.
Discuss what committees might be needed. Determine a committee selection process.
Introduce the "4-H Club Program Book" (Y612) as a tool for program planning.
To be in good standing members have to attend a minimum of a majority of the meetings before the end of the 4-H year. Read "The Clover" for more information regarding this policy.
To be eligible to show at the County Fair, one must be in good standing. Each club develops by-laws that define a "Member in Good Standing".
Club Leaders
Note: This is only a guide. Be flexible.
Congratulations on the formation of your new club! We at the Extension Center hope that the 4-H Program will provide you with an exciting experience and life long skills and knowledge.
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Boone County 4-H main page | Boone County Extension Center main page |
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Boone County University of Missouri Extension Center
booneco@missouri.edu Updated 10/13/09 |
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