The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

  
Vol. 13, No. 50  October 23, 2007

IN THIS ISSUE...

...Word from the Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research
...KanElect Flexible Spending Account - Health Care
...Reminder - 2007 Discretionary Day
...Time to Register for Community Development Resource Fair!
...Kansas Forest Service Hosting Storm Recovery Workshops During November
...How Do Adults Learn?
...Would You Like to Sponsor Free Training for Businesses in Your County or Area?
...Health Promotion: From Planning to Implementation Area Trainings Offered
...Kansas Mentors...Strengthening Our Youth
...Marie's Pick of the Week
...New Guidelines for Basic Entomology at Local Level
...Preprinted Certificates Now Available
...Order Copies of 2008 Informal Report to the Kansas Legislature
...Bascom Cancer Lecture Announced
...Master Schedule

                                                                                                           ...Tuesday Letter Archives

WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Hospitality (hŏs'pĭ-tāl'ĭ-tē)  Cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests.

I've tried to think of catchy ways to inspire each of you reading this to work on increasing your ethic of hospitality. But, I've come up empty minded. Oh, and if you think this is just for those in staff roles, you are wrong!! Hospitality knows no bounds in who should be responsible. It is EVERYONE'S responsibility, and that means YOU! When I think of hospitality, I think of my good friend, Bob, who would go to any length to help out ANYONE he thought might need some help. His actions towards others exhibited his ethic of hospitality. If you wish to read about Bob, go back into the archives and take a look at the article I wrote for October 12, 2004 . Just disregard the opening paragraph... apparently KU beat us that year too.

Now you may wonder what constitutes cordial and generous help. In my book, that is picking up the phone on the first possible ring and answering with a smile on your face. Believe it or not, the person on the other end of the line can tell if you are smiling! It's greeting people in the spirit of true generosity. It's making an extra effort to help someone beyond their expectations, even when they seem to have expectations that are too high. It's stepping out of your comfort zone to make others feel welcome and appreciated. It's seeing to it that others are comfortable and cared for, even when you are not.

Have you ever been greeted and treated better than you deserve? That to me is the ultimate definition of hospitality. Just know that for those who seem to be great at providing hospitality, it didn't come naturally. Rather, it came through conscious effort and practice to put someone else's needs ahead of theirs, and to convey sincere cordial and generous reception towards others.

So, what's that got to do with working for K-State Research and Extension? Well, if you had to ask, maybe you need to reflect more deeply on our mission of service to others. Thank you to each and every one of you who have gone out of your way to provide cordial and generous help to others. Keep up the practice until it becomes second nature!! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu

KANELECT FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT - HEALTH CARE
The Kansas Health Policy Authority has recently advised that the 2007 KanElect Health Care Flexible Spending Account has a "grace period."

The 2007 plan is extended until February 29, 2008 for qualifying medical expenses occurring during the period January 1, 2007 through February 29, 2008. Participants have until April 15, 2008 to submit claims for services occurring between January 1, 2007 through February 29, 2008.

Please note that the "grace period" is only for the Health Care component of the KanElect Flexible Spending Account. There is no "grace period" for the Dependent Care component.

Questions should be addressed to ASI, the plan administrator, at 1-800-366-4827. --Joe Younger jyounger@ksu.edu

REMINDER - 2007 DISCRETIONARY DAY
The last day an employee may use their 2007 Discretionary Day is Saturday, December 29, 2007. The 2008 Discretionary Day may be used any day from December 30, 2007 through December 27, 2008.

Questions should be addressed to the Division of Human Resources at 785-532-6277. --Division of Human Resources

Directions and an agenda will be e-mailed to those who register. --Dan Kahl dankahl@ksu.edu

KANSAS FOREST SERVICE HOSTING STORM RECOVERY WORKSHOPS DURING NOVEMBER
Kansas Forest Service, Community Forestry Program, will be hosting the Storm Recovery Workshops during early November. These workshops will be presented at the following locations:

November 6 - Pittsburg
November 7 - Dodge City and Great Bend
November 9 - Park City
November 14 - Marysville
November 16 - Shawnee

The Agenda includes an overview of Kansas storms in 2007, having an emergency plan, clean-up and salvage, evaluation and defective tree assessment, pruning (including a pruning demo), plant selection, replanting and maintenance.

