Event Reports
In Remembrance of Jeannette Rea-Keywood
Published: on December 16, 2021
We are deeply saddened to inform you that Jeannette Rea-Keywood has passed away. Many Morris County 4-H families and alumi know Jeannette from attending state, national, and international 4-H events and trips. Her dedication to 4-H has made a difference in thousands of 4-H'ers lives in NJ over the 30+ years she has been with 4-H, first as a Cumberland County and then as a statewide agent. Our deepest condolences go out to her family, friends, and colleagues.
In lieu of flowers, Jeannette's family requests that donations be made to the New Jersey 4-H Gift Fund in her memory to support the 4-H programs she provided leadership to. Donations can be made online - https://give.rutgers.edu/4Hgiftfund.
Her obituary can be found here.
Fun Leader Social
Published: on December 14, 2021
As a Thank-you to our 4-H leaders and volunteers the Association invited all to celebrate at the Grove at Randolph last Thursday. Thanks to Kelly's game, everyone started out the evening finding out something new about their old and new 4-H friends. Susan provided some fun entertainment as well. Thanks again to all volunteers for your dedication to 4-H! The clubs and program wouldn't exist without you!
Faye the rabbit at "Home for the Holidays" in Roxbury
Published: on December 6, 2021
There was a great turnout at this event in Roxbury on Saturday, December 4. We had lots of 4-H volunteers at our table in the library and many kids and families visit them. Faye, the rabbit was the biggest star, of course, but the RC cars and 4-H coloring pages were a hit too. Other 4-H families were seen helping at their church next door, also part of the "Home for the Holidays".
This event was a great experience. Lots of interested kids and parents. We look forward to welcoming new 4-H families as a result of this. Thanks to all who helped.
Morris County 4-H Alum
in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Published: on November 29, 2021
Mat Pomel, 4-H Alum from our county and also former volunteer and board member, participated in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday. He was part of the Santa Sleigh float. Congratulations! It looked like a lot of fun!
Published: on November 16, 2021
The 2021 Morris County 4-H Awards Night was held on November 12 at High View Farms in Budd Lake. Congratulations to all of our 4-H'ers, club leaders, board members, volunteers and families for your contributions and achievements during the 2020-2021 4-H year!
See the 2021 Awards Page or slide show of the event for award winners. Congratulations!
4-H Promotion at local events
Published: on October 26, 2021
By: Promotion Committee
As the 2021-2022 4-H year gets underway, the promotion committee is working hard to get information out to our local communities about the value of joining 4-H. The 4-H promotion committee participated in 6 festivals so far. We kicked the year off with Olde Suckasunny Day at the end of September, followed by Puptoberfest, the Harvest Hustle Race and Festival in Mendham, then off to the Morristown Festival on the Green. We concluded our fall festivals with Bat-apalooza and the Career Carnival last weekend.
Succasunny Day was the perfect opening act with local residents filling Roxbury library's parking lot looking for fall fun and future activities. The promotion committee enjoyed connecting with neighbors and educating them on what 4-H has to provide while the Radical Racers and Buckanears provided conversation pieces.
We continued our quest to make sure 4-H is fully immersed in local events at Puptoberfest. While we always promote all clubs we made a special effort to highlight our dog clubs at this special event sponsored by 11th Hour Rescue. Our 4-H table had a wonderful tent neighbor, Bones and Co Apothecary, who made a generous donation to the Dogs R Us club.
The festival on the Green had the largest number of families and individuals stop by the 4-H table - which spiked the number of inquiries to the 4-H office.
We rounded out the festivities chatting it up with local families at the Parsippany library where the featured event was Bats and a Green Fair. With bat decorations in place we did what we do best, talk to our Morris County neighbors.
Career Carnival in Horseshoe Lake Park brought kids with interests in place and we guided them to seek out clubs that would suit them best.
