UW-Madison Extension: Vernon County 4-H Newsletter

A Spectacular Summer

I cannot believe that it is September/October! This summer has flown by so quickly, but as I reflect on all the amazing things we have done, it’s easy to see why!

We discovered dinosaurs during day camp in Readstown, sung sea shanties at 4-H camp, played games at Summer Social, rode horses, planted an orchard, trained agility dogs, and so much more! Here’s to a new year that starts today! Make sure to re-enroll, as it’s now open!

Re-Enroll for 2027

Upcoming Programming

Apple Harvest Fest: October 4

Who: Open to All

Where: Little Hands 4-H Orchard – Vernon County Farm

When: 1 PM

Join us at the Little Hands 4-H Orchard! All hands on deck-it’s time to harvest the apples, process and can them! This is a learn-by-doing event! If you want to take some canned applesauce home, please bring pint jars and rings for both yourself, and some to be donated to the pantry.

Please bring apple pickers, baskets/buckets, knives and cutting boards, pint jars, lids, and rings for yourself and to donate!

Halloween Hide and Seek: October 17

Who: Open to All

Where: Wild West Days Grounds

When: 5:30 – 9:00 PM

Join us for an epic game of hide and seek at the Wild West Days ground, in addition to a costume contest, trick or treating and more!

Halloween Hide and Seek is a joint community outreach effort by Vernon County 4-H, local law enforcement, and others. All proceeds from this event will be contributed to the Vernon County Trauma Task Force, County K-9 Programs, and School Lunch Fund Payoffs in Vernon County Districts.

Requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities or limitations should be made prior to the date of the program or activity for which it is needed. Please do so 10 days before the program activity so that proper arrangements can be made.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.

Updates – What You Need to Know

Trip Award Information

Vernon County 4-H wants to send our youth on trips! Most of the state, region, and national trips enroll during the fall months. If you are considering going, please keep an eye out for emails from the state. Remember that Federation typically pays for half of your trip. You can also ask for funds from your club! We will help financially support your youth to go, so please do not hesitate to reach out to get more info.

Time to Re-enroll

When fair comes around, so also does re-enrolling for 4-H. Re-enrollment opens September 5th. Please make sure to head into 4-HOnline and re-enroll for the 26-27 year by Nov. 15. If you delay in re-enrolling, you will miss out on mass emails and newsletter mailings, as your information won’t show in the system. We recommend using a computer, as mobile phones seem to time out in the system.

1. If you had an account in 2025- 2026, go to http://wi.4honline.com.

2. Enter your email address and password.

3. Click Sign-In: If you have forgotten your password, click “Reset Password?” to receive an email with a link to set a new password.

4. You will be at the Family Member List Screen.

5. To re-enroll a youth member, click on Enroll Now and skip to Youth Member Enrollment.

6. To re-enroll an adult member, click on Enroll Now and skip to Adult Enrollment.

7. To add a new youth or adult member, click on the Add Member button and skip to Adding a New Member to the Family.

Nominate Yourself For Leader/Parent Federation & Disc Forms

Each year, we elect new officers for our Federation. What is Federation, you may ask? It’s a governing body of 4-H club leaders, adult leaders, and youth that make decisions for county-wide programming, and handle our county’s 4-H budget. We meet one time per month, every 3rd Sunday at 7:00 p.m. If you are interested in running for these positions, or would like to know more, please reach out to our office.

This month, youth in your club will be given a disc form to fill out. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this process, the award disc is a way to recognize an area where your youth learned/gained knowledge throughout the 2025-26 4-H calendar year.

This is also when, if your youth served as an officer, for them to get their recognition pins. Youth build these award discs throughout the years, and place them on a plaque. If this is the first year that your youth has applied, please ask for a plaque. If your youth has filled their plaque and needs another, please let us know. These forms should be submitted to your club leader for review, so that they can return to our office