The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 34)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Summer is upon us. The round of
4-H camps will soon be wrapped up, and county fairs will be springing up
all over the state. This is a time when our attention in local programs
does turn heavily towards the youth. The pressures of wrapping up the
4-H projects and getting them on exhibit at the fair are bittersweet for
many. You, as professionals working out there, can help keep the focus
towards the youth and not so heavily on the project exhibit. Remember it
is that young person who is the 4-H project being developed, and not the
rabbit, dog, steer, dress, pie, chest of drawers, or any other exhibit
being brought to the fair. As questions or controversies arise with
respect to the judging or placings of the exhibits, keep asking yourself
and others the question, "What is it we want to teach our youth as an
outcome of this situation?" Regardless of the decision, know that
impressions of the way in which the issue was handled will remain in the
minds of those youth for years to come. I'd hope we call it a county
"fair" because it is.
I'd offer one other challenge to you.
Look around the K-State Research & Extension and 4-H Youth Development
fair exhibits and information provided to the public. Get a group of
volunteers tasked to look for ways your 4-H program can become even more
inviting to young people in your community you may not be reaching. Look
for ways to incorporate these ideas into the coming years of the 4-H
program to assure that all the young people of your community are
afforded the opportunity to experience the best youth development
program in the country, and likely the world!
Have a safe Independence Day holiday.
--Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
KSRE AWARD NOMINATIONS SOUGHT
The K-State Research and Extension Awards Lunch will be on Wednesday, October 19, during Annual Conference.
This is our annual opportunity to recognize outstanding colleagues. I encourage you to review the award categories below and nominate someone by Friday, August 5.
The nomination should include a maximum of two pages of information summarizing the criteria for which the individual is being nominated. Include the name, title, address, phone number and email of both the nominee as well as the nominator(s). Send nominations to me at 114 Waters Hall or email them to Dorothy Doan at ddoan@ksu.edu.
Previous recipients of the awards are listed on the Employee Resources website. Go to www.ksre.ksu.edu/employee_resources. Click on Nominations for Awards in the center of the page.
BUILDER AWARDS - These awards recognize individuals who have exhibited extra energy and creativity over a number of years in building new programs, audiences or institutions within K-State Research and Extension.
DIVERSITY AWARD - K-State Research and Extension is committed to diversity in programming, workforce and relationships with other organizations.
Nominees for this award will be individuals who have embraced and demonstrated this vision.
TEAM AWARD - The Team Award acknowledges outstanding efforts by a group of individuals addressing one of the Strategic Opportunities of K-State Research and Extension.
MENTORING AWARD - K-State Research and Extension faculty who have been employed for two years or less are encouraged to nominate a mentor who has helped them and others achieve higher performance and productivity. One award will be presented to a county/district faculty mentor and one to an area/state faculty mentor.
COUNTY/DISTRICT OFFICE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
County and district offices are encouraged to nominate an office professional who demonstrates initiative, productivity, creativity, adaptability, teamwork, and service.
UNCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR (for the College of Agriculture and all divisions of K-State Research and Extension on and off-campus). This award recognizes individuals who are in unclassified non-tenure track positions. The nomination should include information about special efforts and accomplishments.
For questions about the nominations or awards, contact Stacey Warner, Awards Lunch Chair at 785-532-3080 or swarner@ksu.edu.
Send award nominations to Dorothy Doan, ddoan@ksu.edu, by August 5. --Gary Pierzynski gmp@ksu.edu
RETIREMENT CELEBRATION - DR. LAWRENT “LARRY” BUSCHMAN
Dr. Lawrent Buschman, Entomologist, SW Research-Extension Center, will be retiring July 21, from the Department of Entomology at Kansas State University, SW Research-Extension Center, Garden City.
A reception will be held for him on Friday, July 15, from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. in the main office large conference room at the SW Research-Extension Center.
