I hope you had a chance to check out the Kansas State Fair this past week! Mostly, I hope you moved off the midway and away from the concerts to check out the incredible 4-H and Open Class exhibits.
I delivered over 70 4-H entries for our county and that doesn’t include the 4-H members who participated in the 4-H Dog Show, Communication Presentations, Judging Contests, Fashion Revue, or Livestock contests! Centennial Hall is a busy place on the day of check in as agents from all 105 counties deliver entries for evaluation by a judge. For perspective, there were 1596 4-H photos judged! There were at least 10 foods judges working through a crazy number of cakes, pies, cookies, and breads.
Communication Presentations include demonstrations, illustrated talks, and poetry/prose readings and we had the great problem of needing to secure an additional judge due to the number of entries! Watching 4-H members step onto a different stage with the distractions of people walking past and unfamiliar audiences is a fun and rewarding experience. I had to appreciate a judge the first weekend who awarded a low ribbon placing and said that the young man admitted that he hadn’t really practiced or adequately prepared; this is experiential learning at its finest!
In all events, 4-H members must have earned a purple ribbon at their local county fair or club day in order to be eligible to present at the Kansas State Fair. Even if they didn’t receive a top ribbon at State Fair, being chosen to participate is a great step.
Speaking of ribbons, we award purple, blue, red, white, and participation ribbons. A participation ribbon is usually reserved for our littlest 4-H members, our Cloverbuds and recognizes their participation in a non-competitive environment.
A purple ribbon indicates excellent quality and is usually reserved for the top few entries. A blue ribbon indicates superior quality and that basic standards have been met; it may have some minor flaws or issues. A red ribbon is awarded for average quality and often indicates that most standards are met with some areas
for improvement. A white ribbon is given when an entry is below average quality and minimum standards.
Most of our judges use a rubric to assist them in fairly and evenly evaluating a variety of entries. I will tell you from experience that it is much harder than it looks. 4-H judges always try to provide some positive feedback along with the critical information for improvement.
If you didn’t make it through 4-H Centennial Hall this year, be sure to put it on your agenda for next year. Check out the creative work from young people across our state and Barton County!
Keep learning. Keep showing grace and kindness.
Michelle Beran is the 4-H Youth Development Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District. For more information on this article or other 4-H Youth Development resources, email Michelle at [email protected] or call Cottonwood Extension District – Barton Office at 620-793-1910.