Penn State Extension's annual meeting later this month will include an update on the organization's new home and a generational look at how 4-H has affected lives.

The "Celebrating 100 Years of 4-H" meeting -- it's the 96th annual meeting -- is Friday, Oct. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the county 4-H Center.

The meeting is forgoing some of the usual speeches by officials and instead using the children and grandchildren of some of the earliest local members of 4-H to show how the group affects lives, said Marcia Weber, the family and consumer sciences education with Penn State Extension.

The future of 4-H will be discussed, too. Penn State Cooperative Extension, which runs the youth-development educational program, is showing off how the 4-H mission has grown beyond agriculture.

Robotics will be on display, for example.

"Most people think it's cows and chickens and pigs. 4-H has certainly broadened what they do," Weber said.

Dottie and Orin Stambaugh will receive an award for their "extraordinary support" of Penn State Extension as well.

New home: The eventual new home of Penn State Extension will be part of the program, with project plans on display for the Ag Service Center.

The new $10.8 million building will house Penn State Extension, the Conservation District, some USDA employees and the county's Agricultural Land preservation board.

The two-story, 32,000 square-foot barn-like building will be constructed near the Conservation District's current location at the aging Pleasant Acres Annex in Springettsbury Township. Construction is expected to begin in the summer.

Conservation District assistant manager Chris Thompson said officials are still waiting to hear on the status of a $5 million state grant that would fund half the project.

A capital campaign would cover the other costs; county commissioners already agree to have the county pay the upfront costs until the funding is secured.

Thompson said the Conservation District is moving forward on plans in the meantime to make sure the project is "shovel ready" by July.

The Penn State Extension meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the York County 4-H Center at 771 Stoverstown Road in West Manchester Township.

Those who want to attend the Penn State Extension meeting should contact the office immediately at 840-7408. Tickets range from $6-$11. More information is available at extension.psu.edu

-- Reach Andrew Shaw at ashaw@yorkdispatch.com