Dr. Buschman has provided 30 years of dedicated service to K-State Entomology and Southwest Kansas. Letters and cards are being collected for Dr. Buschman and can be sent to Jovita Baier, 4500 E. Mary St., Garden City, KS 67846. If you plan to attend the celebration, please let Jovita know at 620-276-8286 or email jbaier@ksu.edu. --Jovita Baier
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
This week my picks are a
success story from Peggy Boyd, Wyandotte County; and evidence of short and medium-term
outcomes from Jan St. Clair, Comanche County; and Linda Mirt, Sumner County:
**Lucky Clovers’ president,
Kaitlyn Brandt, collected twenty bags of clothing and toys and delivered the
items to the Help 3:17 Food Pantry. She observed the pantry’s need, then
collected and delivered the items. Earlier in the month, the club members
purchased items such as nail polish, fruit, cards, and combs, which they took to
a nursing home. In addition to the small gifts, they also gave gifts of their
own time - by spending time talking with the residents. The club youths chose the
community project. Through these actions, the 4-Hers demonstrated concern for
community and sound decision-making abilities - Kansas’ 4-H Life Skills.
**Thirty-eight
2nd and 3rd graders made bread-in-a-bag. While working in groups of two, each
child took responsibility to do his part in mixing the bread. Everyone was
able to take home a loaf of bread to share with their family at the end of the
day. Participants learned communication skills as well as skills needed to make bread.
**4-H members practiced public speaking by drawing from items on the
agenda during council meeting and guiding the group discussion concerning those
items. One 4-Her spoke up for the first time in a group session! The youths strengthen
their leadership skills when provided opportunities to participate in a more
informal arena such as council. -–Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
WORKSHOP PRESENTERS NEEDED FOR THE KANSAS YOUTH LEADERSHIP FORUM
It
is time to recruit workshop instructors/presenters for the 12th Annual Kansas Youth
Leadership Forum to be held in November at Rock Springs 4-H Center. This
conference, designed for youth, ages 14-18, will include speakers, workshops,
consulting groups and the election of the next Kansas State 4-H Youth
Leadership Council.
We are recruiting proposals for workshop session
instructors/presenters for Saturday, November 19. Topics should center on
leadership. Some ideas might include, but are not limited to, community
service, citizenship, communications, conflict management, ethics, motivation,
decision making, leading by example, time management, international
citizenship, multi-cultural studies, diversity, business etiquette and getting
involved after high school. The Kansas State 4-H Youth Council members hope
that you will be interested in sharing your expertise or talent with this
opportunity.
The letter and proposal submission information are both on the State 4-H Website, on the KYLF page. Proposals
are due by July 25, and will be submitted online.
Questions can be directed to Beth Hinshaw, bhinshaw@ksu.edu.
--Beth Hinshaw
RILEY COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS ENERGY EFFICIENCY SEMINAR/TOUR
The Riley County Public Works Facility is leading a grant team to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy services to several categories of eligible organizations, including city, county, and state facilities (e.g., police, fire and emergency response, public works); unified school districts and public schools; public colleges, universities, and technical schools; agribusinesses (e.g., dairies, feed yards, grain elevators, grain-drying operations); and non-profit organizations (e.g., libraries, museums, zoos, hospitals, houses of worship).
Resourceful Kansas, funded through the U.S. Department of Energy, is a new program whose mission is “to engage communities throughout the state of Kansas in making a fundamental shift toward a less energy intensive, more efficient economy.” The application for Resourceful Kansas is live on our website, www.ResourcefulKansas.org.
Eligible organizations can attend a one-day seminar in Riley County to receive a hands-on tour of wind turbines, solar LED lighting, solar radiant floor heating systems, and more. The next seminar is scheduled for July 27, 2011, and is open to all eligible Kansas organizations, regardless of location. A portion of the organizations attending the seminar will be selected for a free energy assessment. Be sure to read the ‘application info’ tab and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Seminars will also be conducted on October 26, 2011; January 25, 2012; April 25, 2012; July 25, 2012; and October 24, 2012.
Please forward this information to your county commissioners and county offices and staff through your listserv and personal contacts and continue to visit our website as we add information about Resourceful Kansas, as well as resources for Energy Conservation, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy improvements. Members of the Resourceful Kansas team are also available to speak about the program at conferences or training events, or to provide an article for county newsletters or other publications. --David Carter dcarter@ksu.edu
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