4-H enrollment has been open since October 1 and will continue to be open well into next year.

Individuals should enroll no later than January 15 since project options begin to close and many clubs are moving forward with meetings at that time. Once again as an incentive to sign up early, the Putnam 4-H Council is sponsoring five $100 awards to be given to those who sign up and pay early by 11:59 pm, Sunday, December 10. The selection method will be that a name will be randomly drawn from those who have both enrolled and paid by the deadline from each of the four county school corporations. In addition, a drawing from a fifth group representing individuals in the program from schools other than the four county school corporations will be made. The plan is that winners will be announced on Monday, December 11. Intention is that the families drawn for awards will come during that week to receive their award before the Christmas holiday break.

To sign up for 4-H, you may visit our website www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam and go to the “enroll in 4-H now” link under the 4-H clover at right hand side and midway down on the page. If one has been in 4-H in the past but skipped a year or you don’t know what email you used for your account, contact the Extension office first to save hassle as there would already be an online archived account that Extension staff can unarchive. If the online enrollment is a challenge for whatever reason, please contact the Extension office and we will be glad to help either at the office or by phone walk you through the screens.

Overall, the 4-H project guidelines appear to have had very few changes for those who have been in the program the past year. Extension staff are conducting visits to third grade classrooms at county schools so your child should be bringing home enrollment material. The 4-H program is open to youth in grades 3-12 and there is also a mini 4-H program we call “Exploring 4-H” that is only for second graders. The mini 4-H program materials will come out after the start of the year and school visits of second grade classrooms will be planned for late January/early February.

Visit our homepage at www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or you can contact the local office by calling 765.653.8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. Office hours are Monday thru Friday from 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-4:00pm. Evening and lunch appointments are available, upon request. It is always best to call first to assure items are ready when you arrive and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. All times listed are Eastern Time.

Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

Upcoming events

Nov. 7 – Office closed as are other county offices for Election Day

Nov. 10 – Office closed Veteran’s Day holiday

Nov. 16 – Staying Health as you Age, 6 p.m., Fairgrounds York Auto Building

Nov. 28 – Wild Eats: Cooking Venison for Flavor and Safety Webinar, 6 p.m., register at https://tinyurl.com/wildeats23