The promotion committee is always looking for more members so that we may attend multiple events on the same day. If you would like to join the fun, have a special day for your club to join us, or know of local festivals/ events please email Valerie at hipumpkins@gmail.com
Events Celebrating 4-H Week
Minecraft live event - Haunted Village
The Minecraft club had spent the last couple of months preparing for this live Halloween-inspired event by building a village in their Minecraft world based on a neighborhood in Denville and coming up with a story to show off their work. The area included a lot of realistic as well as very creative pieces presented to the Minecraft guests and audience during the equally creative tour. The event ended with a fun build challenge for all Minecraft participants. Below is Mya's report of the event and plot.
Published: on October 22, 2021
By: Mya - Minecraft club member
On Friday, October 15th, the Minecraft club hosted a live event about a local neighborhood in New Jersey. The tour was started in a nursing home. Sean and everyone in the nursing home was in an accident, and doesn’t remember anything. Holt the nurse, had Sean and the group go back to their houses to try jogging their memories. By the end of the stream, Sean and the group got their memories back, and started going to therapy. Below are some pictures of the world and the link to watch the livestream.
Guided Photo and Nature Walks
Published: on October 19, 2021
By: Mya - Shutterbugs club member
Dismal Harmony Natural Area in Mendham
On Thursday, September 30th, Shutterbugs hosted a photo walk in Mendham at Dismal Harmony Natural Area. This was a guided walk with Dave Blinder. While walking, we spotted a lot of spider mites; there were so many mites, that they covered an entire tree. On one of Dave’s other hikes in this park, he found ruins on top of a steep cliff. These ruins were possibly a few hundred years old, and appear to be a house. Below are my favorite pictures I took on this photo walk. The first picture is spider mites, the second is the old ruins, and the last one is a pile of rocks.
Lewis Morris Park
On Saturday, October 9th, Shutterbugs went to Lewis Morris Park. This photo walk was a nature walk. Karcsi was able to tell us about many of the plants we saw. The group also spotted many different mushrooms: there were purple, yellow and really big ones. After a bit of walking, we found a lake. While walking, many members found and ate grapes, berries, big crabapples, and even green onions that were still growing. Below are some pictures I took. The first one is a picture of tear thumb berries, second one is viburnum berries, and the last one is a fly.
Willowwood Arboretum
On Thursday, October 14th, Shutterbugs meet at a garden: Willowwood Arboretum. This walk was guided by photographer Parvathi Kumar. We were given a list of different ways she wanted us to try taking pictures. For an example; birds eye view, ants view, and a picture with a blurry background. There were many pretty things in the garden; blooming flowers, color changing leaves, and bees grabbing pollen. Below are some of my pictures. The first one is a picture of a bee, the next picture is of the sun in the woods, and the last picture is of a flower.
Published: on October 7, 2021
Morris County 4-H member is selected for National 4-H Award "Youth in Action"
Kristin Osika receives a scholarship and will serve as 4-H’s national youth spokesperson for Healthy Living
In celebration of National 4-H Week, the National 4-H Council announced on October 4th that Kristin Osika, 17, of Mendham, New Jersey, is the winner of the 2022 4-H Youth in Action Award for Healthy Living. Kristin will be recognized nationally for her personal resilience and advocacy for those with allergies and medically necessary diets. Launched in 2010, the 4-H Youth in Action Awards honor 4-H’ers who have applied the knowledge gained in 4-H to create a lasting impact in their communities. Kristin is the first candidate to win this high level award in NJ. Click here to learn more about her story.
Congratulations Kristin!
4-H Summer Events
Published: on September 1, 2021
Check out the Reports, Highlights, and Winners of our Morris County 4-H Summer events. Thank you to all who organized them and to the members and guests who participated!
State 4-H Public Presentations
Published: on July 21, 2021
Morris County had two 4-H members eligible to compete in the 4-H State Public Presentations. Mahi Gupta entered and received an Excellent for her illustrated talk titled "Port Wine Stains" (a type of birthmark). Thank you for representing Morris County so well!
Congratulations Mahi!
