Office Closure! The Ouachita 4-H office will be closed Monday, December 12 for floor refinishing & will re-open on Tuesday, January 3. If turning in payments/paperwork, please drop it off by 4:30 p.m. Friday, December 9, or mail to us.

Welcome to Ouachita 4-H! We offer a Shooting Sports Club, Photography Club, Jr. Leader Club, Livestock opportunities, workshops, camps, contests, & more! Do you want to join 4-H? Four-H is a club for boys & girls ages 9 to 19. For detailed payment information & online enrollment instructions, please see our Facebook Page “Ouachita 4-H” or visit our website, https://lsuagcenter.com/profiles/rmiller/articles/....

To enroll/re-enroll: https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in

The general 4-H enrollment fee for 2022-2023 is $7. Note: If a club is available at your school, follow the school club leader’s enrollment guidelines. If your school’s 4-H club enrollment is closed for the school year or if there isn’t a club at your school, you may still join 4-H as a Member-At-Large. Call the 4-H office at 323-2251 for details!!

Jr. Leader Meeting - Our December Jr. Leader meeting will be held 1:15-3:15 p.m., December 21 at Surge in West Monroe. We plan to bowl & have dessert! Cost: $10 per person. Please RSVP for December meeting via email to tgarlington@agcenter.lsu.edu by Tuesday, December 13. Payments are due to the LSU AgCenter - 704 Cypress Street, West Monroe - by Tuesday, December 13.Checks should be made payable to Ouachita 4-H. We are looking forward to a great time!

4-H Photography Club Meeting - The December Photography Club meeting will be 3:30-5:00 p.m., Thursday, December 8 at Double BB Farms, 1816 Stubbs Vinson Rd, Monroe, LA 71203. We will be taking photos of farm animals, horticulture, & more. This is a great opportunity to take photos for the upcoming Ag Photography Contest. Details for this contest are available on our Facebook Page & webpage. Parents are welcome to drop-off/pick-up youth. Interested youth are welcome to visit our meetings before joining! Questions: please contact our office at 323-2251.

Night with the Pelicans - 4-H Night with the Pelicans will be on Friday, January 6, 2023 against the Brooklyn Nets. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Location is Smoothie King Center, 1501 Dave Dixon Dr, New Orleans, LA 70113. Deadline to purchase tickets is December 9, 2022. The ticket prices are:

• Balcony End: $20
• Balcony side: $25
• Lower End: $60
• Parking: $10 (car) & $25 (bus)

Ticket prices include a t-shirt. For order form & QR code, see https://lsuagcenter.com/profiles/rmiller/articles/page1666971233508

The Court of Dreams is where 4-H youth grades 4-8, prior to the game, have an opportunity to go on the Pelicans basketball court before the game & participate in various basketball activities. This year it will start at 12:30 p.m. & go until 3:30 p.m. The Pelicans team now has a youth basketball program with personnel to help run activities such as shooting & dribbling drills along with other activities. This is a new feature! As in the past though, once our time is over we will need to exit the Smoothie King Center & wait for the opening of the 4-H pregame activities which starts at 4:30 p.m. If interested in Court of Dreams, please email tgarlington@agcenter.lsu.edu by December 14.

Facebook - Be sure to follow us on our Facebook page, Ouachita 4-H. Our Shooting Sports Facebook page is Ouachita 4-H Shooting Sports.

HYPE - The December meeting has been cancelled due to our floors being refinished.

4-H Record Books - Entries due to Ouachita office by June 16, 2023!!

Details & Updated Record Book information: The 4-H Member Record Book has been updated & posted to the LSU AgCenter website at the following link: 4-H Portfolio (lsuagcenter.com). All entries for the state record book contest must use this revised publication. There is also a resource document on our webpage: 4-H Record Books

Look here for details in early spring. If you have any questions, you can contact the Ouachita 4-H office at (318) 323-2251.

Ouachita 4-H Cookery Contest - Pre-registration deadline is Friday, January 19, 2023.

To Pre-Register: contact the 4-H office via phone (318-323-2251) or email (ouachita@agcenter.lsu.edu) stating contestant’s name & dish category. The Ouachita 4-H Cookery Contest is scheduled for Monday, January 23, 2023, 5:00-7:30 p.m. in the 4-H auditorium. 4-H’ers should drop off their dishes between 5:00-6:00 p.m. & arrive back at 7:00 p.m. for the awards presentation. 4-H’ers with winning dishes will compete in the Area Cookery in Winnsboro February 7. They will compete against 4-H’ers in the other Northeast Region parishes! 4-H members aged 9 to 19 are eligible to compete. See Ouachita 4-H Cookery Contest for complete cookery rules & dish category rules.

