June 2021

Montana 4-H Congress

July 13-16, 2021 on MSU Campus-Bozeman 

Join us for Camp Congress! We won’t be sleeping in tents or cabins, but we will be focusing on all the things that make 4-H Camp great, like being outdoors, friendship and getting to know people, fun food and just spending time being together with your 4-H peers. 4-H Congress will not look too different this year, but we are making some adjustments just to make sure everyone stays safe. You can expect sleeping in your own room in the Yellowstone dorm, spending a little more time outside than we have in the past, a more casual environment with less sitting at tables and in chairs in a ballroom, working together in small groups and wearing a mask and social distancing. What is important is we will be together and be able to learn, compete and build lasting relationships.

Each county has their own deadlines, requirements, and process for attending Montana 4-H Congress, so it is very important to speak with your local office.

Attendees are not required by the state to participate in a contest. Youth must be 13 years of old as of October 1 of the current 4-H year and chaperons must be certified 4-H Volunteers or MSU Extension staff and at least 21 years of age. To access the registration for this event login to your ZSuite account and click on events in the left menu. If you are eligible to attend this event, it will appear in your events. Registration Deadline is June 18^th. Registration for 4-H Congress is $215 and includes lodging, meals and program cost Tuesday thru Friday. Parking on campus is an additional cost and will be billed if selected. Congress t-shirts are fee this year. For more information, please visit the Montana 4-H Congress Page.

Montana 4-H Ambassador Officer

The Montana 4-H State Ambassador program provides opportunities for youth to represent 4-H through leadership and service at the state level. State Ambassadors Officers are a select team of Montana 4-H Ambassadors that have demonstrated leadership in their county 4-H programs, and who are interested in developing and refining skills to teach other 4-H youth about leadership, promotion and service.

Applications are due postmarked to the 4-H Center by June15. The ambassador officer selection process takes place during pre-congress events.

Montana State 4-H Horse Event

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the Montana State 4-H Horse Events this year. Don’t’ forget to check your County Extension Office for the registration packet on June 1, 2021 and don’t delay getting registered. They will also be posted and available to print on our Facebook Page “Montana 4-H State Horse Events”. The 4-H Center will also provide monthly updates.

Dates to remember:

• Working Ranch Horse Finals- August 28-29: 406 Arena in Vaughn, MT
• Montana State 4-H Horse Show- September 24-26: Cottonwood Event Center in Joliet, Mt
• Registration for Events Opens June 1^st

Keep a watch out for:

• Information on a Photo Contest (of your 4-H Project Horse) to be exhibited at September Horse Show.
• Information about contributions of Silent Auction items/gift baskets for events from Counties and/or Clubs.

Come experience what 4-H has to offer at the State level

4-H State Horse Show T-Shirt Design Contest

Design due July 1^st

Help us design the T-Shirt for the 2021 State 4-H Horse Show. Send your design or phot by July 1^st to Ben Hauptman at [email protected] and Karen Palmer at [email protected] Resolution preferred is 300 PPI in a JPEG format. Winning design may be altered to fit T-shirt.

2021 Montana 4-H Shooting Sports Hall of Fame Award

It is with great pleasure to congratulate Mr. Ken Loucks from Ravalli County as the recipient of the 2021 Montana 4-H Shooting Sports HP “Pat” McVay Hall of Fame Award.  His dedication for 4-H Shooting Sports and the youth of Montana is unprecedented.  Ken will be recognized in Ravalli County at their annual Leader’s Recognition Program.    His career as a 4-H volunteer is greatly appreciated by all.  He has touched the lives of so many.  Thank you goes out to Ken for his years of service.  He lives by Pat McVay’ s Moto - “Time is never wasted when it is spent with a kid”.  Please read the biography of Ken below.

Ken Loucks’ 4-H roots run deep. His grandfather was a 4-H leader in the 1940’s, and his father a 4-H leader in the ‘50s and 60’s. As a young 4-H Member Ken’s projects were Dairy, Rabbits, and Livestock Judging. Ken and his wife Patrice began doing 4-H work in Montana in the early 1980’s forming their own club in 1995. They were canoeing instructors at 4-H camp for 23 years before becoming Archery Leaders. Their three children thrived in the 4-H program serving as a State Officer, 3 National Archery Team member slots and youth Archery Instructors, and an IFYE participant in Finland and Taiwan. Their youngest daughter started a 4-H club in Brunswick, Maine and an archery program at Bowdoin College in Maine. 4-H is a way of life for the Loucks family.

They started the Bitterroot 4-H Archers program in 2001. In those days 4-H partnered with the National Archery Association for certification, so in 2001 Ken obtained his NAA Level One and Level Two Certifications. His first 4-H Archery Leader certification was in 2002. He is also certified in Rifle and Pistol. He then obtained the National 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor Training in Archery in 2005, his National Archery in the Schools BAIT Specialist Certification in 2005, the USA Archery Level Three in 2005, and Level 4 High Performance Coach training in 2013. In some of those years he trained over 100 Archery Instructors and Leaders per year for the three programs in Montana and Idaho.

Teaming up with Nancy Roe, Terry Maninger, and Tanya Engle, Ken strived to develop the 4-H Archery Program across the state, building on the foundational work of Bill Ott.  Ken worked with 4-H Archery Leaders around the state to develop the Montana State 4-H Archery Rules and worked with Nancy Roe to craft the Montana 4-H Archery Rules and Procedures for the National Qualifying Event. Ken has authored numerous archery instructional documents and post-training films for state and national use. He took the first 4-H Archery Compound Team to the National Competition in ­2006 where, much to their surprise, they placed 1^st.  The following year they took the first Montana 4-H Olympic Recurve Team to Nationals and won again. “We just wanted to go down and find out how to participate. I guess we did…”

In 2013 Ken became one of the National 4-H Archery Instructors and participated in the National 4-H Shooting Sports Development Seminar in Arkansas. He taught at the National Shooting Sports Leader trainings in Oregon and New Mexico. Ken serves on the Montana 4-H Shooting Sports Advisory Council and continues to train Archery Instructors and Leaders.

 “While flinging arrows is great fun, we are absolutely in the business of Positive Youth Development. Archery is just our tool. It takes a great deal of mental and physical discipline to shoot an arrow well, and that is good for anybody!”

Ken, thank you for all you do.  We really Make the Best Better.  Congratulations.