Glossary of 4-H Terms

Achievement Celebration

A county-wide award banquet sponsored by the Douglas County 4-H Council and Douglas County 4-H Foundation. All project leaders, community leaders, parents, and members are invited to attend.

Area 4-H Specialist

A professional who gives 4-H assistance to counties as they request it. The Northeast Area specialist is in Manhattan and is responsible for 23 counties in Northeast Kansas.

Club Day

An event with activities that give members an opportunity to tell others about their 4-H projects and demonstrate their talent and abilities.

County 4-H Camp

Held at Rock Springs 4-H Center, southwest of Junction City, 4-H camp is for 4-H members who have completed 2nd through 6th grade. Older 4-H members serve as counselors for the classes and activities.

Discovery Days

A mini-college held at K-State. The focus of this event is to help 4-H’ers “discover” more about a project area.

Douglas County Fair

The county fair gives the 4-H member an opportunity for evaluation of their projects. Each member is expected to take at least one entry to the fair. Placings will be given in purple, blue, red, and white. Purple placings are eligible to be entered at the Kansas State Fair if there is a class and the member is old enough to exhibit.

Douglas County 4-H Foundation

A non-profit organization that works to provide additional resources for the Douglas County 4-H Youth program. Funding comes from county donors and annual membership fees.

4-H Council

Each club elects two member representatives and two leader representatives who meet six times a year to plan activities and events that take place county wide.

4-H Extension Agent

A professional who administers the 4-H program.

4-H Member

Any youth 7-19 years of age who participates in local 4-H group or activity.

4-H Program Development Committee (PDC)

An elected body of six people responsible for the direction of the county 4-H program.

4-H Sunday

One Sunday is set aside each year to call attention to and emphasize the spiritual H (Heart) of 4-H.

Community Club Leader

A volunteer who is responsible for the organizational part of the club.

Host Families

Families that serve as hosts to exchangees coming to Kansas. Applications are available at the Extension office.

International Programs

Programs that provide youth and adults age 12-25 to learn another culture by living it. Programs include a four-week visit in Japan and a six to eight week experience traveling to another country.

Youth Leader

A 4-H member who is 12 years of age or older, is enrolled in the Junior Leadership project, and takes an active part in helping the younger members in the club.

Kansas City Conference

Older members are selected to represent our county as they join other 4-H Youth from Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma at the three day conference.

Kansas 4-H Foundation

A non-profit organization which works to provide additional resources for the 4-H program. They sponsor scholarships, funding for programs and other assistance.

Kansas State University

A land grant college which has the responsibility for taking education to the people of the state (extension). The 4-H program is part of this directive.

National 4-H Week

The first full week in October. Keep an eye out see what events are going on to celebrate it.

Parent's Committee

A committee made up of three to five adults with the responsibility of recruiting and orientation of project leaders, making and arranging leaders, training and assisting club leaders.

Project

A learning experience for the 4-H member, where they learn to make or do an activity in a particular subject area. Each member should take at least one project, complete the record book for the project and make an exhibit for the county fair.

Project Leader

A volunteer who helps youth as they learn. This person can be a 4-H parent or person from the community who has knowledge in a particular subject matter area and agrees to help with a project.

Regional 4-H Club Day

Top entries from the county 4-H Club Day are eligible to compete at Regional Club Day with other counties.

State 4-H Specialists

A state professional specializing in a specific part of the 4-H program. There are currently ten state specialists.

Trainers

Adults who have been trained in a specific area so that they can assist and train other volunteers.