Join America’s Largest Youth Development Organization

Empowering nearly 6 million young people across the United States with the skills to lead for a lifetime…

If you have questions about the enrollment process, check out our Frequently Asked Questions section below. Please do not hesitate to contact the UW-Extension office at 715-261-1230.

WANT TO JOIN THE FUN?

Find a Club

There are 31 active 4-H clubs located in Marathon County. Check out the club directory: it includes the  4-H club name, general leader’s name and e-mail address, and the meeting time and place. Consider joining a club in the area in which you live, with meeting times that you are able to attend. Please call the leader before you attend a meeting – just in case they have changed the time or location. Each club has by-laws of what is required to be considered a “member in good standing”, so be sure to check with the general leader on your level of expected participation concerning meeting attendance and community service events.

You may join a 4-H club as a new member any time during the year. To show at the county fair as a new member, you must be registered with a club by March 1st. If you missed the deadline, do not fret! Learning in 4-H happens year-round. There are many ways that you can be active with your community club!

Annual membership donation for Marathon County 4-H are $10.00 per member.

More helpful information is found in this FIRST YEAR MEMBER GUIDE for Wisconsin 4-H Youth.

Enrollment

Once you have found a club you would like to join, it is time to enroll in 4-H Online! You are not considered an enrolled 4-Her and will not start receiving important e-mails or newsletters until you complete the enrollment process in 4-H Online. Written instructions for creating an account and enrolling new members can be found in the 4-H Online Enrollment Guide.

Cloverbuds: Youth in grades K-2. Cloverbuds are enrolled solely in Cloverbud projects. No animal projects are to be enrolled in for any youth enrolled in grades K – 2.

Explorers: Youth in grades 3-4. It is meant to allow kids to try a variety of project areas and to exhibit a variety of projects at the fair. Youth in grades 3 and 4 are not required to take Exploring as a project, but can take as an independent project, or in addition to other project areas.

Members: Youth in grades 3-13. Can enroll in up to 5 project areas. Enrolling beyond 5 projects is left up to the discretion of the adult leader and parent. Members are expected to participate in all projects in which they are enrolled.

** Grade is determined by registration into the school district during the 4-H enrollment period. When a child exhibits at the fair, they are enrolled under the grade that they just completed, not the grade they will be entering in fall after the fair.

•  Note that 4-H Online is not compatible with the Internet Explorer web browser. Please use the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Safari web browsers when navigating 4-H Online.
• Note that the Health Form does not have to be filled out right away when you enroll, and can be skipped. However, this will need to be updated for members when they attend trips or camps.
• IMPORTANT! If you are enrolling between March 1 and September 1, you will not be able to add projects and submit your enrollment without staff assistance. Please complete the enrollment process for each youth through the Participation screen and then contact the UW-Extension office at 715-261-1230 with a list of the projects the youth would like to add.

 

Project Learning

Once you are an enrolled 4-Her and begin attending club meetings, you will be able to explore your projects with the help of club and county project leaders and the 4-H project literature. Keep up to date on the opportunities available to Marathon County and Wisconsin 4-Hers with the 4-H Calendar. With summer camps, animal shows, winter parties, speaking contests, fundraisers, L.E.A.D.S. meetings, programs, banquets, and more, there is always something fun to do and something new to learn in Marathon County 4-H!

• Ask your club leader about how they order project literature; members can receive literature for up to 5 projects each year, and should only order for the project and grade level in which they are enrolled.
• Scholarships for trips, camps, and other events are available to 4-Hers through the Marathon County 4-H Leaders Federation and many other organizations.

Marathon County 4-H Project List

Show off your skills!

Marathon County 4-H youth are encouraged to showcase their skills through judging events, available at the Wisconsin Valley Fair. Most judging will happen during the week of the fair, however there are some departments that utilize pre-judging events. (Cloverbuds do not enter competitive exhibits in the county fair, but showcase their exhibits to judges for participation ribbons).

Signing up for classes to exhibit in at the Wisconsin Valley Fair, must be completed through the ShoWorks registration platform, available on-line beginning in mid-May. Required fair forms are distributed to club leaders at the Spring District Meetings in early May.  Note that you must be enrolled no later than March 1 of the fair year to be eligible to show exhibits at the fair.

4-Hers track their progress by maintaining records. At the end of each 4-H year, members are encouraged to fill out Project Award Forms, which are evaluated by a committee of Marathon adult and youth leaders, who recommend eligible youth for awards to be presented at the 4-H Awards Banquet.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a paper form I can use to enroll? No, not at this time. All enrollments must be done directly through 4-H Online. If you or someone you know has difficulty with computer or internet access, you are welcome to visit the Marathon UW-Extension office kiosk to get enrolled. Please contact 715-261-1230 for assistance.

If a youth is a member of 4-H in another county, can they also be a member of a Marathon County 4-H club? No, members cannot be a 4-H member in multiple counties at the same time. If you would like to join 4-H in a different county, please contact the UW-Extension office of the county you are moving to. They will initiate the process for transferring your 4-H Online account to the new county. Do not create a new 4-H Online profile.

Can a member be in FFA and 4-H at the same time? Yes. 4-H and FFA are both considered youth leadership organizations that can work hand in hand with each other.

I am trying to add projects to a youth’s project list in 4-H Online, but they do not correspond to the Departments in the Fair Book. I want to make sure the youth is enrolled in the projects they need to exhibit at the fairs. Entering exhibits for the Wisconsin Valley Fairs is not the same as adding projects in 4-H Online. 4-H Projects need to be declared in 4-H Online by the March 1st deadline to ensure that year-round learning is happening with the youth. A youth will usually have to be enrolled in a related project in order to enter an exhibit at one of the fairs. Read the introductions to the Department and/or Class you are considering in the Wisconsin Valley Fair Book to determine which 4-H project may be required to show an exhibit. The actual Department/Division/Class will be entered into ShoWorks in May – early June. Please call or e-mail Marathon UW-Extension with any questions about projects or exhibiting requirements.