County Council Organizes a Donation Drive for the Ronald McDonald House

By: Victoria Olberding, County Council Reporter

The past few months, County Council members have been working to gather donations for the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families with sick children in their time of need. They supply families with a place to stay, meals, and basic hygiene supplies while their child is in the hospital. The goal was to collect travel-size shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant. We collected 424 travel-size hygiene items! Six clubs helped to donate to the toiletry drive: Oxford Hustlers, Country Hearts, Happy Helpers, Great Plains, Dog Club, and Horse Club. The people at the Ronald McDonald house were very appreciative of the donations! Thank you to everyone who helped donate items to support the Ronald McDonald House!

Reporter's Corner

Club reporters submit their 4-H related articles, and you get to read about the latest Johnson County 4-H Club happenings! Click the button below for some fun news and updates!

State Fair Entry Drop-off Information

Projects that were registered for entry into the Kansas State Fair can be dropped off at the Extension office Tuesday, September 2nd from 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM or Wednesday, September 3rd from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Youth that exhibit in the 4-H division of the state fair will receive two complimentary admission tickets to the Kansas State Fair in place of premiums. Those tickets can be picked up at the Extension office from 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Monday-Friday.

IMPORTANT: Please read the rules in the Kansas State Fair 4-H Exhibitor Handbook as well as check the Exhibit Area Downloads links for any class you entered in. A link to additional downloads links is on the webpage.

To find the Exhibit Area Downloads link for your class:

1) Scroll down the page to find your department.

2) Review all necessary forms and information for your entry.

3) We have all entry tags at the Extension office, but if there are other documents required you will need to print them off and bring them in with your exhibit.

If you have any questions, please call the Johnson County 4-H office. If you plan to attend the state fair, check the schedule for all the events.

Fair Premium Checks

If you did not pick up your Johnson County Fair Premium Check on Sunday (August 3rd), you will need to contact the Fair Board via email to make pick up arrangements.

2025-2026 4-H Calendar

The new 4-H program year is right around the corner. View the 2025-2026 calendar and start marking your calendars for upcoming events!

Record Book/Award Applications Workshop

Do you need help filling out your record book or project report form? Need tips on how to organize the information? Do you have record keeping questions that you would like addressed? This workshop is for you! The event will be held Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 5:00 - 8:00 PM at the Extension Office (Room 1070/1075). This workshop is open for everybody - not just first year members! Drop in when you need and when your schedule allows. There will be a presentation starting at 6:00 that will cover all areas of record books. There will be time before and after where anybody is welcome to drop in to receive advice and ask questions.

Ambassador Applications

Join the 2026 Johnson County 4-H Ambassadors! If you love 4-H, meeting new people, and want to gain more leadership experience, this is the perfect program for you! The Ambassador program is a leadership role where 4-H’ers share with the community and other 4-H members about the many opportunities 4-H has to offer.

Applicants must be between the ages of 14-18 (before January 1, 2026). Applications are due to the Extension Office by Wednesday, September 10 at 5:00 PM.

Note: Current Ambassadors must reapply with the ambassador renewal form by the same September 10 deadline.

Save the Date: County Social

Mark your calendars and plan to join the Council at the County Social on Saturday, September 20th. Join us in the afternoon for a park/game social at Shawnee Mission Park (Shelter 1). More details to come!

Preparing End of the Year Awards

All 4-H’ers should complete their Record Book (this includes the personal page, 4-H story, and permanent record) so you can get rewarded for the year’s hard work. Be sure to check with your club leaders to find out the deadline to submit your record book to them.

• If you would like to apply for a membership pin, complete and submit a membership pin application to your club leader.

• If you would like to apply for an officer pin, submit an officer pin score sheet/application and a book or supporting documents to your club leader. Make sure to review the scoring sheet to meet all requirements. Score sheets can be found under "Club Resources" on the website.

• Finish your Project Report Forms for submission to the Extension Office for judging.

Informational slides from our local training are posted. Also, consider attending the Record Book Workshop detailed above - this will be a great informational session with an opportunity to get all your questions answered.

You will submit ALL record books, applications, project report forms and officer books to your club leaders.

Officer Training & Project Fair: NEW Format

This year, these two events will be held on separate dates in order to provide more programming for each respective event. The committee is at work, planning these events. More details to come!

Save the date for these events:

• Officer Training: Tuesday, September 30th 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the Extension Office
• Project Fair: Wednesday, October 8th 6:00 - 8:30 PM at the Extension Office

County Award Nominations Due

Four new county awards were added this past year:

• Johnson County 4-H Impact Award
• Most Helpful 4-H'er Award
• Johnson County 4-H Innovation Award
• Johnson County Friend of 4-H Award

The first nominations will be accepted this year and are due by October 1, 2025. More information can be found on each of these awards on the nomination forms. Find the links to each of these under the "Forms" section.

