820-Lancast«r Farming, Saturday, July 5,1986 Pennsylvania 4-H'ers Develop Leadership Skills At Four-Day Conference BY MARY MAXWELL Centre County Correspondent UNIVERSITY PARK - 4-H teenagers at last week’s Penn sylvania 4-H Leadership Congress developed skills that will expand their leadership roles in local county councils. Groups of 15 to 18 year olds met regularly during the four-day conference to learn journalism, photography or public speaking skills. Those in the Teen Leader Congress prepared a newspaper similar to the newspapers local 4-H Clover Run Teaches 4-H'ers About life With A Handicap BY SALLY BAIR Lancaster Co. Correspondent UNIVERSITY PARK - How does it feel to have a physical handicap? Last week 100 of the nearly 600 4-H’ers attending 4-H Leadership Congress at Penn State took the opportunity to develop some insight into functioning with a handicap. The Clover Run, which has become an institution at Leadership Congress, has always been an early morning physical fitness exercise. This year, the 12 advisors who help plan the program decided to make it an educational opportunity, in ad dition to the fun. And so, at 6 a.m. the enthusiastic 4-H’ers, only slightly subdued by the early hour, showed up in a parking lot to follow a four leaf clover course in relay teams. It was not an ordinary relay because each team member had to ex perience a handicap. One “leaf’ of the race was done riding in a wheelchair, one on crutches, one blindfolded and using a cane and one required pushing a glass of water perched on a wheelchair. Matthew Vandzura, 19, a 4-H’er from Mifflin County attending as an advisor to the Teen U Lead program, is credited with coming up with the idea. Because he lives in State College, he also arranged for all the props necessary to make the relay successful. Vandzura said, “We wanted to do something different, and we were pleased. There was a bigger turnout that I expected.” He noted that in recent years attendance at the Clover Run had been dropping, but this new idea seemed to spark the 4-H’ers’ interest. A sophomore at Penn State studying wildlife science, Vand m Kay Marshall, right, brought her personal experiences to the Clover Run and helped the 4-H’ers use the canes properly. A member of the Sight Loss Support Group, Kay chats here with Matthew Vandzura, a 4-H'er from Mifflin County who organized the event. councils publish for 4-H leaders and members. This group, under an editor they elected, wrote stories, discussed layout or drew illustrations. Some had the op portunity for the first time to use a computer to transcribe their stories. Other teens prepared a visual newsletter. In doing so, they practiced their photography skills, learning to take better pictures for their local clubs’ scrapbooks, slide shows and hometown newspapers. The third group, 4-H Am bassadors, attended workshops on zura said most 4-H’ers learned that “it wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be.” In addition to lear ning what it feels like to have p handicap, Vandzura said the 4- H’ers also “learned how to help people who are handicapped.” In preparing for the relay he said he learned that very independent people sometimes have the most trouble adapting to a handicap because they cannot learn to rely even slightly on others. Although it took scores of phone calls to gather the eight wheelchairs, four pairs of crutches and other materials necessary for a successful race, Vandzura said he found the State College health care services eager to help. If one agency could not help, they often referred him to another. Even the state , highway department got in on the act by donating the cones which were used as markers for the four leaf clover course. The facilities department at the University donated colored pinnys for teams to use. A real plus for the group was having Kay Marshall, a member of the State College Sight Loss Support Group, on hand to work with those going through the blindfolded part of the course. Marshall, herself visually hand icapped, talked with the 4-H’ers and helped them understand the proper use of the cane. Vandzura said he was unable to find an agency willing to give him canes used by the blind, but he called on his 4-H ingenuity and improvised with livestock showing canes, which served the purpose well. He noted that most of the group found that working blindfolded was the largest handicap. In order to get the 4-H’ers through the course marked by two sets of orange highway cones, someone served as I i telling the 4-H story through public oral presentations. They will use their speaking skills to promote 4- H in their home communities. About 600 people attended the Leadership Congress held on the Penn State campus. Most were teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, but State 4-H staff mem bers, Extension agents, 4-H leaders and Collegiate 4-H club members also attended. Most counties in Pennsylvania were represented. In addition to the communication Learning the challenges of coping with handicaps, these 4-H’ers were part of relay teams competing at Leadership Congress. Powering a wheelchair proved to be more difficult than expected. a coach, walking with them and Vandzura said the venture was a making 4-H’ers more aware of the talking to them as they went, of- success simply by dramatizing the problems handicapped individuals fering advice and encouragement. plight of the handicapped, and face (1) CABLEVEY Saves Labor - That’s important when you want to maximize milk production by feeding more often. 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All those participating had time to explore the Penn State campus, as well as attend the 4-H assemblies in Eisenhower Auditorium. Each workshop group elected members to plan next summer’s Leadershop Congress. These are: Leadership School - Dan Vand- (5) CABLEVEY Handles High Moisture Corn The 2” system and plastic drops are specially designed to handle high moisture corn without constant hang-ups. (6) CABLEVEY Takes The Corners Specially designed 90° corners allow efficient system operation for nearly any barn layout. (7) CABLEVEY Saves Energy - 1 Motor and 1 system handle many livestock operations. (8) CABLEVEY Controls Feed By Weight Or Volume Cows individually fed a pre-set amount by Weight or Volume automatically 5 to 8 times per day for highest efficiency. zura, Mifflin County, and Margee Wolff, Westmoreland; Day Camp - Mike Reiner, North Umberland, and Tammy Orner, Cumberland; Storytellers - Ann Grubin, Lebanon; Mark Price, Berks; and Janet Carney, Montgomery. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers