Evaluate the effectiveness of your 4-H club meetings

Katie VanderKolk<ockertka@msu.edu>, -

Is your 4-H club meeting making the grade? Evaluate the effectiveness of your 4-H club’s meetings using this helpful tool.

Sitting through ineffective meetings is not how anyone wants to spend their precious time. Michigan 4-H club meetings are no exception! Planning effective club meetings takes skill and determination on the part of the club leader and the club youth officers.

Texas Tech University-Lubbock Extension staff has developed a tool that can be used to assess objectively the effectiveness of 4-H club meetings. The “4-H Club Meeting Scorecard” can be utilized to evaluate the meetings opening ceremonies, the business session, the program, and the recreation and refreshment portion of the meeting. Each of these components serves a purpose and should intentionally be included in 4-H club meetings.

The following scorecard was developed and can be accessed online:

4-H Club Meeting Scorecard

Club name ______________________________________ Date_____________________

OPENING CEREMONY:

(Total = 15 points)

Meeting promptly opened (possible score of 2)

Flag set displayed (possible score of 2)

Pledge of Allegiance to American flag led (possible score of 3)

4-H Motto and Pledge led (possible score of 3)

Inspiration given (possible score of 2)

Attendance taken (possible score of 3)

SUBTOTAL __________

BUSINESS SESSION:

(Total = 25 points)

Minutes read (possible score of 3)

Treasurer's report given (possible score of 3)

County council delegate report given (possible score of 3)

Different members involved (possible score of 4)

Parliamentary procedure used (possible score of 5)

Organization leader's report given (possible score of 4)

County newsletter or other announcement given (possible score of 3)

SUBTOTAL __________

PROGRAM:

(Total = 35 points)

Introduction given (possible score of 4)

Club members appeared interested (possible score of 6)

Educational ideas/skills presented (possible score of 12)

Information presented on members' level (possible score of 9)

Summary, question and/or thanks given (possible score of 4)

SUBTOTAL __________

RECREATION AND REFRESHMENTS:

(Total = 25 points)

Activity leader(s) prepared (possible score of 5)

Everyone given chance to participate (possible score of 5)

Sportsmanship exhibited (possible score of 5)

Members appeared to enjoy (possible score of 5)

Refreshments provided (possible score of 5)

SUBTOTAL __________

TOTAL: __________                         JUDGES'S INITIALS: ____               ____

The scorecard can be utilized in multiple ways to improve a clubs meeting effectiveness, teach volunteer and youth leaders to effectively run a meeting or to conduct a meetings contest in your local program.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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