4-H Presentation

Part of our volunteer role as a CCI Puppy Raiser for our Region is that kids 18 and younger who are Puppy Raising can join the 4-H Club. The Trainer/Leaders of 4-H are the same ones who teach the CCI Classes to any Puppy Raiser, so the 4-H Club is just an extension of our requirement of a Puppy Raiser. One dog, multiple ways to have fun while they are in our care.

The 4-H Club is a diverse mix of kids and their CCI dogs. Some are Puppy Raisers like my son, and others are Handlers with a variety of special needs who have their own Service or Skilled Companion Dog. They are mentors to each other in a variety of ways. It is one of the best things about being a Puppy Raiser!

We are learning as we go about all the requirements of 4-H. So far it has been a fun journey learning in this fashion; I will admit that I am one that thrives on all the information at once. I like to be prepared well ahead of time. Our club has a philosophy of "learn by doing" (my twist on it - they have never come out and said that) and it is making me think out of my box, and so far so good. It is a nice change of pace.

Today the 4H kiddos had to present "something" (any topic) to a judge to be scored. With limited info about the ins and outs of this day, my son chose his topic and showed up ready to present. He doubled up on a project by presenting his 5th Grade Science Fair submission; one assignment with dual purpose - great!

His project was on the effects of different salts in an oatmeal cookie recipe. You can read all about it here.

When we arrived he was given the score sheet and in he went to meet the judge. He learned after the fact that the judge was the director of the presentation program for our county and rumor has it she is a stickler. My son came out of the presentation room to the lobby of his 4-H club members with a Blue Ribbon and a score of 22 (three off from a green ribbon).

I saw the color Blue and thought - WOW! He did fantastic! You hear about Blue Ribbons for Fair as being the top dog (no pun intended). And the color still qualifies as excellent for presentations too, but there is an additional color of Green that the presenters all wanted to get.

The Trainers/Leaders of our club gathered around our son for a pep talk - he had the choice of going back in to present with a different judge in the room in the hopes of upping his scores to the Green Ribbon, or he could stop and go home. Two Green Ribbons would mean that he would qualify to Present at the County Level in May.

My son chatted it over like a good strategist, reviewing the comments to make the necessary changes, and said, "Okay, I'll do it!" So he went back in and was assigned two judges this time, and came out with a Green Ribbon with a 31.5 score out of 32! Whoa!

Wanting that second Green Ribbon to qualify, my son was on a roll and wanted to go back again to present to the last judge. Waiting his turn took a bit, but he finally presented and came out with another Green Ribbon with a score of 30. This time he had run out of cookies for the judges to taste test - so getting a 30 score with out his Attention Grabber (cookies) to start his presentation was excellent!

I am not sure if he will or will not go to the County Level in May. He was just happy that today he succeeded in a big way and that means a lot to him. I am happy that he didn't really know what to expect or how this all worked, and he kept pushing himself to make changes and do better. He had the choice to go home at anytime, and he didn't quit until he was no longer eligible to keep going. Yay-Son!!

Haddie came along for the ride as the whole family did to support and see what this was all about. It was fun to have her hang out in the lobby with our girl, and the other team members and their dogs. We have a great club. I am very thankful that we decided this volunteer role for our family.

My favorite compliment to my son on his written evaluation from the County Director of Public Presentations for 4-H was: Nice job! You are a natural speaker!


I am glad to see that she recognized one of my son's gifts. Smile ...