Club Resources

The following items may be useful to 4-H clubs and their members.  Let the 4-H office know if there are additional resources, needs, or ideas to support our 4-H clubs.

Club Resources


Enrollment

4-H Meetings

Each club offers at least one monthly business meeting plus additional (optional) activities. The members with officer jobs (club president, VP, secretary, treasurer, reporter, ...) conduct the meeting - with the help of the adult club leaders.  

Order of Business

Here is a sample order of business for your club meetings: (Adjust to your club’s needs)

Meeting Script*

*depending on the age group of the club, some portions of the script can be reduced or changed.

CALL TO ORDER (President raps gavel 2 times for members to come to order)

President: I call the meeting to order. 

We will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H Pledge. [Member 1] and [member 2] will be our Pledge Leaders today. Everyone please stand. (President raps gavel 3 times & members stand)

PLEDGES (The 2 Pledge Leaders come to the front to lead pledges)

(All Members, Pledge Leaders and all Officers stand and recite pledges along with Pledge Leaders)

4-H Pledge: I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world.

ATTENDANCE / ROLL CALL (President raps gavel 1 time for members to sit) Next, we will have roll call. Please respond when your name is called by our Secretary.

Secretary: When I call your name, please answer with your favorite ... (e.g. color, ice cream flavor, ...).

(Secretary calls names of each club member on roll and checks off names of members present. - Alternatively a sign-in sheet can be used or the secretary can simply write down the names of the members present.)

MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING (Secretary presents minutes from last meeting. For voting to approve minutes - see the "Voting at Club Meetings" section below for details)

TREASURER’S REPORT (if applicable, Treasurer presents report. For voting to approve report - see the "Voting at Club Meetings" section below)

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, PROJECT AND/OR ACTIVITIES

President: Our club leader will tell us our club project/activities for today...

ANNOUNCEMENTS President: Are there any announcements?

ADJOURNMENT President: Do I have a motion to adjourn the meeting?

Member 1: I move that the meeting be adjourned. President: Is there a second?

Member 2: I second the motion. President: All those in favor of the motion to adjourn the meeting say “aye.” All opposed say “no.” The motion to adjourn the meeting is passed. The meeting is adjourned. (President raps gavel 3 times.)

Voting at Club Meetings

The script to vote at club meetings is as follows:

VOTING President: Do I have a motion to ... (e.g. approve the minutes, ...)?

Member 1: I move to ... President:  Is there a second?

Member 2:  I second the motion. 

President:  All those in favor of the motion to ... say “aye.” All opposed say “no.” The motions to ... is passed.

Club Officers

4-H clubs and their meetings are run by the members, with the help of the club leaders. Club officers are voted in by the club members at the beginning of the year for one year. The officers and their typical jobs are described below and can be adapted if needed.

Other positions can be added like treasurer (to help the leaders with keeping track of the finances of the club and report on the status at each meeting) and others based on the needs of the club.

Club Elections

The club officer positions are voted on by the members at one of the first club meetings the beginning of the 4-H year (September, October, or sometimes November). Other than in a brand new club, the positions of president, vice-president, and secretary are offered to members who have been with the club for at least one year. Other positions like reporter and club photographer can be held by newer members. 

Members running for an officer position can give a very short speech why they would be a good candidate. The positions are voted on from the "top down" (president first etc.) so that the person who didn't get to be president, can now run for VP if they like, and so on.

Elections can be held at the end of the club meeting. That way the "old" president is still running the entire meeting and reports are made by the current officers.

Voting can be done at an in-person meeting by using a paper "ballot" for each position, by putting up your hand with all members having their heads down, or virtually using google forms for example (create a form, share the link and collect the results - best to have one form per position - just copy, paste, and change the name of the position - also vote from the highest position down).

4-H Member in Good Standing (for grades 4-13)

The status of “member in good standing” is required for 4-H members (in grades 4-13) interested in participating in state or national 4-H events.  In addition, specific County Awards are only available to members who meet those standards. Requirements to be a 4-H member in good standing are:

Cloverbud members (grades K-3) do not need to meet these requirements and do not compete against a standard or have their work judged. They are encouraged to participate in public presentation and well as record keeping. Cloverbud members receive participation ribbons or certificates for their public presentations, record books, 4-H Story, or other entries in competitions.

4-H Public Presentations

Public presentations are a big part of the 4-H experience. The topic can be on pretty much ANYTHING you are passionate about (4-H appropriate, of course). It could be something you already did for school or or other group, or something you want to learn about. Maybe a demonstration about your hobby, your pet, favorite food, a performance, or an illustrated talk about your favorite topic. All members are encouraged to give a presentation either in their club and/or at the county Public Presentation Day. Members in grades 8-12 who receive an excellent score at their county Public Presentation qualify to participate at the State Public Presentations event. 

Types of presentations are:

The required length of the presentation depends on the age of the 4-H member and level of event. (County level: 5-15 minutes, State level: 8-15 minutes, Cloverbuds: 3-7 minutes)

All presentations are done in a safe and friendly environment with lots of encouraging help to improve, following the 4-H motto "To Make the Best Better".

Here is a Morris County 4-H video with tips for a successful presentation plus a NJ 4-H document with helpful details.

4-H Awards

The 4-H year goes from September to the end of August the next year. In August and September leaders and 4-H'ers get ready to evaluate their achievements and we celebrate the successes at an awards ceremony in the Fall. Here are some files and forms with details of the different awards:

Details for Awards

Forms for Members

Forms for Leaders

Visit the Event Reports Page for details about our past Awards Ceremony events.

4-H Record Keeping

4-H Record / Project Books and Scrapbooks can be worked on throughout the 4-H year (September-August). At the end of the 4-H year the completed book is handed in to the club leaders, by September 1st, who make sure all information is included and there is a leader signature on the goal page and end-of-year page and then get them to the office by September 15 for judging. The books can be paper or electronic versions. Record books (including the 4-H Story) or a detailed 4-H Story are a requirement to be a Morris County 4-H member in good standing (for members in grades 4-13) to attend certain county, state, or national 4-H events and be eligible for higher awards. To find the correct record books for your project - ask your club leader.  Here are some:

If there is no special record book for your project, please use the:

Special Club Officers' Record Books are:

The NJ 4-H website has some more project record books here. If your club would like to create a specific project record book that doesn't exist yet, please contact the office.

The 4-H stories (as part of the record books or on their own) are a requirement for members in grades 4-13 to be in good standing and to receive the Personal Development Award, Achievements Award, and other higher 4-H awards. 4-H Stories are emailed to both, the club leader(s) and 4-H office (morris4h@njaes.rutgers.edu), at the end of the 4-H year - by September 15.
The stories don't have to be long - see word count requirements below. Added pictures will get you bonus points. The 4-H Story should capture the member's 4-H experience or progress throughout the 4-H year.

The format of the story can be: handwritten, typed, spoken (audio), a video, online photo collection with captions or paragraphs, website, social media story, etc.

Don't forget to include your name, age/grade just completed, and clubs you are in.

Requirements for 4-H Stories:

Helpful files:

Writing prompt ideas:

Remember: The 4-H Story should capture your 4-H experience or progress throughout the 4-H year. Added pictures will get you bonus points.

Useful Links and Tips for Clubs:


Files and Forms:

For events and club activities that are not at the usual meeting place all participants (youth and adults) fill out these forms:

Mini Grant applications are available to clubs from the Morris County 4-H Association for: