- Author: Valerie Zeko
This year, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, our Ventura County 4-H Achievement Awards took place in a drive-in ceremony at the Poinsettia Pavilion in Ventura on June 15, 2020
Please scroll down to see every category of awards given.
2019-2020 Record Book Awards
PRIMARY
- Bailey Hargett, Conejo-Simi 4-H
o Record Book Participation Award
JUNIOR
- Sammy Belik, Conejo-Simi 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Jones Lees, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
INTERMEDIATE
- Alexander Blomquist, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Claire Boone, Santa Rosa Valley 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Anna Linehan, Conejo-Simi 4-H
o Record Book First Place Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Rachel Lipscomb, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Ashley Pyler, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Kaylee Tan, Conejo-Simi 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Adeline Vertucci, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Mathew Ziegler, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
SENIOR
- Adler Streigel, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Olivia Vertucci, Loma Vista 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
- Shelby Wright, Santa Rosa Valley 4-H
o Record Book Premium Medalist Award
o Record Book Interview Award
Presidential Volunteer Service Awards
Earned by members who complete community service in 4-H and their community.
- Sammy Belik, Conejo-Simi 4-H, earned the Gold Presidential Service Award in the Youth division for volunteering over 75 hours in 4-H and his community.
- Anna Sorenson, Conejo-Simi 4-H, earned the Gold Presidential Service Award in the Teen division for volunteering over 100 hours in 4-H and her community.
Emerald Star
The Emerald Star program is designed for intermediate and senior 4-H members who apply and complete a project that benefits 4-H members. Click here for info.
Ashley Pyler of Loma Vista 4-H earned her Emerald Star by planning and facilitating a 4-H Primary Field Day for our youngest 4-H members over Zoom.
Diamond Clover Award
The California Diamond Clover is the highest achievement for which a 4-H youth member is recognized. Diamond Clovers have been awarded to several of the highest achieving 4-H youth members since 2013. Click here for more info.
Anna Sorenson of Conejo-Simi 4-H earned her Diamond Clover this year! Congratulations!
Special Volunteer Recognition
Recognition Director Amylynn Robinson gave special recognition to Loma Vista 4-H Club Leader Julie Salomonson who planned and hosted a Virtual Youth Expo since the fair was cancelled this year due to the pandemic. Thank you for all your hard work, Julie!
Gold Club Charter Seals
Gold Club Charter Seals are given to clubs who go above and beyond the 14 minimum requirements in the Club Program Planning Guide. To earn a Gold Seal, clubs need to complete an extra 10 goals for a total of 24 goals.
- Sespe 4-H Club, led by Paula Estrella, completed 32 goals
- Somis 4-H Club, led by Anthony Santos, completed 26 goals
- Conejo-Simi 4-H Club, led by Edith Sorensen, completed 34 goals
- Loma Vista 4-H Club, led by Julie Salomonson, completed 41 goals
- Author: Ashley and Rachel
The Sustainable You! Summer Camp is an annual camp that is put on by the Ventura County 4-H Program and the City of Ventura each year in July. Usually, it is held at the University of California Hansen Agriculture Research and Extension Center (UC HAREC) in Santa Paula. This year, due to the Stay-At-Home Mandate brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the camp was held virtually via Zoom. We were the two Teen Helpers for the event. Here is what we did on each day:
DAY 1 - MONDAY, JULY 20TH
The theme of the first day of camp was Air Day. The campers answered questions to start off the day after a short icebreaker led by Ashley, otherwise referred to as journal questions. The kids then discussed their answers and viewpoints. They then learned about our atmosphere. I recall one section, where the kids learned about the sections of the atmosphere. The first layer, the Troposphere, stopping roughly ten miles above ground, is where the weather forms. It holds the layers upon layers of clouds that bring storms of rain, ice, and thunder. Planes fly in the Lower Stratosphere, the second layer, it is near thirty-one miles at it's highest. The Stratosphere holds the Ozone Layer; which blocks UV Rays. The Mesosphere, the third layer, at its tallest point is 42 miles above the earth's surface -average. The Mesosphere protects the earth from objects in space-meteors and asteroids. The Thermosphere is 446 miles above, it absorbs more of the Sun's UV Rays and X-Ray Radiation. The Exosphere is the final layer of all, about 311 miles above the ground.
DAY 2 - TUESDAY, JULY 21ST
The theme of the second day of camp was Land Day. The day started with another icebreaker led by Ashley and the journaling questions. Then, the campers learned how to better take care of the land around them, and we watched a video about a waste processing plant that is located right here in Ventura. After that, the participants were given an assignment to bring back and share the next day. The instructions for the activity was to head for a walk outside after camp and find as many objects that are on land as possible. The campers were then going to share their results the following day.
DAY 3 - WEDNESDAY, JULY 22ND
The theme of the third day of camp was Food Day. The day started with another icebreaker activity led by Ashley and the daily journaling questions. After that, the campers shared their results from the Hunt & Find Activity from the previous day. The campers then watched some educational videos to help them learn how to preserve food, along with how to keep food clean (which is an essential skill during the times of the Coronavirus). Some of the ideas campers learned on this day included what the different types of food are, where their food comes from, what kind of packaging their food comes in, and how to calculate food miles. The campers really seemed to enjoy this day's activity, as Food Day proved to be their favorite day of camp.
