In 2009, North Carolina 4-H will celebrate 100 years of service to North Carolina's youth. From its beginnings in 1909 as boys' corn clubs, 4-H in North Carolina has grown to a statewide organization serving a record number of 239,000 youth today.

4-H is the youth development program of North Carolina Cooperative Extension, based at N.C. State and N.C. A&T State universities.

"As we begin the centennial celebration, we are excited about the opportunity to celebrate our past and to position 4-H for the future," said Dr. Marshall Stewart, state program leader for 4-H youth development and family and consumer sciences.

The North Carolina 4-H Centennial Celebration, "We Are 4-H," is designed as a three-year (2008-2010) recognition of the 100^th birthday of 4-H Youth Development in the state. With the celebration framed in 2008, 2009 will be a year of centennial activities led by county leadership teams in coordination with statewide observances. In 2010 Extension's 4-H family, the public and new partners will work to sustain the strengthened clubs, councils, volunteer associations and advisory systems. During the three years, the theme "We Are 4-H" and the logo will be integrated into all 4-H communications and activities.

To help with planning centennial celebrations, 4-H created the /N.C. 4-H Centennial Guide 2008-2010 /-- complete online with "Head, Heart, Hands and Health" programming suggestions, guiding principles, fund-raising opportunities, activity ideas and downloadable templates for adaptation by individual counties and groups to mark the occasion.

Launching centennial observations in 2008 was the unveiling of the Centennial 4-H song "We Are 4-H (Tomorrow's Song)," written especially for the occasion by John Hood, Mecklenburg County 4-H alumnus and winner of the 2008 4-H Lifetime Achievement Award. The song was introduced at the April 4-H Gala, sung by youth and adult singers from more than 20 counties. Other major components of the centennial celebration will be:

* This year's dedication of the North Carolina 4-H Museum at Millstone 4-H Center in Ellerbe.

* The establishment of the N.C. 4-H Hall of Fame by 4-H Alumni and Friends Association to recognize 4-H legends in the state. This past fall, the association began accepting nominations for the inaugural group to be inducted during the centennial year.

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* Selection of the North Carolina 4-H Centennial ice cream flavor. In an online survey, respondents voted for the winning ice cream out of the top 10 flavor names, including selections like "Centenimint," "100 S'more Years," "Clover Crunch" and "4-H Campfire Delight." Finalists were selected by "4-H flavorologists" from among the more than 60 entries submitted by 4-H youths, volunteers, faculty and friends statewide.

* Development of /North Carolina's 4-H Centennial Cookbook/

* Pre-orders for 4-H Centennial license plates

* "Color Me Green!" drawing contest

* N.C. 4-H Centennial postage stamp, designed by Washington County 4-H'er Carley Williams of Roper

* "Century," the collectible 4-H Centennial bear, available for purchase.

And of course, Hertford County where it all started will mark the centennial. Hertford was home to the state's first boys' corn clubs, a precursor to 4-H. The corn clubs were followed by canning clubs for girls. But within a few years, the girls joined the boys in the corn and pig clubs and in 4-H events, showing off their best produce and animals.

In addition to the celebration milestones above, perhaps the most ambitious project in observance of the 4-H Centennial is the preparation of a second edition of /Clover All Over: North Carolina 4-H in Action/, the history of North Carolina 4-H, by Dr. James W. Clark Jr., retired N.C. State professor of English and former director of the extension program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

In the first edition published in 1984, Clark traced the history of North Carolina 4-H from its beginnings to more than 20 years beyond what is covered in memoirs of L.R. Harrill, the state's first fulltime 4-H Extension agent in 1922, later named State 4-H Club Leader. Clark says that the second edition of his 4-H history will be written with the same purpose, approach, style and content category as the first edition.

The working title for the second edition is /Clover All Over: A Century of North Carolina 4-H in Action./ "It will come out in 2010, a year after the actual centennial so that the celebration can be covered in the book," Clark says.

- NCSU news release