The new Udderly Unique 4-H Dairy Club has been around for many years as the Lacombe 4-H Dairy Club, with members attending from areas such as Lacombe, Rimbey, Ponoka, Bowden, Innisfail, Sylvan Lake and Stettler.
The Udderly Unique 4-H Dairy Club is a growing group, with a wide variety of ages, including 19 members in the junior, intermediate and senior age groups, as well as 20 Cleaver Kids, for a membership total of 29 for this year.
Head leaders in the club are Hennie van de Brake and Joanne van der Linde, and Metty Attema , Gert Roseboom and Heini Hehli serve as assistant leaders. Gery Meinen and Gerie Ijzerman are leaders for the Cleaver Kids group.
The group participated in many interesting and fun meetings this year, starting with a tour of the Ronald McDonald House in Red Deer. The Cleaver Kids collected pull tabs from cans to donate to the house as a fundraiser. The Ronald McDonald House has a partnernship with a recycling plant who buys the tabs. Proceeds from that go to pay for things needed by families who use the house.
Another interesting tour was of the Sylvan Star Cheese Plant in Sylvan Lake. This beautiful facility is owned and operated by the family of one of the Cleaver Kids members, and included some cheese judging.
Other meetings and activities include dairy cattle judging, learning about showmanship and clipping, and public speaking.
At the end of the year, we had our Achievement Day at the DeGroot family’s Alta Vista Holsteins in Penhold.
All the members enjoyed the day, learning and teaching. A big part of our club focuses on mentoring, with the older members helping and teaching younger members. For the Clipping Competition, Cleaver Kids were paired up with an older member to give them instructions. Working like this benefits both the younger and older members!
The Udderly Unique 4-H Dairy Club thanks everyone in the community who generously supports the club through donations, volunteerism for different occasions, and much more. Without the help of the community, the Club would not be successful!