Shutterbugs' Photo Walk
Published: on July 14, 2021
By: Mya - Shutterbugs club member
On July 12th, Shutterbugs hosted a photo walk at the Great Swamp Wildlife Observation Center. Mrs. Wagner also invited a special guest. His name is Dave Blinder. Dave showed us how to make Triptych pictures. A triptych is a group of three pictures mounted in one frame, displayed close together, or three pictures in one image. As soon as we started the photo walk, someone spotted a barred owl. Then, I saw a bunch of frogs, a chipmunk eating something, and a turtle underneath the bridge we were standing on. A little bit later, we saw a bald eagle! The photo walk lasted more than two hours and there was twenty-four people in our group. Below is my Triptych picture it includes a chipmunk, caterpillar, and an ant.
Celebrating our 4-H Graduates
Video by 4-H member Sean M.
Published: on June 23, 2021
Congratulations to all our 4-H graduates!
3rd grade Cloverbuds - you are ready to be full members of 4-H now! Welcome!
Our high school graduates are moving on to the next chapters in their lives (but you can still participate in all our 4-H activities for another year)! Congratulations on your achievements!
We wish you all the best of luck!
4-H Scholarship Award Recipients
Published: on June 23, 2021
Lance Corporal Andrew W. Lubrano 4-H Memorial Scholarship
This is given every year to a High School Senior who has been involved in 4-H during their four years of high school. This award recognizes an active, well rounded 4-H member.
This year's Lubrano Scholarship goes to Johanna Pipoli for being one of our most dedicated 4-H members. Thank you for your strong commitment to and many years of involvement in Morris County 4-H!
Congratulations! And all the best for your future endeavors!
Seeing Eye Scholarships for Morris County 4-H members
Each year, The Seeing Eye recognizes exceptional puppy raisers by presenting them with a college scholarship. Recipients have raised at least two dogs, have demonstrated a high level of academic achievement and are active in their communities.
Mia Hwang, member of the Puppy Tails club, and Jack Keller, member of 4-Footed Leaders, are receiving this year's Seeing Eye scholarship for their dedication in raising puppies for the world-famous dog guide school headquartered in Morristown.
Congratulations to Mia and Jack!
NJ 4-H Animal Art Contest Winners
Sophia K. - Best in Division Junior, Photography (Livestock)
Holt E.- Best of Show Junior for Equine, 2D art
Jillian P. - Best of Show Senior, 2D
Karsten E. - Best in Division Senior, Photography (Other, Still)
Published: on June 11, 2021
In April NJ 4-H asked for submissions for the Animal Art Contest. All entries have been judged and the winners selected. Here are the details:
All entries were animal related and were organized into five categories - 1) Dog, 2) Equine, 3) Livestock (beef, dairy, goats, sheep, and swine), 5) Small Animals (rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, herpetology, and poultry) and 6) Other (alpacas, llamas, and cats).
Eighty-one (81) 4-H members representing 17 counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren) entered 233 exhibits in the 2-D Art, 3-D Art, Photography, and Video divisions.
Morris County 4-H submitted 29 entries by the following members: Claire B,. Emmett B., Holt E., Karsten E., Sophia K., Alexis M., Mya M., Declan M., Joshua M., and Jillian P.
Congratulations to you all! Ribbons will be mailed out by the state office to all participants. See the Best of Show and Best in Division results for our county below.
Congratulations to our Morris County award recipients:
Dog
Best in Division (Photography) Junior - Holt Englander (Shutterbugs) - Morris County
Equine
Best of Show Junior - Holt Englander (Shutterbugs) - Morris County
Best in Division (2D Art) Junior - Holt Englander (Shutterbugs) - Morris County
Livestock
Best in Division (Photography) Junior - Sophia Kissling (Shutterbugs) - Morris County
Other
Best of Show Junior -Holt Englander (Shutterbugs) - Morris County
Best in Division (Photography) Junior - Holt Englander (Shutterbugs) - Morris County
Best of Show Senior - Jillian Penczak (Buckanears) - Morris County
Best in Division (2D Art) Senior - Jillian Penczak (Buckanears) - Morris County
Best in Division (Photography) Senior - Karsten Englander (Shutterbugs) - Morris County
4-H Public Presentation Results
Published: on June 1, 2021
The results of our Morris County 4-H Public Presentations are in! Congratulations to all who submitted their virtual presentations! All participants did an amazing job and two of our teen members are eligible to compete in the state public presentations. Good luck Sloan and Mahi! *
Liv Armstrong - Very Good
"How to remove a tick from your pet"Sloan Benoit - Excellent *
"Making Cattle Farming More Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly"Myra Gupta - Excellent
"Stockholm SyndromMahi Gupta - Excellent *
"Port Wine Stains"Danielle McGrath - Very Good
"Why the Broadway Version of Newsies is Better"Joshua Mitteer - Very Good
"Coding for Beginners"Rashi Patel - Excellent
"Airplanes"Ava Rivera - Very Good
"Help of Technology and Computers"Gwen Wacha-Diaz - Cloverbud
"Wolves, Corgis, and Foxes"
Theme Contest Winner
Congratulations to ........
