In 2009, Florida 4-H Youth Development will celebrate 100 years of teaching youth to become community leaders with their head, heart, hands and health at the Florida State Fair.

The year-long celebration themed “Florida 4-H: A Century of Youth Success,” begins with a kick-off event at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Highway 302 N., in Tampa on February 5 – 16, 2009 daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Florida 4-H Centennial exhibit will be in the Agricultural Hall of Fame building on the fairgrounds. The general public is invited to attend.

“For 100 years, Florida 4-H has given youth and adults the opportunities to impact their communities, giving hands-on experiences through a wide variety of projects,” said Marilyn Norman, PhD, associate dean and Florida 4-H state leader. “Florida 4-H has shifted to meet the changing interests of today’s generation.”

The Florida 4-H program started in 1909 with corn clubs for boys in Alachua, Marion and Bradford counties by J.J. Vernon, dean of agriculture at the University of Florida. A few years later girls’ tomato clubs were organized. Extension work with African Americans in Florida began in1915 and was headquartered at Florida A & M University.

Today, Florida 4-H is about much more than corn and tomatoes. It covers just about every area of interest, from animals to workforce preparation, and from computers to performing arts. While agriculture, horticulture, family and consumer science and livestock remain projects in Florida 4-H, new interests, such as environmental science and rocketry, are now included.

For more information about the state kick-off event, contact Julie Wilson at (352) 846-0996 or visit www.florida4h.org. To learn what your county is doing to celebrate Florida 4-H’s 100th anniversary, contact your local county Extension office. Portable Golf Solutions is an event partner.

Founded in 1902 nationally, 4-H is now the largest youth organization in the world. Nationwide, 4-H has over 9 million members, including 234,000 in Florida. Florida 4-H offers youth, ages 5 – 18, diverse project topics available in all 67 counties, and with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Florida 4-H is the youth development program of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service (CES), headquartered in Gainesville within UF’s IFAS. The CES is funded by a partnership between federal, state and county government agencies.

For more information about Florida 4-H, visit www.florida4h.org or contact your county Extension office. All programs are open to all persons regardless of race, color, age, sex, handicap or national origin.

Additional online resources about Florida 4-H:

Contact your County’s 4-H agent at: http://florida4h.org/news/files/4-H%20We're_In_Every_County_Including_Yours.pdf

Florida 4-H At a glance: http://florida4h.org/news/public_relations/files/Florida4-H-At-a-glance.pdf

Florida 4-H History Timeline: http://florida4h.org/news/Promotional%20Kits/files/History_Timeline.pdf