Save the Date: Achievement Celebration

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 15th, 2:00 - 4:00 PM! Plan to join us for our celebration of all the hard work the 4-H'ers and the volunteers put into the 2024-2025 4-H year! The event will be held at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Olathe.

Sew & Tell

A former 4-H family are the owners of a local apparel fabric store, Legacy Fabrics. They support not only 4-Her's, but students in high school, college, designers, cos-play, historical, and Renaissance designers as well. They would like to invite all the kids to their monthly Sew and Tell on Saturday, September 6th from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. They can wear or bring in outfits, show off their pillows and posters! They would also love to hang the posters on the wall to show them off for a month or two! 

This business is trying to build a community of garment sewists and offer a 15% discount to youth under 25! The store also has opportunities for sewing field trips with a lesson in different types of fabrics, notions, and the opportunity to actually feel and touch silk, wool, linens, and different varieties of knits.

Gardner 4-H Afterschool Cooking Program

Kansas State Research and Extension Master Food Volunteers are offering another year of 4-H Afterschool Cooking Classes at First Baptist Church of Gardner (324 E. Shawnee St.). These will be held each month, focusing on a different topic/theme.

Join us for September's 4-H Afterschool Cooking Class! Students will participate in hands on cooking activities and will be engaged in other fun educational activities focusing on apples. The class will take place on Thursday, September 11th from 3:30 - 5:00 PM. Registrations are limited so reserve your spot today!

Looking ahead: Mark your Calendars for these dates!

October 9th - "Spooky Foods"

November 13th - "Yummy Sweet Potatoes"

December 11th - "Cookies" and sharing these decorated goodies with our community

Registrations for these classes will be posted in Clover Clips.

Shooting Sports Project: Air Pistol SPIN Club

The Johnson County 4-H Shooting Sports project will hold an introductory Air Pistol class. Join us to learn the basics of air pistol shooting in a fun, safe environment. This indoor class will focus on introducing the sport of target air pistol shooting with an emphasis on gun safety and handling. Pistols, targets, pellets and other equipment will be provided; however, participants are asked to bring their own safety glasses. The class is taught by Kansas certified 4-H Shooting Sports instructors. Participants do not have to be a 4-H member but must be between 12 and 18 years of age (before January 1, 2026).

This class is a pre-requisite for joining the air pistol competition squad and for participating in smallbore pistol next summer. Those who show an affinity and wish to compete further may be invited to join the air pistol competition squad for the regular season which will run from December to April.

Air pistol SPIN will meet on the following evenings, October 16, 23, 30 and November 6 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM. The class location is indoors on the Johnson County Fairgrounds in Gardner, Kansas. A $45 equipment fee will be required. Registration will open on September 15, 2025. The registration link will be posted in Clover Clips and on the website. Participants will be required to turn in a SPIN enrollment form and a Kansas 4-H Participation Form. 

For further questions contact Sara Eccles or the Johnson County 4-H office with questions about signing up.  

County Knitting Project Meetings

Are you wanting to learn to knit? Do you have some knitting epxerience and want to craft alongside other knitters? Monthly county knitting project meetings will be held on Friday evenings this year. Each meeting will be from 7:00 - 8:30 PM at the Open Class building on the Johnson County Fairgrounds.

Upcoming dates:

• October 17th
• November 14th
• December 19th

Contact Sarah Kallansrud with any questions!

County Sewing Project Meetings

Attention sewers OR those that want to sew! Starting October 2nd, the county wide sewing class will start up again. We will sew each Thursday at 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the Extension Office. The first session, which is an introductory session and a "get back to sewing after fair time" class. We will sew each Thursday until Nov 13th. Classes will start up again January 8th and meet each week until the fair.

If you have any questions, contact Martha Powell (913-302-5812).

Tuesday, September 2nd 7:00 PM

County Council Meeting

County Council meets on the odd-numbered months of the year. Each club must have two youth representatives and two adult representatives at each meeting.

Contact: Cyla or Lexi 

Location: Johnson County Extension Office

Wednesday, September 10th 5:00 - 8:00 PM

Record Book & Awards Application Workshop

This informational workshop will give you all the details and tips you need to properly fill out your end of year records. Formal presentation starts at 6:00 PM. Open Q&A opportunity before and after presentation.

Contact: Cyla or Lexi 

Location: Johnson County Extension Office, Room 1070/1075

Monday, September 15th 6:00 PM

Johnson County Entomology Project Meeting

Join us on the third Monday of each month as we dive into the art of pinning insects! Whether you're a seasoned collector or just starting out, this hands-on meeting is perfect for anyone looking to improve their skills and take their insect collection to new heights. All skill levels welcome! 

At the September meeting we will dive deep into the workings of Insect senses. No matter how much or little you know already this will be the perfect opportunity to gain more knowledge about these interesting creatures. There will also be time to get help pinning and identifying insects that you have already caught.