DAY 4 - THURSDAY, JULY 23RD
The theme of the fourth day of camp was Energy Day. The day started with another icebreaker activity led by Ashley and the daily journaling questions. After the campers got their lesson on energy, they got to play a fun game called ENERGY BINGO. Some of the terms related to energy that campers learn included: oil, natural gas, oil shale, tar sands, coal, nuclear, wood, municipal solid waste, biofuel/biodiesel, solar, hydroelectric, tidal, wave, wind, and geothermal. This proved to be a very enjoyable activity, as it got quite competitive among the campers!
DAY 5 - FRIDAY, JULY 24TH
The theme of the fifth and final day of camp was Water Day. The day started with another icebreaker activity led by Ashley and the daily journaling questions. Although the mood of the day was a bit sad since it was the last day of camp, everyone was still excited for the activities that were about to take place, and for everyone to have fun together one last time. The campers watched some videos on how to keep the water around them clean. Then, we watched a live experiment demonstrated by Ms. Stephanie Terry. She showed us how differently paper products (toilet paper, flushable wipes, tissues, and paper towels) dissolve into water. From this activity, campers learned that only toilet paper should be flushed down the toilet.
Although the camp wasn't the same as being held in person, the camp still proved to be very educational and enjoyable in the new virtual format. It is with high hopes that the Sustainable You! Summer Camp can be held back at the Santa Paula UC HAREC next July, but if we are still under these uncertain times, there will most definitely be a virtual camp. If you participated in this year's pilot virtual camp, thank you for participating, and we hope to see you next year, virtual or in-person!
- Author: Valerie Zeko
Congratulations to the following Ventura County 4-H'ers who participated in California State Field Day 2020! This event was all virtual this year, so we had more participation than ever before!
Ashley Pyler of Loma Vista 4-H won 3 Golds in the State 4-H Film Festival for her videos "Apple Goodness," "How to Use an Egg Slicer" and "How to Cook Deviled Eggs." She also won Gold in the State Interview Contest and Platinum in the State 4-H Presentation Day for her speech "Why Music Matters."
Andrew Pyler of Loma Vista 4-H won Platinum in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark."
Sammy Belik of Conejo-Simi 4-H won Gold in the following contests:
- State 4-H Photography Contest: "A Sweet Pair."
- State 4-H Robotics Contest Level 1
- State 4-H Interview Contest
- State 4-H Film Festival: "The Cannon" and "The Amazing Hard-Boiled Egg Opener Demonstration."
- State 4-H Presentation Day: "Special Secret Hens Help Us Prevent Disease."
Adeline Vertucci of Loma Vista 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper.
Sofia Manzano of Mupu 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "How to Make Slime."
Olivia Blomquist of Loma Vista 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for her original song "Heaven."
Alexander Blomquist of Loma Vista 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "What Makes Jam Jam!"
Courtney Nunes of Santa Rosa Valley 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Photography Contest for her "Old Barn."
- Author: Claire B.
The California 4-H Mindfulness Retreat
by Claire B., Santa Rosa Valley 4-H
The California 4-H offers a Mindfulness Retreat each year in Cambria at Camp Ocean Pines. The goal of the retreat for members to develop their health and learn strategies to practice mindfulness.
This three-day retreat had us identify stressors with other 4-H youth in California. It is amazing to see how stressed we were and the commonalities among us all.
We participated in a variety of activities to reduce stress and learn mindfulness. We practiced mindful eating, creative outlets of using photographic paper with items from nature to make natural art, made bracelets and in the evening, and an astronomer helped us see another galaxy, which was one of my favorite activities.
My other favorite was doing yoga on the porch which overlooked a nature preserve and the sea.
The Mindfulness Retreat allows for bonding and making a lot of 4-H friends throughout California. It helps our leadership so that we can be a better advocate of healthy living in our community. Some apps that are useful for Mindfulness are Headspace, Calm, and Dreambox.
This retreat motivated me to attend Mindful Minutes in Delaware via Zoom while we were under quarantine. Mindful minutes is based on the GEM Curriculum (Getting Experience in Mindfulness). Participants had the option to become a Trainer of Trainers and I attended this multi-day Zoom training to better my practice. During our Covid-19 quarantine and throughout the changes in our state, mindfulness can help you.
Mindfulness is important so that you reduce stress and anxiety and it can also help in your leadership and in the workplace. If you have an opportunity to participate in mindful practice, you will see the benefits which will lead to clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service and better living.
- Author: Valerie Zeko
2019 Ventura County Fair
Junior Showmanship
Congrats, 4-H'ers!
