The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

  
Vol. 12, No. 17  March 7, 2006

IN THIS ISSUE...

...Word from the Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research
...Listing of Bioscience Industries
...Learning/Skill Development Opportunities in Community Development
...March Edition of Diversity Newsletter
...Kansas 4-Hers Recognized for Outstanding Community Service
...Kellogg Foundation Launches New Rural Policy Initiative
...Operation Military Kids - Ready, Set, Go Training
...Future of Agriculture Conference
...KAE4-HA Spring Meeting Registration on the Web
...Dick Wootton Featured in Winter ESP Connection and National ESP Meeting Announced
...Manhattan Cancer Awareness Committee Offers Services for Colon Cancer Awareness Month
...Hot Topics Women's Health Workshop Scheduled for April 29
...Master Schedule

...Tuesday Letter Archives

WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
The foundation of extension work is that of education. It is unique in that our normal processes for providing such are usually in a non-formal setting and it's really up to us to create an interest with the target audience to get them to attend to the learning opportunity. Seldom does an extension professional have a totally captive audience as could be thought of as the case with students who must pass the class in order to eventually graduate.

Effective marketing of our extension educational events is critical if we expect to gain the interest and the presence of our target clientele for the educational event. Such marketing also informs the broader public of the issues and opportunities for which we are focusing our educational efforts. Conveying the right message to the broader public may well be as important as the educational event itself.

In the past few weeks dozens of flyers have been moving through the e-mail system with the vast majority publicizing upcoming Spring Livestock Shows for Youth. As we've pulled many of these off and studied them, they convey the time and place of the event, the rules to be followed, and the registration form. It's not really possible to determine if or what the educational value of such an event might be. A few calls have been made simply to ask that question.

Whether it's a livestock show, a judging contest, a watershed meeting, an older adult care giving workshop, a safe food handling demonstration, a field day, or club days, are you prepared to respond to someone stopping by off the street or calling anonymously simply to ask for whom is this targeted and what should be expected to be learned? Would it be helpful to have stated objectives for such events somewhere on the marketing flyer that would clearly spell that out.

K-State Research and Extension creates an image within communities through each and every one of us and the educational events we offer. Helping the public understand the value of the educational event through marketed objectives that indicate the target clientele and what that clientele is expected to gain from participation will elevate our image every day. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu

Extension 4-H Specialists Rod Buchele and Diane Mack will team up with Kansas PRIDE to host two workshops on The 3 R's of Volunteerism in mid-March. This is intended for Extension and volunteer-centered community organization audiences.

On March 31, the K-State Leadership Seminar will focus on Inclusion and Leadership with guest speakers Shah Hassan and Ata Karim.

On April 4-5, take an opportunity to experience diversity in Garden City with the Dimensions of Diversity Workshop.

April 26-27 is the Kansas Economic Development Conference in Wamego.

Program information and links to these programs and MORE are posted through the LEADS website at: www.oznet.ksu.edu/leads  and click on: The Schedule of Professional Development activities for 2006. --Dan Kahl dkahl@oznet.ksu.edu

MARCH EDITION OF DIVERSITY NEWSLETTER
The March Edition of the newsletter from the National Extension Diversity Center is now available at http://www.ediversitycenter.net/ . In addition to the featured articles noted on the home page, you can also read about Hiring Diversity, Staff Development, Reaching Audiences, Organizational Change as well as contribute your own ideas, questions and resources. --Stacey M. Warner swarner@ksu.edu

KANSAS 4-HERS RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE
Lauren Hoge, 14, of Linwood, Leavenworth County, has been selected as a State Honoree in the 2006 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Honoring outstanding community service by young Americans, the awards are part of a broad initiative created by the Prudential companies to encourage young people to become involved in community service. Lauren collected donations of new and gently used books for children staying at Safe Homes, a local shelter for abused women and children. As a State Honoree, she receives $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C.. While in the nation's capital, ten of the 102 State Honorees will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2006.

Franklin County 4-Her, Ashley Guenther, was recognized with a Certificate of Excellence for her efforts. Other Kansas 4-H members nominated include:

Randi Cressler, Sheridan County
Elizabeth Kretzmeier, Allen County
Marty Lager, Sheridan County
Aimee Ostermeyer, Leavenworth County
Caitlin Powell, Johnson County

Congratulations to all of these young people for their initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth! --Gary Gerhard ggerhard@ksu.edu

KELLOGG FOUNDATION LAUNCHES NEW RURAL POLICY INITIATIVE
The Kellogg Foundation recently launched Rural People, Rural Policy (RPRP), a multi-year national initiative to energize and equip rural organizations and networks to shape policy that will improve the lives of rural people and the vitality of rural communities.  The initiative is based on the premise that rural America has abundant assets and that the brightest potential for rural America will come when rural people are stronger, more organized policy actors.

