This Year | cranbook4-h

Club Updates

New Member Award

Fred Clark Outstanding New Member

In 2021 Cranbrook and District 4-H was very fortunate to receive a generous donation from the Clark Family to support help one new member from the Cranbrook 4- H Multi Club, South Country Crafts and Critters, and the Wasa & District Club. It was known as the Fred Clark Outstanding New Member Award and nominations were sent in from each club. The 2021 winners were:

1) Avery Schadeck - Cranbrook 4-H Multi Club

2) Hank Feldmann - Wasa & District

3) Olivia Blumhagen - South Country Crafts & Critters

The Wasa & District 4H Club would like to nominate Hank Feldman for the Fred Clark Outstanding New Member Award. We chose Hank because of his exceptional dedication, commitment and enthusiasm for the 4H program in his first year.

Hank and his family joined our club as a first-year member in October 2020. He is 11 years old and chose to do a market steer project. When we were able to have in person meetings, Hank was a very active participant who always showed great leadership in making motions, sharing ideas, and having constructive input in club discussions. He greeted every opportunity with a big smile and was always happy to take on a new challenge.

With COVID restrictions our club communications facilitator was not able to spend “one on one” time with our members. This put our new members at a huge disadvantage in developing their public speaking skills. The club decision was for our members to prepare their speeches and upload them onto our Facebook page for judging. Hank was the first member to upload his speech for presentation. He was not only the first to upload, but he did an outstanding presentation and won third place within our club.

The decision was also made, for our husbandry checks to be completed by posting a video on our Facebook page. Hank once again, was the first to post his video and did an exceptional job. He presented his husbandry with a fine-tooth comb and added some humor to it as well.

Hank worked very hard with his market steer throughout the year with little to no instruction; once again because of COVID. He spent hours training and preparing his animal in the slim chance we would be able to host Show and Sale. Unfortunately, the decision was made to cancel the District Show & Sale. Luckily, we were able to host our own Club Project & Show Day. Hank arrived enthusiastic, very well prepared, and ready for the day’s events. His steer was extremely well halter broke and groomed to perfection. He passionately participated in the Showmanship Clinic prior to our show and was eager to learn new skills.

The leaders of the Wasa & District 4-H Club are proud to nominate Hank for this award as we feel he displays all of the qualities needed to become a dedicated 4H member for years to come.

The Cranbrook 4-H Multi Club would like to nominate Avery Schadeck for the Fred Clark Outstanding New Member Award. A first-year junior member who is new to the Cranbrook area, Avery is a happy, confident, and coachable member. Throughout the year, she has proven herself to be a valued 4-H member, participating in all club activities and representing herself, her club, and the 4-H program well. She lived the 4-H motto “learn to do by doing” achieving in 2 projects: Market Lamb and Horse-both of which she had little to no previous experience with. Avery raised a market lamb named Shawn, the project started out tough with additional vet bills, but raised a healthy lamb to a finished weight of 101 lbs., which was purchased by Cranbrook Dodge. During the project year, Avery took pride in her project and learned how to care for, groom, train and show her lamb. With her horse Tucker, Avery quickly improved with her riding skills-learning how to be firm and consistent with her riding cues. She was able to complete the riding pattern and could name and locate various parts of the horse and, after gaining confidence, participated in trail rides with the other members. It was exciting to see her progress with her riding over the course of weeks and enjoying her time with her horse. Outside of her project work, Avery actively participated in various club activities:

• Eagar Hill Look Out hike where we completed a community service garbage cleanup

• Junior Communications where she presented an outstanding speech on her favorite author; impressing the judges

• Club meetings and gatherings

• Club marketing event at the Cranbrook Farmers Market, where she marketed club projects, the 4-H program and gave a radio interview advising of the upcoming auction.

• Club Workshop learning about quick release knots, needle injections, calf pulling, stitching and seed planting, lamb showing/grooming and an introduction to beef projects

• Virtual Safety Day where members talked about mental health, picked music, danced and made a “stress ball”

Avery was extremely disappointed that she was unable to show off her hard work at the Show and Sale due to Covid restrictions, but she is ready and excited for the 2022 year! Thank you to the Clark family for considering this young member for the Fred Clark Outstanding 4-H Member Award.

My pick for the Fred Clark Outstanding New Member award is Olivia Blumhagen. Olivia is 13 years old and joined my Beef heifer project. Olivia was definitely keen and very excited to pick her project. Olivia picked probably the biggest and most structurally sound heifer in the pen of 14 heifers. Olivia named her heifer Ruby and it was love at first sight except Ruby did not get the memoOlivia and her Dad Darcy worked so hard with Ruby and never once complained. Olivia was always the first to one to arrive at the Heifer Palace so she quickly became Kelcee’s pick as her chosen helper to catch the projects in the catch pen. Olivia was a natural and her calm and confident manner put both animals and fellow 4-Her’s at ease. As project’s settled down and members started to lead their own animals, Old Ruby was still too much of a handful for Olivia to lead on her own, still not once, did Olivia give up trying to do the best she could for Ruby. Finally after a full 3 months of working with Ruby and really not getting to the point Olivia could safely handle her I suggested Olivia take one of the available 2 year old cows to work with. Olivia gracefully and enthusiastically agreed although she still did not want to give up on Ruby even after Ruby had knocked her to the ground and she ended up underneath her.

One night I was in the catch pen and was scratching a red bum and casually asked Kelcee what heifer this was as she was standing so quiet. Kelcee exclaimed that it was 13H who was the spare heifer and had not even been touched. We did not even think to try to use another heifer as the end of the year show was only 3 weeks away! Kelcee handed me a halter and Olivia and I haltered 13H and I left Kelcee and Olivia in the catch pen scratching and playing with the heifer, about an hour later I looked up to see Olivia leading her new heifer into the show ring!! She called her Jade and Olivia’s smile would not fade for anything! Her new heifer was farther along in one night than Ruby had come in 12 – 15 handlings but the best part is every night Olivia was at the Heifer Palace she made time to run and give Ruby a little grain because she still loved her even if she did not like to be handled.

I chose Olivia for this award because she not only did an amazing job of placing first in Jnr Showmanship, completing her record book, her speech, her club participation and her citizenship work but more importantly how much courage she showed while given a challenging project and the grace and positive attitude she had for the duration of the project. I think we will see amazing things come from this bright, wise, competent young woman in years to come and I thank you for considering her for the Fred Clark Outstanding New Member Award.

We would like to give Columbia Basin Trust a huge thank-you for helping us get our storage containers painted. Also a great big thank you to the everyone that helped to make this happen, Heather, Sue, Laura, Kelcee, Bonny, Sarann, Tanya, Kelly and member Payton.