The Answers to: WHY? WHAT FOR? & HOW?

Character COUnts Trustworthiness Responsibility Respect Fairness Caring Citizenship Trustworthy – telling the truth about what you’ve done – being honest about what you’ve learned Responsibility – should know about the project you’ve taken part of – should show you’ve done your own work Respect – Showing courtesy to those that helped you, showing gratefulness for the opportunity provided, Fairness – Doing your own work, participating according to the guidelines Caring – not only about yourself but about the projects you have completed Citizenship – participating beyond the club – what did you do for your community to help it the way they help you

Why? Responsible Record Keeping To see where you’ve been, so you can decide where you’re going Gives you a place to start with projects Compare beginning to end

What For? Gives accurate record of what you’ve learned Head start on how to keep records! Scholarships Resumes Job Applications FUN to see how far you’ve come over the years!

HOW? Carefully! Section 1 & Section 6, 7– Year to Year Sections 2-5 - Ongoing! NOT LAST MINUTE!

Options for doing a portfolio Downloadable documents from State Website Poster PowerPoint Make sure you have all the sections represented in the format you choose! My 4-H Project!

Section 1 – Project record Print 1 for each project each year Goals should be SMART: Specific What exactly are you going to do? Measurable How do you know you’ve achieved it? Actionable/Attainable Do you have control over the outcome? Realistic Is it reasonable to accomplish? Time Bound When do you want to do it by?

GOAL Examples “I want to win showmanship” vs. “I want to learn the cuts of my animal so I can better answer questions during the showmanship competition.” “I want to go to State Fair.” vs. “I want to learn many stitching techniques to be able to sew an apron for the Fabric & Fashion Contest to earn a ribbon to qualify for State Fair.

Section 1 - Size & Scope What was your Income? What did you bring in or start with? Sale Price Value of previously owned equipment What were your expenses? What did you have to pay for? Cost of Project item (steer, pottery, fabric, notions, frosting, etc…) Feed Supplies Fuel Participation Fees (contest fees, enrollment fees, etc…)

Section 1 - Market Summary (livestock projects) Shows you the value of your animal outside of 4-H – TRUE Market Value (MV) if you had taken it to the local auction. Things to think about: If you sold at a non-4-H auction on a different day would the MV be different? Do 4-H animals receive more value than “home-grown” ranch animals? Why or why not? Did you show gratitude to your buyer for purchasing your animal above market value? What is a proper Thank You?

Section 1 - Knowledge & Skills Acquired What did you learn? If you set SMART goals before you started your project this should be easy! Think about… What you did to achieve your goals What skills someone may have taught you Where you got the information you needed to succeed

Section 1 - SUMMARY How did your project do at each level of competition? What ribbons or placings did you receive for that project?

Section 2 – Awards & Recognition Ongoing – Add to it each year! What have you accomplished in your 4-H career? Date Award or Honor Description / Activity or Event Level 1998 Medal 3rd Place Junior .22 Air Pistol at County Shoot. CO Certificate Most Improved Beginner Sewer in Wrangler 4-H Club CL Trophy Champion Junior Dog Showman 1999 Trip Denver Roundup winner in Style Review S 6/15/00 Scholarship Livestock Judging to Northwest College.

Description of Leadership Responsibilities Section 3 - Leadership On-Going – Add to it each year! Date   Type Description of Leadership Responsibilities Include the office held, activity in which you were involved, or committee to which you were assigned. Level 02/23/2001 E Song Leader for County Teen Council CL 2001 P Organized and made PSA’s for 4-H Week with club members CL, CO

Section 4 – Community Service On-Going – Add to it each year! Date Description of Activity Level 1999 Bake and Take Week, delivered cookies to seven widows with my club. CL 2000 Food for the Homeless Shelter, designed and distributed 30 ads/fliers for placement on the bulletin boards in local businesses. CO Helped our Junior Leader Club paint the fence at the Senior Citizens Center for 10 hours over the space of 2 weeks. CL,CO 2001 Helped with County Wide Koats-for-Kids drive during November and December.

Section 5 – Participation & Non 4-H Activities On Going – Add to it each year! 4-H Activities Non 4-H Activities County Opportunities   2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 County Fair X Achievement Night Presentation Contest 4-H Camp YEAR GROUP or ACTIVITY  Level 2000 Boy Scouts C Little League Baseball T 2001 6th Grade Wrestling S Marching Band

Section 6 - Story Introduce yourself Highlight all your 4-H projects and activities, not just the Fair. Explain how 4-H helped you become a better leader and citizen Describe how 4-H participation made you feel Tell about your future plans in 4-H and beyond!

Section 7 – Photographs & News Clippings Do: Use Action Shots – you working with your animal, in the middle of creating your project Add captions! Tell us what’s happening! Look in the newspaper for pictures of you! Don’t: Use only pictures from Fair Use only posed shots Treat these 2 pages like a scrapbook

Portfolio Judging Portfolios should be completed by September 30 Judging completed by October at club level, November in County 4-H Office Portfolios are used to attain Silver and Gold Achievement points for the Wyoming 4-H Honors club membership.

Parting Thoughts Powerpoints & Posters – Start Early! Not as valuable when you are competing for State 4-H scholarships – they will want a paper copy of the cumulative portfolio Acceptable at the county level or within clubs Start Early! Review often and update the ongoing sections Use the Story to tell us about your overall 4-H experience not just your Fair experience. It’s YOUR record above all else. Make sure you document what you might forget and need to know later!