The registration fee is $5 and pre-registration is recommended. A brochure can be downloaded at http://www.kansasforests.org/community/training/Storm%20Recovery%20Workshop%20Brochure.pdf . CEU's for ISA Certified Arborist will be available. Contact Patricia McCaffrey at 785-532-3301 with questions. --Patricia McCaffrey pmccaffr@ksu.edu 

HOW DO ADULTS LEARN?
Design for Learning is a distance learning experience that will help you develop educational programs for your target audiences. North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas are cooperating to offer Design for Learning to extension professionals in the four states. The January 4 - February 29, 2008 class will be facilitated by Kansas.

The program will have five learning sessions conducted via conference call. Participants may also want to have access to a computer to view any visuals that are part of the session.

The schedule is:

* January 4 - Introduction
* January 18 - Understanding learners and their needs, including transformational education
* February 1 - Examining and organizing content, including logic model
* February 15 - Selecting appropriate teaching tools and creating an effective learning environment
* February 29 - Assessing learning outcomes

For additional information and registration go to the Employee Resources Registration site: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/Employee_Resources .
--Margaret Phillips margaret@ksu.edu
--Stacey Warner swarner@ksu.edu
--Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPONSOR FREE TRAINING FOR BUSINESSES IN YOUR COUNTY OR AREA?
K-State Research & Extension has received a grant to provide free safety training for businesses in Kansas and surrounding states. This year's topic is forklift safety. Every business that uses a forklift is required by federal law to provide periodic safety training to employees. For a limited time, we can provide that training as a free service. We offer training in three formats: (1) centralized training at your county or area office, (2) on-site training for businesses with at least 10 forklift operators, or (3) informational programs for business groups.

To set up training in your county or area, contact Mitch Ricketts, mrickett@ksu.edu , or 785-532-7068. --Mitch Ricketts

Workshops will be held 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. --

November 13 (Tuesday) in Clover Room at Pottroff Hall, Cico Park, Manhattan
November 15 (Thursday) at the SE Area Extension Office, Chanute
December 4 (Tuesday) at the Ellis County Extension Office, Hays
December 5 (Wednesday) at the Wheatland Restaurant, 1404 E. Fulton, Garden City  

To register,  e-mail or call-in your “intent to attend” at least 3 days prior to your selected session to Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu , 785-532-5773; or Mike Bradshaw, mhb@ksu.edu  , 785-532-5773. Confirmation of your attendance and location details will be provided.

"Health Promotion - from Planning to Implementation" is a training led by Drs. Mike Bradshaw,  Elaine Johannes of the School of Family Studies and Human Services; Whitney Lake Thomas, Marriage and Family Therapy Graduate Student in the School of Family Studies and Human Services; and K-State MPH (Master's in Public Health) faculty.

There is no charge for this training which is funded through special awards from the  K-State Center of Engagement and Community Development and K-State Research and Extension. --Elaine Johannes  

KANSAS MENTORS...STRENGTHENING OUR YOUTH
Former K-State Football Coach Bill Snyder addressed KSRE on Wednesday morning at annual conference last week.  Coach spoke of the critical need to provide 100,000 of our state’s youth with supportive and wise mentors by 2010.  The catalyst to help make that happen is Kansas Mentors.  It is the goal of Kansas Mentors to strengthen school and community based organizations that provide both one-on-one and small group mentoring to young people by providing expertise in program management, best practices, risk management, recruitment, retention and recognition of mentors.

In addition, Kansas Mentors wants to help connect people who want to mentor with an opportunity and kids who want a mentor with a safe, caring adult.  Kansas 4-H Youth Development is a member of the Kansas Council of Mentors.  4-H provides mentoring opportunities in clubs, councils, and groups and in partnership with other organizations in providing quality afterschool and military dependent programs. 

If you are a member of a community family coalition, Kansas Mentors may be a helpful resource. Before you forget Coach’s message, check out http://www.ksmentors.ks.gov/  .  If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I will include additional information about Kansas Mentors and its resources in future weeks. --Gary W. Gerhard ggerhard@ksu.edu .

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