For most of the 2020-2021 program year, 4-H projects have had no choice but to conduct meetings virtually due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  In May, 4-H projects were permitted to hold in-person meetings at a limited capacity.  The Ventura County 4-H Poultry Project seized this opportunity and held a competitive Poultry Show with various competitions on Saturday, June 26^th, 2021.

In order to gear up for the day's competitions, a “Training Day” was held a week before on June 19^th.  At the Training Day, project members learned about all of the different competitions that were being offered at the show, what was required of them to enter each of them, and were given a final opportunity to practice their poultry showmanship skills in a group setting (something that the project members have been working on both in-person and virtually for the entire program year).  Participants also had the option to create a decorated egg to submit for judging at the show.

On competition day, Project Leaders and Junior/Teen Leaders, like myself, were there bright and early to get everything set up and ready to go.  Although this event was just a small, project-level show, everyone in attendance took it very seriously.  The project members dressed in their 4-H Whites and the showmanship judge has over 30 years of experience in 4-H poultry. 

The first competition of the day was the poultry showmanship.  Showmen all lined up with their hens, roosters, cockerels, and pullets, and waited for their turn to show.  Each showman performed their examination one at a time and received valuable feedback from the judge.  Showmen showed their birds one by one, and the showmanship was treated like a real competition; even placement awards were given out.

In addition to the showmanship, there were other competitions that day some of which included posters, egg judging, and a decorated/painted egg art expo.  In conclusion, everyone learned a lot about poultry and had a fun day with in-person 4-H activities.  Last but not least, a big thank you to Jennie Willoughby, Mary Ellen Belik, and Kitty Beckmann of the Santa Rosa Valley 4-H Club for making this event possible for the Ventura County 4-H Youth!

Inside a Presenter's Journey to State Field Day in a COVID Year

By Ashley Pyler, Teen Leader, Record Books & Presentation Project

As someone who has consistently participated in 4-H Presentations for the past 5 years, I can be the first to testify to the fact that participating in Presentations can be fun because of how unpredictable it can be, but this year, the spontaneity has been taken to a whole new level.

Usually, presenters must attend and qualify at two in-person competitions before being allowed to present at State Field Day.  This year, there was no in-person 4-H events with no more than 10 people permitted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  There can often be as many as 2,000 people at a State Field Day Event, so all presentation events were moved to a virtual format. 

Each year, there are three levels of competition; County, Regional (formerly known as Sectional), and State.  Normally, a presenter can only move forward to the next round of competition if they receive a Gold Medal (the highest rank obtainable), but since this year is more challenging due to everything being virtual, presenters were allowed to move forward with a Gold Medal or a Blue Seal (the rank just below a Gold).  I will now tell you about what qualifying for State looked like this year in this new virtual format through the eyes of a presenter.

The journey to State Field Day for presenters began in February.  They spent numerous hours preparing their presentations:  practicing them in front of their parents and other family members, perfecting them with Project Leaders and Teen Leaders on Zoom Calls, and making sure that they were perfect come Tri-County 4-H Presentation Day, the very first level of competition.

Tri-County 4-H Presentation Day took place April 8^th-10^th.  This event took place over three days because there were more participants than usual.  This event is usually just for our county, and the event is known as Ventura County 4-H Presentation Day, and takes place in February or March.  The past two years, County has been in April since all events have been pushed back due to the virtual format.  Since it is virtual, we decided to join forces with two other counties (Riverside and Kings), to make it a Tri-County Event.

In addition to presentations, members also participated in the Interview Contest and Fashion Review at the Tri-County Competition.  All of our County's participants at the event represented Ventura County with great maturity, poise, and did very well in all of the different events that they competed in.  Each of the Ventura County 4-H'ers qualified with one or more events at Regional, which is the next level of competition. 

 For more information about Tri-County 4-H Presentation Day and the results of 4-H'ers in our County, click here

This year, presenters that made it past County Competition picked a time slot from April 10^th-24^th to compete at Regional 4-H Presentation Day.  Usually, each region has its own qualifying event for State Field Day, but due to the virtual format and shortage of evaluators, it was easier and more efficient to have all of the areas do one event together, called Regional 4-H Presentation Day.  Ventura County is in the southern region, so our sectional event is called Southern Area   4-H Field Day, and normally takes place at Mount San Antonio Community College in Walnut in April or the first week of May at the latest.

