By Julia Butler – GEMS Reporter
The Hop to it Gems 4-H rabbit club had its first meeting of the year Nov.15th. Club leaders are Deb Brown and Kristy Grieve. Before the meeting, the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H pledge were said. After the pledges, we had discussions about upcoming presentations by club members, fundraisers, possible themes for the Spring Fair and the year to come. After the discussions the club played a game, and after this the meeting was adjourned.
The club’s annual Christmas party and elections were held Dec. 15th. The outcome of the elections was as follows: Jaycee Zeller became club president, with Dianne Anderson as vice president. Abby Gorsegner is the new club secretary, and Jazmine Miller is treasurer. Julia Butler is reporter, and Josie McMann and Henry Gorsegner are the club photographers for this year. Jillian Zeller was elected club historian, and Matthew Butler became sergeant-at-arms. After the conclusion of the elections, pledges were led by Matthew Butler, the new sergeant-at-arms. We then had a discussion about the new year, the annual Hop to it GEMS Easter fundraiser in March and further discussion of possible themes for the Spring Fair. Once the Christmas party started, we had a white elephant gift exchange, played games and had a cookie exchange.
The next meeting was held Jan. 13th. The meeting started out with the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H pledge led by Julia Butler. After the pledges, we had discussions about the presentations for this year. This year’s presentations will be on the different diseases of rabbits and cavies. There was further discussion about the Hop to it GEMS Easter fundraiser, the Eggstravaganza, which will be held March 29 at Donahue-Frohnmeyer Park in Medford. Deb and Kristy (our leaders) reviewed possession dates for show and market rabbits for Spring Fair, 4-H record books and the 4-H year schedule. The club will continue to have business meetings until the end of March. There will then be weekly club showmanship practice sessions with rabbits and cavies in April and May until the Spring Fair begins at the end of May. Jazmine Miller gave the treasurer’s report. After that, there was also a presentation on picking out a healthy rabbit. Leader Kristy then gave information on cavies and caring for them. After the discussions, there was a roll call and a game. The next meeting will be held on February 10th.
