Pincher Creek Voice: Pincher Creek area 4-H clubs hold 2015 Executive Workshop

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Pincher Creek area 4-H clubs hold 2015 Executive Workshop

2015 Pincher Creek area 4-H Executive Workshop
(C. Davis and J. Davis photos)

Josh Davis and Christian Davis

On Friday November 6, several of the Pincher Creek area's 4-H clubs held their annual Executive Workshop at the Horseshoe Pavilion, an event at which 4-H members learned about their various executive roles. A different club hosts the event every year. This year the Chinook Multi Club hosted the event. Also participating were the Timber Trails, Foothills Beef, and Rocky Mountain Swine clubs.

Timber Trails Club Reporter Sarah Yagos

Timber Trails Club Reporter Sarah Yagos came well prepared for the event, and we're looking forward to her reports.

The 4-H members learned more about their various roles at the event. The Pincher Creek Voice again participated to help explain the role of club reporters.

Justin Nelson, reporter for the Chinook Multi Club wasn't present at the event, but did file the following report the next day, which serves as a good example of what's expected of a club reporter, a role he's held before:

Chinook Multi Club report

Justin Nelson, Chinook Multi Club

Well our 4-H year has started and we are excited to have our club up and running.

Our executive:

President - Maeran Hinch
Vice president - Brooke Hammond
Secretary - Jillanna Hammond
Treasurer - Jaxon Hammond
Reporter - Justin Nelson
District rep - Aynsley Nelson
Historian - Cadence Sinnot
General Leader - Myra Hammond
Assistant Leader - Kellie LeBlanc

Our projects are:

Market hog
Small engines
Poultry pioneers
Sheep project
Canine project

We will be at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the community hall presenting a wreath.

Until next time,

Justin Nelson

Editor's note: Justin also let us know that 4-H has a new logo this year:

Related link: 4-H Canada gets a new look

Anthony

Erica Mackenzie (right) interviews Sophie Lynch Staunton

Vice-President of the Multi Club Brook Hammond poses with Treasurer Jaxon Hammond

Brooke Hammond has performed as Vice-President in previous years. "The job of the Vice-President is to take over the Presidential role in their absence," she explained. "The Vice-President also serves as secretary, doing roll-call and answering any questions asked."

Jaxon Hammond is performing in his first year as treasurer, which involves taking in bank statements, and giving a report on club finances. "I like it," said Jaxon of his role. "Its different than anything I've done. I get to play with animals, and I get paid to do what I love."

For club reporters, here's a list of suggestions related to the role:

Who, what, where, when, why

A good story engages the reader by first telling them who is involved in the story that follows. In Justin Nelson's above example, that question is answered by the title of the report. The reader also should be informed early in the article what it's about, where it happened, when it happened, and why the story matters. Take extra care when it comes to spelling names right. Speaking from experience, people really don't like it when their name is spelled incorrectly.

Photos

Whenever possible photos accompanying an article should include a caption that states who's in the photo (from left to right), who took the photo, and where applicable a short description of what the photo is about.

Errors

Mistakes happen. If you discover that your submitted or published story has an error, contact anyone you've submitted it to with the appropriate correction.

Credit and attribution

If your story includes material from other sources, such as a website, magazine, newspaper, or other publication, make sure to indicate clearly what those sources are so that they can be fairly attributed.

Check and double check your facts

Google is your friend. So are knowledgeable sources.

Ask lots of questions

You may only need a few of the answers, but it never hurts to know too much about your subject, and knowing as much about it as possible frequently comes in handy in future situations.

Bring your passion

Don't be afraid to let your story reflect any enthusiasm you may have for the subject matter. That rule doesn't apply to hard news, but for community-oriented stories like 4-H reports your personality, insights, and enthusiasm can really engage the reader.

Expect to be edited

An editor's job is to ensure your story meets certain standards, and editing may include fact checking, and correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, readability, etc. Submitted photos may also be edited.

Read your published work

Once your story has been published, read it. Take note of how various editors may have affected your narrative, to learn from their editing and to make sure your facts, style, and intention as a writer have been preserved in the final edit. If you have concerns about the final edit of your story, please let us know.

Who to submit your story to

We recommend club reporters submit their stories to all the local media outlets, including this one, for maximum exposure of your club's activities. To submit your story to the Pincher Creek Voice, please have a parent or guardian email it to pinchercreekvoice@gmail.com . Because 4-H reporters are underage, we ask that a parent or guardian be involved in the process.

Final note

If you have any questions not answered here, please feel free to ask them and they will be answered as best as we can manage.

Samsony Winston (right) is interviewed by Tyler DuBay about her Unicorn Breeding project Snuffleupagus

Note to 4-H reporters: The above caption is, obviously, somewhat inaccurate. It does however illustrate how a reporter can be fooled by accepting information from a source without questioning it and doing your own fact checking. It's also kind of funny.