Jefferson County Meeting #5

Jefferson County
Zara Kulish
Feb. 8, Meeting #5

Our last pre-conference meeting was all about finishing presentation boards. We did two issues. One focuses on an upcoming special election for a $38 million school district bond to make improvements to the Chimacum schools.  The other is the local response about the state's proposed budget to eliminate fair funding.
We researched topics by reading newspapers and other publications, budgets, etc. Jobs were divvied up among each team -- research, photos, person-on-the-street interviews, contacting legislators and other elected officials. Then, everyone spent a couple meetings discussing the info and collaborating on the presentation boards.
One thing we discovered is that people -- voters and elected alike -- do not like to share "con" opinions about education. We think it is because they don't want people to think they are against kids or education. Our local state representatives said they thought fair funding was important because it does relate to education when one considers all the 4-Hers, FFA members, and others in the community who participate.

blog post

Jefferson County
Sam Smith
Jan. 11 meeting

Writing, reporting, and what about that sheep

Twelve Jefferson County delegates met to work on their projects for the KYG conference. Divided into two groups, delegates researched and interviewed for their topics. They learned how to structure a news story to make it cohesive as well as interesting from their leader, who was once a journalist. Fundraising plans were formulated in order to gather the last of the money for the trip. The meeting ended with a game in which delegates wrote and reported on stories that had to involve a sheep, a dentist, dinner, music, a birthday, civics, Louisiana and someone/something that did not drive.

Jefferson County Meeting 2 -- Media Motivations

Jefferson County
Daniel Elsberry
Dec. 14, 2014, Meeting #2

Media Motivations
When referring to the media, we should ask ourselves certain things. There are 5 key questions that can help our understanding of what is important to focus on in the media, whether it be interpretation, reliability, or the point of view of the news and messages we are shown day after day. These questions can be extremely valuable to a civilian as they help us become aware of the sources of the reports, ads, editorials, etc. so that we can decide if they are reliable. Then we can decide if we agree with these messages and how to respond to them.

Here are the 5 questions we learned about and discussed at our last meeting:

1. Who created this message?
   
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
   
3. How might different people understand this message differently from me?
   
4. What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in, or ommited from this message?
   
5. Why is the message being sent?
   

Each of these questions are connected and reflect off of a general observation.
The first question goes over WHO created the message, stating that media and news sources require people, each with their own interests and viewpoints, to work together to create what one reads or watches.
The second question deals with what the media do with their respective messages to attract and recieve one's attention. There are a variety of techniques, such as artistic genres and wording to draw people in.
The third explains the major differences in what people look for and absorb from general media based off of their personal preferences, knowledge, and lifestyles.
The fourth states that there are certain "values" in any and all media, explaining the different attititudes, viewpoints, and cultural representations in TV shows, movies, advertisements, and even the news.
The fifth and final question asks WHY people send these messages in the first place, and explains what benefits are involved for advertisers and the media sources from the consumers.

All questions work to help the consumer understand what each form of media thrives off of. The answers to these questions can help our awareness of how different sources stay in business by representing, interpreting, and associating means that appeal to a certain audience. Even news shows and publications develop their own formats and personalities to cultivate loyal audiences and readers, thus establishing a particular identity in the sea of the industry.

Pondering these questions allows one to keep an open mind and deduct whether or not a form of media is as reliable or valuable as originally thought and to avoid falling victim to the amount of control and susceptibility the media presents each day. Questions we as citizens and consumers ask of our political leaders, news sources, and businesses can be an extremely important tool to our intelligent awareness and discussion of everyday matters.

Jefferson County Meeting #1

Jefferson County
Mary Kulish
Nov. 23, 2014, Meeting #1

Gettin' in the Know Your Government Groove

The Jefferson County 4-H KYG Club got off to a great start. We made our group agreement, discussed the First Amendment to the Constitution, talked about social media pros and cons, discernment and safety. A few in the club are particularly interested in and passionate about several issues that are or may soon be impacting the local community; they presented the topics to the group so they can get started on their community issue board for the conference.

We also laid out a fundraising strategy that includes traditional money-raising events, such as raffles and car washes, and social media crowd funding. Taking the idea of digital citizenship and use of social media to heart, the club created a GoFundMe site. Check us out -- and feel free to donate -- at www.gofundme.com/jcKYG

We combined our raffle for a holiday-themed basket of goodies and a bird bath from re-purposed glass with a presence at the Port Townsend Art Guild Craft Fair, which was held Nov. 28-29. Several of the teens made crafts to sell too. The weekend event netted us about $300 toward our fundraising goal. A special note of gratitude to Donna Harding, president of the Art Guild, for enthusiastically accommodating and promoting our last-minute entry into the fair and to the Jefferson County Paws-N-Claws 4-H Club for sharing their space and assisting with our setup. And a shout out to Sam Smith, who is a member of Paws-N-Claws and our KYG club and a Conference Facilitator at the 2015 KYG event!

Our next meeting will focus on researching and reporting as we get started on creating our presentation board.

Jefferson County

Majority Rules

When in a group, majority rules, but everyone should be able to share their point of view without receiving put downs, have a respectful discussion, and learn from each other and be educated.

Jefferson County

Jefferson County

Hello, 

Jefferson County has 7 people coming this year, three more than last year. We are all very excited to attend KYG!

Accepting Differences

We are all different, therefore we should accept each other as we are. To accept someone means to listen to them, respect them, and have fun with them, not have fun at their own expense.

Jefferson County