Georgia 4-H Counselor Alumni Association Fall Board Meeting

Georgia 4-H Counselor Alumni Association Fall Board Meeting

October 2, 2011

Krannert Building, Rock Eagle 4-H Center

President Jenn Townsend called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. Jenn said they will email the minutes from the previous winter meeting and will approve them via email.

Treasurer’s Report:

Jenn then gave the Treasurer’s Report and the group discussed the different ways to promote getting more dues paid. The group discussed getting dues paid online but also will continue to send out hard copy reminders. Though online payments present a convenience, there is still an importance of mail correspondence. Arch Smith said that most gifts to the 4-H Foundation were through hard copy solicitation. Jenn stressed the importance of having accurate addresses for the Counselor Alumni.

Old Business

Pageant Night: Good turnout to the Pageant, but not to the Alumni “Meet and Greet”.

Small Camp Baskets: Good success and were well received and appreciated. Jekyll Island counselors got gift cards to Target, and this was appreciated also. Board Members will start getting baskets and gifts together at the Winter Meeting.

Rock Eagle Sunday Meals: Cheryl Varnadoe and some of the District Officers who were at DOT helped serve the meal this year.

Twilight on the Lake: This was a fun event, but not well attended. Again, need a hard copy reminder to let people know about upcoming events.

Counselor Alumni engagement to retain Jr/Sr. 4-Hers: Male and minority counselor numbers were actually up in 2011, with a lot of quality counselors. This was not a big of a problem as previously thought. There are more females in 4-H and the College of Agriculture overall, so this is not that surprising of a trend.

The topic turned to volunteer leaders. Males generally volunteer less, and the volunteering that males do participate in is to raise money, which surprised the Board. The thinner agent pool needs more volunteers to help continue county programs and judging teams. A question was raised to make getting certified to be a chaperone easier. Arch said that a test is available online to exempt test to be a chaperone. We need to let people know how to get chaperone tested and the certification only last 5 years. The guidelines are determined by the Board of Regents, not Georgia 4-H. Counselors are left on payroll so they can be used as chaperones if necessary.

New Business

Counselor Selection Weekend: Counselor Selection will be January 7th and 8th at Rock Eagle. Brandon Ashley and Beth Stewart will help participate in the interviews.

Leadership Presentation: The “All Counselor” Training weekend will be February 24-26th. The night of February 24th someone from the GCA board will attend to share for 3-5 minutes with the group what being a counselor is like, ways to survive summer camp, and promote GCA. After the short talk, gifts will be presented to the Leadership Counselors.

Newsletter and Dues: Kaycie Rogers is working with Mary Ann Parsons to get a PDF copy of the newsletter online.

Winter reunion: The group wants to have a counselor alumni sometime this winter in February or March. There is to be a “fun day” on Saturday and then try to have Jenny Jordan do Chaperone training on Sunday so the alumni can go be able to volunteer in their counties. The Board wanted to look at having the Alumni reunion at either Rock Eagle or at Fortson (so the group can see the improvements made at that Center). The idea was presented to have a service project so people can have something to do while they are there. No date was set yet.

New Board Members: Jenn passed around the current roster of board members. She asked to get the current board to help find names of people that might would want to serve on the board to fill expiring seats and empty slots. She asked current board members to recommend names or volunteer again themselves. Officers rotate back on the board automatically, even if the term is up.

Other: Ina Hopkins informed the group she is working on a book on the history of Rock Eagle, and she wants to make a list of each person that has worked at the camps through the years to include in the book as a chapter or appendix. She is missing some years and can’t do it unless she has a complete list, and has asked the board to help her fill the gaps.

Summer Camp and 4-H Report

Charlie Wurst was not in attendance and Arch Smith gave a combined summer camp and general 4-H report.

Camp/Center Update: Arch said that 9,200 kids attended camp in 2011, a 20% increase from the previous year. In 2012, Jr. camp will be at Burton, and Senior camp will remain at Rock Eagle. E.E. Programs continue to be strong, and E.E. attendance was up 5% from the previous year, which according to Arch is something to be very proud of considering how much the school systems have cut back. E.E. financial revenue records were broke for the 2010-2011 year at every center except Rock Eagle. Rock Eagle has found new ways to make revenue through weddings and catering services.

4-H Update: Arch spoke about the first week in October being 4-H week and went into detail on some of the activities going on this upcoming week

There are going to be some significant renovations to the Jekyll Island Center.

Private giving is up, and Arch went into detail on some reorganizing in the Georgia 4-H Foundation.

Construction will begin within 6 weeks or so on around 5 new cabins at Rock Eagle, and Arch gave updates on renovations at other Centers.

***

Jenn gave the Board 3 potential dates for the spring/winter meeting, with the choices being March 11, 18, or 25.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Brandon Ashley