The judging at Regional 4-H Presentation Day was quite strict this year; some of our County's best presenters either barely made it past the judging, or their journey in 4-H Presentations for 2021 ended here.  However, for the exceptional presenters that went the extra mile to prepare and spent additional hours upon hours to get ready for this day, they were rewarded for their hard work, and were given the ticket to present at State Field Day.

State Field Day took place May 8^th-22^nd, which is much earlier than it usually is.  It usually either takes place on the last Saturday in May, or the first Saturday in June.  State usually is a one-day, in-person event that is held at the California 4-H Headquarters:  University of California Davis (UCD) in the city of Davis.

One of the things that makes State unique is not only is it the biggest event since it represents all of California, but it has the most competitions and contests available for participants.  In addition to Presentations, the Interview Contest, and Fashion Review, the other competitions at State Field Day include:  Film Festival, Photography, Plant Science, Robotics, Coding, and Shark Tank Inventions.  There are usually even more contests at the in-person event, such as Entomology (Bugs) and a Logo Contest.

This year, four Ventura County 4-H members qualified for State Presentations.  A total of eight participated at the event.  Since these members have already worked hard for several months to get here, they were more than ready by the time competition day came. 

Ventura County was well represented at State; our county received a total of 9 Gold Medals, and 3 Platinum Seals (a Platinum is only available at State, and is basically a Gold, except the participant must get a perfect score from all of their evaluators).  To see the names of the State Field Day winners from Ventura County 4-H, scroll to the end of this article.

Now that Presentations are over for this year, presenters can be proud of their work, and read their evaluation sheets to improve for next year.  Presentation Day Awards can be counted in the 4-H Record Book and on college applications.  If you would like to do 4-H Presentations next year, please consider joining the 4-H Record Books & Presentation Practice Project.  My family has led it for 4 years, and we would be happy to help you put together a presentation for competition next year.

 Ashley Pyler, Loma Vista 4-H

Senior Cultural Arts Presentation – Platinum Seal

Senior Interview Contest – Platinum Seal

Senior Film Festival – Blue Seal

Senior Photography Contest – Red Seal/Red Seal

Adeline Vertucci, Loma Vista 4-H

Intermediate Interpretive Reading – Platinum Seal

Mathew Ziegler, Loma Vista 4-H

Senior Illustrated Talk Presentation – Gold Medal

Senior Interview Contest – Blue Seal

Sammy Belik, Santa Rosa Valley 4-H

Intermediate Interpretive Reading – Gold Medal

Intermediate Interview Contest – Gold Medal

Intermediate Fashion Review – Gold Medal

Courtney Nunes, Santa Rosa Valley 4-H

Senior Photography Contest – Blue Seal/Blue Seal

Teagan Vanoni, Somis 4-H

Intermediate Photography – Gold Medal/Gold Medal

Brenna Vanoni, Somis 4-H

Junior Photography – Gold Medal/Blue Seal

Kylan J, Ventura County 4-H

Intermediate Photography – Gold Medal/Gold Medal

Congratulations to our Ventura County 4-H'ers who participated in Virtual County Presentation Day! Those who won GOLD or BLUE can move on to the Regional Presentation Event which runs now until April 24. 

Cultural Arts

• Ashley Pyler - GOLD
• Matthew Ziegler - GOLD 

Demonstration/Illustrated Talk

• Kaylee Tan - GOLD
• Ashley Pyler - GOLD 
• Matthew Ziegler - BLUE 

Impromptu Speech

• Ashley Pyler - GOLD

Informative Prepared Speech

• Ashley Pyler - GOLD 

Interpretive Reading

• Adeline Vertucci - GOLD
• Sammy Belik - GOLD 
• Matthew Ziegler - GOLD

Interview 

• Sammy Belik - GOLD
• Ashley Pyler - GOLD

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 November 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