Watch the video to find out who the winner of this year's Theme Contest is!
The design and title will be utilized throughout the summer, on our county's 4-H yearbook cover, and so much more!
Thank you to those who participated and to show host Sean for revealing the outcome of the contest. Congratulations to the winning artist!
4-H Minecraft Live Event
"Le Grand Tour - de Side Build"
"Le Grand Tour - de Side Build"
On Saturday, May 1st, the 4-H Minecraft club invited Minecrafters and spectators to explore the many areas of their building efforts with them. Club members had been busy creating such interesting spots in their world as the Wild West City, a Mini Golf course, space, and so much more!
The tour was a lot of fun and very entertaining. Thank you to all builders, actors, and speakers - you did an awesome job! Thanks also to the adult volunteers, especially Celia, who dedicate many many hours overseeing these sessions and rehearsing for the event!
If you missed it, you can watch the recording on YouTube.
Also check out their other videos by visiting visit their YouTube Channel.
Second place for Morris County in NJ 4-H Cooking Challenge
Congratulations to Morris County's 4-H member, Kristin Osika, in securing 2nd place in the NJ 4-H Cooking Challenge with her delicious "Bacon Cheddar Twice Baked Potato with Herbed Cashew Chicken and Broccoli"! This was a first statewide cooking competition - and she went up against 4-H members of a lot of cooking clubs and others from all over NJ. Thank you Kristin for representing our county so well!
In Memory of Robert W. Lubrano
The Lubrano Family were active participants in the Morris County 4-H program starting in the 1980's when they began raising Seeing Eye puppies. They also volunteered each year at the Morris County 4-H Fair. The family created the Lubrano 4-H Memorial Scholarship in memory of their son, Lance Corporal Andrew Lubrano, after his untimely death.
On April 6, 2021, Robert Lubrano, father of Andrew, passed away at the age of 89. He was a skilled mechanic and self published mystery writer. He is fondly remembered for his sense of humor, musical ear, and love for his family. Morris County 4-H is grateful to have had Robert, Andrew, and the entire Lubrano Family as part of our community. Learn more about Robert Lubrano by reading his obituary.
4-H Mission to Mars
Every Monday in March, 4-Hers in grades 5-7 virtually traveled to Mars in the 4-H Mission to Mars program. This event was hosted by Morris, Ocean, and Somerset Counties and taught by teen 4-H STEM Ambassadors. Morris County had 7 participants (Manisha, Sophia, Aniket, Gurusaran, Vir, Twisha, and Stratton). Each week, youth learned about the latest news from the NASA Mars Exploration Program and Perseverance rover. They also explored the surface of Mars with a drop zone activity, built a small rover, and practiced coding. On the final Monday, guest speakers from Rutgers University, NASA, and the RVCC Planetarium met with the participants to present some of their work, talk about career paths, and share what they are excited to learn from the Perseverance rover. There's still so much to learn about Mars and space exploration. Morris County 4-H hopes to offer more space/Mars themed events in the future. For now, be sure to check out this video on how NASA funded researchers at Rutgers University are testing theories on how life began on Earth and the likelihood of finding life elsewhere in the cosmos.
