State 4-H Recognition Awards

State Leadership Award
State Citizenship Award
State Communication Award
State Community Service Team Award

Just click on the links above to see the requirements for the awards. Application for these awards is through your county Extension office. Be sure to contact your county office if you plan to apply for one of these awards as each county set their own application deadline. Counties then forward their applications to the State 4-H Office by March 1.

State 4-H Citizenship Award

This state level award will be presented to a 4-H member who demonstrates outstanding contribution in the area of Citizenship.

Award:	Plaque and Certificate Up to 3 honorable mentions may be awarded
Eligibility:	Eligibility for this award is as follows: Currently enrolled 4-H Members in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades Selection by county as the county's nominee for the award Nominees who are awarded a trip to National 4-H Congress are not eligible to receive this award in the same year.
Application:	Application for this award consists of: Cover page that contains the applicant's name, award he or she is seeking, complete address, phone number, and e-mail if available. A one-page narrative written by the applicant stating why he or she should be selected as the winner. The narrative should include information specific to the evaluation criteria listed below. Narratives must be single spaced, 12 point font, either Times New Roman or Ariel, black ink on standard white paper only. Margins must be 1.25" on the left, 1" on top, bottom, and right edge. 1 page of photographs in support of the narrative (not to include newspaper articles). Application should be contained in a suitable paper report cover binder. No three ring or oversized binders will be accepted. Due to the State 4-H Office by March 1 of each year.
Evaluation	Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria: Overall strength of the applicant's 4-H work in citizenship An understanding of how the applicant's contribution has made a difference in the lives of others An understanding of how the applicant has grown through this work.
Selection	The state 4-H Recognition Committee will review the county nominations and select the winner and honorable mention winners during their March meeting. Winners will be announced at the 4-H Summer Conference in June.

State 4-H Leadership Award

This state level award will be presented to a 4-H member who demonstrates outstanding contribution in the area of Leadership.

Award:	Plaque and Certificate Up to 3 honorable mentions may be awarded
Eligibility:	Eligibility for this award is as follows: Currently enrolled 4-H Members in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades Selection by county as the county's nominee for the award Nominees who are awarded a trip to National 4-H Congress are not eligible to receive this award in the same year.
Application:	Application for this award consists of: Cover page that contains the applicant's name, award he or she is seeking, complete address, phone number, and e-mail if available. A one-page narrative written by the applicant stating why he or she should be selected as the winner. The narrative should include information specific to the evaluation criteria listed below. Narratives must be single spaced, 12 point font, either Times New Roman or Ariel, black ink on standard white paper only. Margins must be 1.25" on the left, 1" on top, bottom, and right edge. 1 page of photographs in support of the narrative (not to include newspaper articles). Application should be contained in a suitable paper report cover binder. No three ring or oversized binders will be accepted. Due to the State 4-H Office by March 1 of each year
Evaluation	Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria: Overall strength of the applicant's 4-H work in leadership An understanding of how the applicant's contribution has made a difference in the lives of others An understanding of how the applicant has grown through this work.
Selection	The state 4-H Recognition Committee will review the county nominations and select the winner and honorable mention winners during their March meeting. Winners will be announced at the 4-H Summer Conference in June.

State 4-H Communication Award

This state level award will be presented to a 4-H member who demonstrates outstanding contribution in the area of Communication.

Award:	Plaque and Certificate Up to 3 honorable mentions may be awarded
Eligibility:	Eligibility for this award is as follows: Currently enrolled 4-H Members in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades Selection by county as the county's nominee for the award Nominees who are awarded a trip to National 4-H Congress are not eligible to receive this award in the same year.
Application:	Application for this award consists of: Cover page that contains the applicant's name, award he or she is seeking, complete address, phone number, and e-mail if available. A one-page narrative written by the applicant stating why he or she should be selected as the winner. The narrative should include information specific to the evaluation criteria listed below. Narratives must be single spaced, 12 point font, either Times New Roman or Ariel, black ink on standard white paper only. Margins must be 1.25" on the left, 1" on top, bottom, and right edge. 1 page of photographs in support of the narrative (not to include newspaper articles). Application should be contained in a suitable paper report cover binder. No three ring or oversized binders will be accepted. Due to the State 4-H Office by March 1 of each year
Evaluation	Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria: Overall strength of the applicant's 4-H work in communication An understanding of how the applicant's contribution has made a difference in the lives of others An understanding of how the applicant has grown through this work
Selection	The state 4-H Recognition Committee will review the county nominations and select the winner and honorable mention winners during their March meeting. Winners will be announced at the 4-H Summer Conference in June.

State 4-H Team Community Service Award

This state level award will be presented to a team comprised of 2 or more individual 4-H members who demonstrate outstanding contribution in the area of community service.

Award:	One Plaque and Certificate(s) Up to 3 honorable mentions may be awarded
Eligibility:	Eligibility for this award is as follows: Currently enrolled 4-H members of all ages (except K-3) Selection by county as the county's nominee for the award Community service works needs to have taken place in the past 12 months (March 1 through March 1).
Application:	Application for this award consists of: Cover page that contains the team members' names, complete addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails if available. A 3-5 minute video (VHS) or Power Point Presentation burned onto a cd showing the community service project in action (see Video Tips below) A 1-page narrative of the project that describes what the project accomplished. Specifically: 1. Describe how many people participated in the project 2. Describe how the team came up with the idea 3. Describe the prep time and/or advance planning work that the team did prior to doing the project 4. Describe if the project was a one-time event, or if it took place over time. If the project did take place over time, describe the timeframe of the project and the number of hours involved. Narratives must be single spaced, 12 point font, either Times New Roman or Ariel, black ink on standard white paper only. Margins must be 1.25" on the left, 1" on top, bottom, and right edge. The paper portions of the application should be contained in a suitable paper report cover binder. No three ring or oversized binders will be accepted. The videotape or CD must be clearly marked and attached to the application with a rubber band. Due to the State 4-H Office by March 1 of each year
Evaluation	Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria: Overall impact of the project as demonstrated in the video and narrative An understanding of how the project has made a difference in the lives of others An understanding of how the team has grown through this work. Effectiveness of the video or CD in illustrating the project and its impact
Selection	The state 4-H Recognition Committee will review the county nominations and select the winner and honorable mention winners during their March meeting. Winners will be announced at the 4-H Summer Conference in June.
Video Tips	While it is not expected that videos for this application be professionally made, there are some things that applicants can do improve the quality of their videos. 1. Have a title frame for your video or Power Point. One way to do this is to have the group hold up a sign with the title of their club and project at the beginning of the video. Have the person videotaping this part hold the camera steady on the group for about 20 seconds. 2. Have someone narrate what is happening in each scene of the video. Narration can be simple, such as "here are members of our team preparing food for the community meal" or "here is what the house looked like before we started painting." The narratives will help the reviewers better understand what is taking place on the film. 3. If possible, include an interview on the tape with someone who has benefited from your community service project. Ask this person if they are willing to share the ways in which the project has made a difference in his or her life.