The goal is to build and strengthen skilled networks and rural organizations to be articulate and act in the policy arena.  This initiative will make rural communities’ problems and potential visible enough to gain national attention, and to change policy and practice in rural America for the better.  A key element of this initiative is to elevate public perception about the resilience, diversity, and innovation that rural communities demonstrate in the face of daunting challenges.  When a critical mass of rural leaders shares a common vocabulary and perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing their communities, a compelling voice will emerge that articulates and acts to create policy that is practical and effective.

A major component of the initiative will be the development of Regional Rural Policy Networks comprised of rural advocates and organizations that collectively will advance local, state, and federal policy that produces healthy, sustainable rural communities with widely shared economic prosperity.

One tool that has been developed by the Initiative is “How to Talk Rural Issues,” a free CD full of information for rural advocates about creating messages based on the way people currently think about rural America.

More information about the Initiative is available at:
www.wkkf.org/default.aspx?tabid=75&CID=274&NID=61&LanguageID=0 . --Robert Wilson rwilson@mail.agecon.ksu.edu

OPERATION MILITARY KIDS - READY, SET, GO TRAINING
Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers and their families live in communities across our great state. Virtually every community has residents who are managing deployment of family members.

Transitioning from "civilian" to "military" accompanied by the separation from a loved one, is difficult for the entire family. Learn how you and your county team can strengthen military children, youth and families in your community by attending the Ready, Set, Go training, May 2, in Salina; May 4, in Kansas City; May 8, in Scott City; or May 11, in Eureka. --Ann Domsch adomsch@ksu.edu

FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE CONFERENCE
The International Conference on The Future of Agriculture: Science, Stewardship, and Sustainability, will be held August 7-9, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento, California. This conference is intended to address the areas of air quality, water quality, waste management, and environmental stewardship, as well as to discuss practices and techniques for managing them in an agricultural setting.

Participants are invited to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation. The deadline for abstract submissions is March 1.

For more information or to see a full list of topics, go to www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/conf/ag&environment/ . --Continuing Education

KAE4-HA SPRING MEETING REGISTRATION ON THE WEB
Registration information for the KAE4HA Spring Meeting, scheduled for May 17-18 in Lawrence, is now posted to the web,  http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/kae4ha . Any Extension employee with an interest in youth development is invited to attend.

Register by April 15 for the best price. --Beth Hinshaw bhinshaw@ksu.edu and Gwen Spade gspade@ksu.edu

DICK WOOTTON FEATURED IN WINTER ESP CONNECTION AND NATIONAL ESP MEETING ANNOUNCED
The Winter ESP Connection is now available for your reading on the ESP Website in two formats: HTML at http://espnational.org/newsltrs/no10306.htm  and PDF at http://espnational.org/newsltrs/no10306.pdf .

Dick Wootton, retired Associate Director of K-State Research and Extension, received the highest award given by Epsilon Sigma Phi, the Distinguished Ruby Award. You can read his Ruby Lecture, presented at the 2005 National Epsilon Sigma Phi Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the ESP newsletter. His title - Extension: the Unique Characteristic of Land-Grant Universities.

The 2006 national Epsilon Sigma Phi meeting is open to all Extension professionals and is announced in the newsletter. The Tau Chapter of Maryland will host the National Epsilon Sigma Phi Conference November 14 - 17, 2006 at the Loews Annapolis Hotel in Annapolis, MD. The conference will offer opportunities for professional development for Extension professionals and continuing education for retirees. This conference will feature dynamic keynote speakers, scholarly concurrent sessions and poster presentations, three program tracks - life members, emerging leadership, and program developers, strategies for enhancing Extension's image, opportunities to explore new tools and technologies to enhance outcomes of Extension programs, methods for strengthening communities through Extension programs, and recognition of ESP members for excellence in programming addressing diversity and critical issues. Over 20 Kansas Extension professionals attended the 2005 national professional development meeting.

The Kansas Alpha Rho Chapter will provide four $375 scholarships to Kansas delegates.  More information will be provided later. --Trudy Rice trice@oznet.ksu.edu  

MANHATTAN CANCER AWARENESS COMMITTEE OFFERS SERVICES FOR COLON CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
The Manhattan Cancer Awareness Committee is offering free colon cancer presentations in March. Community groups can arrange a presentation by contacting Marcia Locke, public relations and outreach coordinator at K-State's Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research, 785-532-6705.

VIEW THE MASTER SCHEDULE OR ADD NEW ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS. 

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