Minecraft 4-H Camp is a Hit
The Morris County 4-H Minecraft Club put together a wonderful event at the very accurate and equally creative L.G. Cook 4-H camp in their Minecraft world. We had 85 participants enjoy the Winter and Summer Camps on February 19 and 20; all in Zoom, Discord, and/or Minecraft. Director of the real L.G. Cook 4-H Camp, Ben, plus former campers were invited and able to comment on the attention to detail, answer questions, and enjoy such creative improvements as the fancy staff cabin. "Hands-on" activities at camp included fishing, sledding, snowball fight, archery, Minecraft spleefs, and singing by the campfire.
A big THANK YOU! to the Minecraft club members and leaders for providing this opportunity to tour the camp and offering build sessions for the Minecraft campers. We had a blast!
And a special thanks to MCProHosting for providing the server space for this project as well as a 4-H member discount to host your own Minecraft server (use “4-H” at checkout for 20% off any server hosting plan!).
Fantastic Fudge with 4-H is Fabulous
We had as much variety in flavor and extra ingredients as we had participants yesterday (on February 10th). Thank you Claire from the Be the Change club for leading this fun and successful cooking show!
Claire with her caramel truffle fudge during the event
Leigh's rainbow sprinkle fudge
Victoria and her white chocolate fudge
Joshua cutting his fudge creation
Inspiring Photography Talk
On February 23, in a 4-H From Home Webinar, Parvathi Kumar shared her experience in creating her new photo documentary book "Everyday Blackness - Celebrating Exceptional Women" and talked about the different way and challenges of how to create a photo book.
The book, Everyday Blackness, celebrates Black women who defy stereotypes, forge unique paths, and are exemplars of courage, tenacity, and resilience. One of the women highlited in the book joined the webinar too.
We are all inspired by the amazing stories and the impactful book! - And want to create our own photo books now!
If you missed the talk, take a look at the slides Parvathi kindly provided.
To learn more about Parvathi, the book and the women she interviewed and highlighted in her book - check out her website: www.parvathikumar.com
Join 4-H'ers in Donating Sandwiches
This invitation by 4-H club Be the Change to help make sandwiches for Project Kind is a huge hit! Many families are already participating. Thank you!!!
Since this is a weekly project, you can still join in the fun and help.
Use the Signup Genius to pick your timeslot for getting the bread (donated by Giancarlo's Bakery - Thank you!) at the 4-H building parking lot (550W Hanover Ave in Morristown, access from Morris View Dr).
Don't have time to make sandwiches? You can also drop off jars of peanut butter and jelly, drink pouches, brown paper lunch bags, or plastic zip lock sandwich bags. Sandwich makers will be provided with these items as supplies last.
When picking up your bread, please bring a few shopping bags to carry the bread in as it is donated from a local bakery and does not come individually packaged.
Please DO NOT enter the 4-H building. The bread pickup will be outside in the parking lot. Please wear a mask and have only one person come out to get the bread.
Availability of bread varies so if we run out you will be notified.
Sign up here
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4BAFA72EA3FB6-project
To see what other items you can donate to Project Kind go to: https://www.projectkind123.org/needed-items/
Jim Trimble's Tree at Chubb Park
Thanks to the effort of president and VP of the board, CJ Sinko and Mic McWilliams, as well as others, there is now a beautiful new tree by the pond at Chubb Park dedicated to Jim Trimble.
Later in the year, when we can meet in person again, we will have a proper ceremony for the tree dedication. Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, we invite all 4-H families to go check it out and send us a picture with you and the tree.
See also the online photo book.
Guess the Candy Corn Winners:
Place: Alexis Hider - Poultry Pride Club, Cumberland County; with 1st closest guess (264)
Place: Hayden Reade - Kids 4 Kindness, Morris County; 2nd (241)
Place: Ava Keslo - Kitchen Phantics, Cape May County; 3rd (295)
Congratulations to all winners, especially Hayden, our Morris County 4-H member, who got second place!!!
The total number of candy pieces in the jar was 261. The winners have been notified and were sent their prizes. Thank you all who participated!
Awards Night 2020
During the week of November 9-13 Morris County 4-H had Club Awards Meetings with a finale of County Awards Celebrations on Friday night. Congratulations to all of our 4-H members and volunteers for your wonderful work! Check out the links to the slide shows below for award details.