Dish Categories: Rice Main Dish, Rice Any Other, Pecan, Sweet Potato, Egg, Chicken, Quick-N-Easy Ground Beef, Main Dish Beef, & Corn.

Scholarship Information for Graduating Seniors will be available in January!

Honor Cord - In an effort to recognize graduating 4-H seniors, the Louisiana 4-H Foundation sponsors the 4-H Honor Cord awards. Please visit the following 4-H Honor Cord link to view the qualification information & to fill out the application by Friday, January 20, 2023: Senior Honor Cords

Northern Region Ag 4-H Photography Contest - It’s time to begin preparing for our annual Northern Region Ag 4-H Photo Contest! This contest is now open to the whole Northern Region. Divisions: 4th-6th Grades & 7th-12th Grades. Categories: 1. Farm Animals 2. Horticulture/Plants/Crops 3. Any Other Agriculture. Mounted Photos must be delivered to the Ouachita 4-H office by January 6, 2023. Winners will receive cash prizes! Details & updated contest information are available on our Facebook page & website, Northern Region Ag 4-H Photography Contest. If you have questions, please email tgarlington@agcenter.lsu.edu

Recycled Art Contest - Updated Ouachita 4-H Recycled Art Contest Information: Our Recycled Art Contest has been extended. The Ouachita office will be closed for repairs December 12-January 2. Contest entries are to be dropped off at the Ouachita 4-H Office from January 24-27, 2023. Our office is open 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Projects should be picked-up from the 4-H office by January 31. Please include a label with the following information. The label may be placed anywhere on the project:

• Youth Name
• Grade
• School

First, second, & third place winners will be announced by January 30. Participants do not have to be present to win.

1st Place - $20
2nd Place- $15
3rd Place - $10

We can’t wait to see your creativity!

Ag Expo - Mark your calendars to attend Ag Expo at the Ike Hamilton Expo Center, 501 Mane Street in West Monroe, January 13-14, 2023. Times are Friday, 2 pm to 8 pm, & Saturday, 9 am to 4 pm. Advance tickets are $5, on sale January 2 through January 12. Save $5/person. Admission at the door $10 – Children under 6 free. For more information call: (318) 355-2495.

Ag Expo Jr. Livestock Show - The dates for the Ag Expo Jr. Livestock Show are Friday & Saturday, January 13 & 14, 2023 at the Ike Hamilton Expo Center, 501 Mane St., West Monroe, LA 71292. Deadline for Advance Registration: January 6, 2023. Late Fees ($10 per animal) apply after this date! All animals must be entered with fees paid by Friday, January 13th at 4:30 pm. Link to webpage: https://www.agexpo.org/livestock-show/

Beef Poster Contest - The Louisiana Beef Industry Council Beef Poster Contest encourages participants to learn more about the beef industry, meat science, & nutrition while developing marketing, communication, organization, & research skills. The 2023 Beef Poster Contest Theme is “Beef: A Sustainable Choice”. Participants may compete in either the poster or digital competition! Details & rules will be available soon on our Facebook page, Ouachita 4-H. First place winning entries at the parish level will win $20. Winning entry or entries will be sent for state competition. Posters or digital entries are due to the Ouachita 4-H office by Friday, March 10, 2023. This contest is open to 4-H & FFA members in grades 4-12!

Divisions:

• Division I: 4th – 6th grades
• Division II: 7th – 9th grades
• Division III (Poster): 10th – 12th grades
• Division III (Digital): 4^th – 12^th grades

Awards: All monetary awards are sponsored by the Louisiana Beef Industry Council.

• First Place: State winning posters in each division will receive $200
• Second Place: State winning posters in each division will receive $100
• Third Place: State winning posters in each division will receive $50

Jr. Leaders & HYPE January Meeting - Jr. Leaders & HYPE members will come together to participate in two activities at two separate locations on January 4! Registration deadline is December 21.

• 1:30-2:30 at the Simple Project organizing donations
• 2:45-3:45 making a bread in bag recipe at the LSU AgCenter Auditorium.

Please use the link or the QR Code to view details and register by December 21.

https://forms.office.com/r/qEDRRZuBsy

Youth will need transportation to both activities.

Mental Health Awareness - The 2022-2023 club programming focus is Mental Health Awareness.

Don't Forget to Recycle! Begin by dropping recycling materials to the West Monroe Recycling Center. The Recycling Center is open on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information about recycling, visit https://www.cityofwestmonroe.com/216/Recycling & https://ouachitagreen.org/