The West Virginia University Extension Service has seen much progress this year in existing and new clubs in the county. Robin Bunch Bailey, of the West Virginia Extension Service in Boone County, shared several of the accomplishments of the extension’s programs with the Coal Valley News for our Progress Edition. The West Virginia University Extension Office has seen a few changes this year but perhaps the most prevalent is that the offices are no longer located in Madison, but are now at Rock Creek. “The move has meant more space – the office is much larger here. In fact, it allowed us to hire additional help,” Bailey said. This help comes in the form of Debbie O’Dell, a full-time secretary who reported to work with the WVU Extension on Nov. 3. “Life has been so much better since. It is truly been an adjustment period, it’s hard to ask people to do things for me, but we are doing well together and I know 2009 will be smoother and more productive,” Bailey shared in a newsletter to her executive committee. To begin, Bailey manages and serves five existing 4-H clubs in the county – the Brookview Mountaineers at Foster, the Gordon Leprechauns at Gordon, the Madison Area Achievers at Madison, the Scott Golden Clovers also at Madison, and the Sherman Spartans at Sherman. These five programs offer educational and leadership-building skills for students age 9 through 21. Currently enrollment is up in four of the five clubs, with a total number of attendees at 124 members. Bailey says that plans are underway in 2009-2010 to develop two new clubs in the county, as well as a new Alpaca 4-H Club of Boone County at Ashford and a Shooting Sports Club. The Boone County 4-H members attended several group events this year. Among these was the Mercer County 4-H Camp at Princeton, where each club was given the opportunity to brainstorm and submit ideas for the theme, “Once Upon a Time…In a Land Far, Far Away.” 69 children attended the county camp and, according to Bailey, half were eligible for free and reduced lunch at camp and the State reimbursed the camp $1400. 4-H members attending camp this year were offered three 50-minute courses and could choose from acting, cake decorating, charting, computer, crafts, newspaper, photography, shooting sports, archery, canoeing, chorus, cosmetology, fishing, outdoor cooking and recorder consort. The special events at camp this year included an archaeological dig where artificial body parts were hidden and clues were given to campers that led them to the sites where they excavated and assembled the skeleton. Boone County 4-H clubs participated in a high school field trip to see the movie, “Twilight,” a live-production of “Annie,” produced by The Aracoma Story, and traveled to Charleston to see “The Nutcracker” performed by the WV symphony and Charleston Ballet Company. Bailey shared that 4-H offers more than just recreational activities, with many programs honed to enrich cultural understanding. As an example, members were introduced to Brandon Crader’s slide slow titled, “My trip to Bolivia.” West Virginia lawmakers were also visited by the Boone County 4-H clubs during their Day at the Legislature, attended by 40 members and 8 adults. According to Bailey, many of the youth visited the State Capitol complex for the first time. Members were able to meet the Director of the Extension, Coach Stewart and quite a few legislators as they sat in on a Senate meeting. Southern West Virginia Community College also hosted the young 4-H members at their Environmental Expo this year, sponsored by the AmeriCorps Vistas. According to Bailey, it featured a lot of kid-friendly activities such as a Smokey the Bear fire safety program while offering recycling and conservation ideas. Who can forget the plastic rubber ducky race held in June during the West Virginia Coal Festival? Held for the first time, Bailey said she learned a lot of lessons from this first experience, including wearing tennis shoes in he river, not flip flops and to use a volleyball net to catch the ducks instead of a badminton. The 4-H Club reached out to the community with many area activities that benefited all Boone County residents. This year, they participated in the county fair at the Fair Grounds in Danville, and the Endo f Summer Celebration at the Danville Community Center. Held each year, the End of Summer Celebration proved to be a wonderful venue for the club to meet area residents as they sold cotton candy to a hungry crowd. Bailey says her group is working to increase awareness of the 4-H program and is making plans to have 4-H clubs walk in as many parades as possible to promote the health aspect of the 4-H program. Additionally, Bailey says she would like to gain momentum with 4-H alumni in Boone County. “They can be such an important part of role modeling, longevity and legacy,” she stated. Bailey works with other programs in Boone County that aim for positive youth development and community development. Among these are Energy Express, Racine CEOS, Boone County Stop Watch Coalition, Rev-Up Madison, STAGE and Boone Family Resource Network. Bailey told the Coal Valley News she plans to continue successful events like “Germ City” classes in the county schools. This year, 14 classes were presented in the Boone County elementary schools and four presentations of “Germ City” at the West Virginia State Fair introduced the concept of washing hands thoroughly to prevent the spread of germs. Bailey was quick to laud the efforts of Families and Health Agent Kim Carter, who works on projects such as the Dining with Diabetes and is the Nutrition Outreach Instructor for many county events. Bailey says that by next year she would like to see a Master’s Gardeners class in Boone County and is also looking into the possibility of a Bee Keepers class or club and plans on attending some meetings of the Corridor G Bee Club to garner ideas and build a working relationship.