Vol. 14, No. 48  October 14, 2008

IN THIS ISSUE... 

...Word from the Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research
...Benefits Updates
...2009 Open Enrollment: October 1 - 31, 2008
...Check Out the Annual Conference Website
...Reminder for Specialists at Annual Conference Next Week
...Need Help with Technology?
...Reminder for ANR Specialists at Annual Conference Next Week
...Extreme Makeover - KEAA!!! Check it Out!!!
...SHICK Training Registration is Due Wednesday, October 15
...Registration for Agent Training Due This Week!
...All are Invited to Post Conference Session on the Impact Technology Has on Teen Dating
...Deadline Extended: 2009 NCR Urban Extension Conference Proposals
...Urban Forestry Workshop
...Out-of-School Program Idea Conference, October 27
...Applications Available for 2009 "Get It - Do It!" PRIDE Grants
...Professional Development Opportunity: Working with Latino Audiences
...Marketing Minute: Results of State Fair Survey
...Master Schedule

                                                                                                           ...Tuesday Letter Archives

WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
K-State Research and Extension's Annual Conference for 2008, "Healthy People-Healthy Earth," starts next Monday, October 20. I look forward to seeing everyone at the various times throughout the week.

I view annual conference as a professional meeting, a time we come together to network, to grow, to congratulate, and to learn. With that comes certain obligations and responsibilities for all participants. One obligation is to model professionalism. To me that means looking, acting, preparing, engaging and delivering as a professional. With respect to one of those, I've heard from several of your peers that our "look" has gradually become too casual. As faculty at a professional meeting, I encourage you to dress accordingly, leaving the casual clothes for those activities that call for such dress, and otherwise choose towards business to business dressy attire. In a quote of Albert Einstein's I saw recently, he said, "Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means."

I trust you will come to annual conference in this spirit of personal professional growth. The time here is really designed to grow the mind. What you do with the things you observe, learn, and participate in is really up to you.

My thanks and appreciation go out to all of you who will have played some role in the success of the 2008 Annual Conference. Thank you! And, have a great week! - Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu

BENEFITS UPDATES
Benefits Updates will be held on October 21 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. during the K-State Research and Extension Annual Conference. Stephanie Harvey, benefits manager with the K-State Division of Human Resources, will present the update to faculty with state benefits in the Sunflower Room. Stacey Warner will present the update to faculty with federal benefits in the Flint Hills Room. --Stacey Warner swarner@ksu.edu

NEED HELP WITH TECHNOLOGY?
K-State Research and Extension's IET support staff will be available in the Lobby of the 2nd floor of the K-State Union (outside the Big XII room) Tuesday, 9:30 - 12 and 1:30 - 5, and Wednesday morning, 8 - 12, during Annual Conference to answer any computer questions you may have.

We will answer any questions you have about computers, the Internet, and technology in general. We would also love to talk to you about ways to use computers more efficiently in your daily routine. Give us ten minutes and we can save you at least that much every day in useful tips and tricks. We can also show you how to find information you can use on the web, and ways to make sure your computer is always performing at its best.

In addition, we will have new products to demonstrate to users, such as a TeraStation network attached storage device and new Lenovo laptops. We would be glad to offer advice to anyone looking to buy new computer equipment or other devices, or ways to make the devices you already have more useful. Plus, we will be demoing some of the new software on the latest 2009 ToolKit.

Computers will be available at the Registration table Tuesday, 8 - 5, and Wednesday, 8 - 12, for anyone to use to check e-mail. We will also provide the location of other computers in the Union for your use. --Russ  Feldhausen russfeld@ksu.edu  and Gary Kepka gkepka@ksu.edu

EXTREME MAKEOVER - KEAA!!! CHECK IT OUT!!!
There will be a new look for the Kansas Extension Agents Association meeting at Annual Conference. New day! New Time! New Location! New Format!  

Based on your input from last year, the KEAA board voted to not have a meal function with the meeting. So KEAA will meet on Monday, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. in the Tadman Board Room, 2nd floor, of the KSU Alumni Center. A new feature will be 10 minute round table discussions, led by Extension agents, on topics of interest to agents. These include:  KSRE Marketing Ideas, Annual Meeting Ideas, and Professionalism and Decision Making. Participants will be able to choose 2 of the 3 sessions. Please be thinking of things you have done in these general areas so that you can share them with your co-workers.

Business meeting will include report from the board on meeting with administration, new agent dinner, and election of president-elect. There will also be a drawing for door prizes and time for all participants to attend the poster session and reception (must be present to win!).

The KEAA planning committee is Aliesa Woods, Carla Nemecek, and Melinda Daily. --Jodi Besthorn Besthorn@ksu.edu

SHICK TRAINING REGISTRATION IS DUE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15
The 2008 SHICK Health Insurance Medicare Update Training is scheduled for Wednesday, October 29, in the Sedgwick County office, Wichita. A Registration Form with more detail is available at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/financialmanagement/ . Registration is requested by October 15.

The Training, primarily for Extension agents, is sponsored by the KSRE Resource Management Focus Team, SHICK/Kansas Department Of Aging and hosted by Sarah Taylor and Carol Young.

This SHICK Update Training will count as Update Certification for SHICK Partner-agents who have already taken the Initial Training (3-day) and want to stay active in SHICK files.

Contact Sarah Taylor, selliott@ksu.edu , Sedgwick County, for more SHICK or local arrangements information. --Carol Young cyoung@ksu.edu

REGISTRATION FOR AGENT TRAINING DUE THIS WEEK!
An overview of the following program materials will be presented October 30 in Colby and October 31 in Garden City. Registration for both locations is due Friday, October 17.  Locations and times are in an informational flyer and registration form at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/financialmanagement/ .  

Esther Maddux will present an overview of Wills and Estate Planning, which will include Seminar Planning Guidelines and a 'Wills & Estate Planning' publication. 

Deb Sellers and Carol Young will present an overview of Legally Secure Your Financial Future (LSYFF). LSYFF is a national template program designed for agents to facilitate using invited local experts. The topics covered are Organize Your Important Household Papers; Communicate Your Advance Directives for Health Care; Prepare Your Estate Plan.

The training will be repeated in Chanute and Manhattan after the first of the year. --Carol Young cyoung@ksu.edu

Charlene Kamper, of the national Dibble Institute, will present the latest trends, research and practice addressing the impact that technology has on teen relationships. Char will cover highlights of an in-depth seminar presented to the PFTs earlier that morning and will respond to your questions/concerns about teen dating. The session is 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, in Union Room 212.

Charlene Kamper holds a Master's Degree in Family Studies for Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA. She is a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) with the National Council on Family Relations. She is a frequent speaker at national and state conferences, works with teen pregnancy prevention programs and other youth organizations, and trains instructors around the country in the effective use of the Connections teen relationship programs for their youth populations.