Registration: None required

Contact: Patrick Delancy

Location: Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church (Room #115) 13145 Blackbob Road, Olathe, KS 66062

Saturday, September 20th - afternoon

Johnson County 4-H Social

Park/Game social at Shawnee Mission Park, Shelter 1

Tuesday, September 30th 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Officer Training

Attend a training presentation for your newly elected office, plus partake in various topical workshops.

Contact: Cyla or Lexi 

Location: Johnson County Extension Office

Wednesday, October 8th 6:00 - 8:30

Project Fair

Contact: Cyla or Lexi 

Location: Johnson County Extension Office

Allen County Entomology Meeting

The next Entomology project meeting will be on Saturday, September 20th beginning at 1:00 PM at the Allen County Extension Office meeting room. The hot weather should be producing lots of insects for you to catch. Bring your pinning board and supplies and 3 or 4 insects to pin. If you are new to the project, I will have a couple of pinning set ups available for purchase for $15 each and some insects to pin. If you are doing a photography notebook, there should be a nice group of insects at the meeting to get photos of. Due to several project fairs occuring in October, we will not have a meeting in October. Family Day will be in November this year. Questions? Call Vicky Wallace @ (620)804-9170. 

Kansas Youth Leadership Council

The Youth Council and National 4-H Conference applications will be combined, with applicants indicating if they are applying for one or both opportunities. 

• Youth may run for a one-year term as a representative on the council. Youth Council Applicants must be ages 14 and 18 before January 1, 2026.

• Those who are selected as National Conference Delegates will serve a two-year term on the council. Applicants must be 15-18 before January 1, 2026.

The process includes an online application, online reference form, and signature page. All items are due by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. All resources and links can be found on either the National 4-H Conference or Youth Leadership Council page linked above. Elections will happen at this year’s Kansas Youth Leadership Forum and the National 4-H Conference Delegates will be announced there as well.

Willie and the Salad Bonanza

Willie and the Salad Bonanza is a contest open to elementary, middle, and high school teams, along with other K-12 community organizations such as 4-H, Scouts, or FFA interested in the scientific principles surrounding plant growth. The challenge is to grow the largest amount of three designated and provided varieties of leafy greens in a communal container using no more than five-gallons of growing medium over a roughly 45-day time span, documenting this effort.

The contest will have four divisions, K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grades, as well as Mixed Age. This year’s program will run from Wednesday, September 12 through the end of October, varied by age group. Seeds and a limited number of hydroponic setups are available for dispersal from the Extension Office while soil and other containers are the responsibility of participants. Extension support will be available to participating groups throughout the 45 days. Deadline for registration is September 5th.

Bridging the Gap: Service Opportunity

A local non-profit, Bridging the Gap, partners with Heartland Tree Alliance team to help to plant trees around parks and neighborhoods in KCMO. They utilize volunteers to get the majority of these plantings done and are gearing up for our fall planting season starting after Labor Day. This would be a great opportunity for 4-H clubs or small groups of several 4-H families. Individuals are welcome to sign up too.

Workdays are both during the week and on Saturdays and typically last about 2-3 hours. The staff will give a demonstration on how to properly plant a tree, and then smaller groups will split off with a staff member to plant trees around a park or neighborhood. The plantings are suitable for all ages, no prior planting experience is required, and it's a fun time (especially with friends!)

The link to sign up to volunteer for a specific date is listed on the event calendar. Under the "select program" bar, select Heartland Tree Alliance. Any of the events labeled "Heartland Tree Alliance Tree Planting" are volunteer tree planting events.

Questions? Contact Emily Kresin (Community Forestry Associate with Bridging the Gap).

KJLS LEAD Challenge

The Kansas Junior Livestock Show LEAD Challenge is an education, advocacy, and leadership event that provides youth an opportunity to learn about current industry, production, and animal care issues, and then apply those learnings in a multi-event competition. Competition in the LEAD Challenge encourages KJLS exhibitors to develop not only the ability to show livestock, but also a well-rounded knowledge of animal agriculture and important advocacy skills. The LEAD Challenge consists of five main components: Listen & Learn sessions, prepared speeches, skill stations, mock job interviews and livestock showmanship.

Kansas Youth Virtual Entrepreneurship Challenge (KYVEC)

The Kansas Youth Virtual Entrepreneurship Challenge is a great starting point for young innovators to explore entrepreneurship, build confidence, gain experience pitching ideas AND win cash prizes! Participation in KYVEC also serves as excellent preparation for the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC Summit).  

Who: Open to elementary, middle, and high school students across Kansas. 

What: A statewide virtual business pitch competition. Students submit a 3–5 minute video pitching their business idea for a chance to win cash prizes.

Where: Online (virtual submission & judging)

Important dates if you plan to participate:

• September 1 - Registration opens
• October 26 - Submission deadline
• October 28 - Judging begins
• November 6 - Winners announced

Clover Clips Submission

The deadline for submissions for Clover Clips will be on the 15th of each month. If you have a submission that you would like to have considered for an edition of Clover Clips please send it to Erin at Erin.Yeung@jocogov.org