The 4-H Club is one of the most effective methods used by the 4-H program. 4-H clubs are organized groups of boys and girls supported by adult volunteers. The 4-H club conducts meetings and activities throughout the year — usually holding six or more official meetings annually. There are three parts to club meetings: the business meeting, educational program, and recreation.
The business meeting is one of the most complex components of the club program, with many parts and pieces. The business meeting is run by the club officers that may be elected annually, bi-annually, quarterly etc. This should be defined in your club constitution and bylaws. These resources can help you train your club members and officers to run a fun and efficient club meeting.
- Resources for Officers and Club Leaders
- Parts of a Club Meeting Puzzle
- 4-H Pledge Bookmark
- Design Your Own Clover Club Calendar Planning Tool (Word version) (pdf version)
- Who Am I? Officer Training Game (pdf version) (Word version)
- Terms of Parli Pro (pdf version) (Word version)
- Order of a Business Meeting Game (pdf version) (Word version)
If you do not have officers or have really young members, you may rotate the roles of the officers from meeting to meeting to allow all members the opportunity to serve in various positions. This is especially done in cloverbud clubs where being designated an officer is not age appropriate, but the business meeting is still needed. It will give them a sense of what the leadership roles for the officers include, expose them to the terminology and alleviate fear of serving as an officer in the future. Newly formed clubs may also wish to utilize this template and technique until officers are formally elected.
- Cloverbud Club Meeting Script
- Club Meeting Script with a Treasurer (no motions)
- Club Meeting Script with a Treasurer (with motions)
- Officer Role Signs
A couple of ideas for using a rotation system is to have an officer chart where youth rotate around to every position. Another alternative is to write each officer role on a popsicle stick and have the draw their role.
Club Officer Rotation Chart (all roles) pdf version Word version
Club Officer Rotation Chart (with Treasurer) pdf version Word version
Club Officer Rotation Chart (no Treasurer) pdf version Word version
Club Officer Rotation Chart (no Treasurer or Reporter) pdf version Word version