Division 953 - Jr - 4-H Novice Showmanship
Class 5 Market Goat
Curren Thompson 1
Somis Kaylee Tan 2 Simi Valley
Emma Johnston 3 Camarillo
Madison Walter 4 Taft
Kassie Hatcher 5 Taft
Grace Cobb 6 Somis
Francisco Zamora Jr. 7 Santa Paula
Sammy Belik 8 Simi Valley
Payton Holliday 9 Moorpark
Tyler Nowak 10 Somis
Class 6 - Market Lamb
Jayleen Arballo 1 Santa Paula
Joann Christensen 2 Santa Paula
Clarissa Barrera 3 Fillmore
Lexi Freehauf 4 Santa Paula A
dler Striegel 5 Ventura
Rafe Pidduck 6 Ventura
Samuel Knight 7 Camarillo
Peter Daly 8 Santa Paula
Laird Pidduck 9 Ventura
Class 7 - Market Steer
Juan F. Jimenez 1 Somis
Hailey Rotondo 2 Ventura
Nathan Kearney 3 Oxnard
Class 8 - Market Swine
Matthew Zavala 1 Fillmore
Alani McKeen 2 Fillmore
Miguel Rincon 3 Fillmore
Jessika Aguilar 4 Fillmore
Sarah Cedillos 5 Fillmore
Angel Gonzalez 6 Somis
Ciera Cervantes 7 Fillmore
Olivia Nava 8 Fillmore
Division 954 -Jr - 4-H Junior Showmanship
Class 2 - Dairy Goat
Belle Duong 1 Valley Center
Samanatha Wolf 2 Simi Valley
Madeline Lockmann 3 Agoura Hills
Class 3 - Breeding Sheep
Breonna Alvarez 1 Santa Paula
Class 4 - Breeding Swine
Anahi Arballo 1 Santa Paula
Class 5 - Market Goat
Brett Bowman 1 Camarillo
Skyler Knight 2 Ventura
Courtney Nunes 3 Camarillo
Curren Thompson 4 Somis
Elle Anger 5 Somis
Madison Geisler 6 Somis
Mckenzie Waters 7 Moorpark
Julia May 8 Moorpark
Annalise Barragan 9 Fillmore
Antoinette Rios 10 Camarillo
Class 6 - Market Lamb
Jayleen Arballo 1 Santa Paula
Breonna Alvarez 2 Santa Paula
Scarlett James 3 Somis
Lainah Hill 4 Camarillo
Grace Hoolmaa 5 Somis
Clara Knight 6 Camarillo
Chloe Casas 7 Santa Paula
Diana Zizumbo 8 Santa Paula
Therese Hattrup 9 Fillmore
Preslee Jenkins 10 Santa Paula
Class 7 - Market Steer
Kasen Lynch 1 Somis
Billie Yanez 2 Somis
Rocco Dantona 3 Simi Valley
Sally R McCormick 4 Camarillo
Ralph Theising 5 Simi Valley
Juan F. Jimenez 6 Somis
Dean West 7 Ventura
Isabella Jimenez 8 Ojai
Allie May Scheu 9 Moorpark
Class 8 - Market Swine
Raeleen Pillado 1 Piru
Matthew Zavala 2 Fillmore
Adrian Vazquez 3 Fillmore
Leea Martinez 4 Santa Paula
Skylar Rutherford 5 Ojai
Kayla Cervantez 6 Fillmore
Carissa Cervantes Carrillo 7 Camarillo
Bodie Mays 8 Camarillo
Class 9 - Wether Dam doe
Ethan Lopez 1 Santa Paula
Division 955 - Jr - 4-H Senior Showmanship
Class 1 - Breeding Heifer
Kaitlyn Prado 1 Santa Paula
Jessica Jimenez 2 Ojai
Class 2 - Dairy Goat
Belle Duong 1 Valley Center
Anna Sorensen 2 Simi Valley
Class 3 - Breeding Sheep
Kaitlyn Prado 1 Santa Paula
Class 4 - Breeding Swine
Travis Smith 1 Thousand Oaks
Anna Enos 2 Camarillo
Class 5 - Market Goat
Brooke Allen 1 Fillmore
Brett Bowman 2 Camarillo
Julia Cook 3 Simi Valley
Michael Olvera 4 Fillmore
Class 6 - Market Lamb
Sam Hoyt 1 Oak View
Kaitlyn Prado 2 Santa Paula
Iliana Marquez 3 Santa Paula T
yler Hook 4 Somis
Robert Hebert 5 Simi Valley
Zane Marklein 6 Ventura
Katie Hendren 7 Santa Paula
Rachel A Byrne 8 Simi Valley
Class 7 - Market Steer
Travis Smith 1 Thousand Oaks
Jadyn Pinneo 2 Moorpark
Astrid D'alton 3 Ventura
Parker Lynch 4 Somis
Kasen Lynch 5 Somis
Chance Bowman 6 Ojai
Leanna Kearney 7 Oxnard
Adrienne Kearney 8 Oxnard
Class 8 - Market Swine
Raeleen Pillado 1 Piru
Phillip Cervantez 2 Fillmore
Ashley Payne 3 Ventura
Adam Zavala 4 Fillmore
Charlotte Peters 5 Ojai
Julissa Montes 6 Fillmore
Cayden T. Ewing 7 Ventura
Devin Cullinane 8 Camarillo
Class 9 - Wether Dam Doe
Brooke Allen 1 Fillmore