The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 46)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Congratulations and thank you to the 4-H Youth Development faculty, staff, volunteers, students, State 4-H Youth Council, and Extension agents involved in carrying out the many responsibilities for youth programming at the Kansas State Fair. The marketing signs for 4-H around the fairgrounds were great publicity! And, most of all I would compliment the thousands of 4-H youth who had their projects on display at the 2011 Kansas State Fair. The quality of their project work as evidenced by what was on display at the fair was truly outstanding. I can't be more pleased with all the shows, contests, and activities that happened over the past 10 days at the state fair. Thanks so much!
Program reporting. We are wrapping up the 2010-11 program year and beginning the 2011-12. With that, several reports and plans are due into your KSRE On-line System that many
of you have already been working on. Following is a reminder of the documentation that is required into the system by October 1 for our Extension agents:- Local Impact/Outcome reports
- New/Updated local action plans
- Professional Development Plans
- Performance Review
If it is your desire to change Program Focus Teams (PFT), this is also the time to have that discussion and negotiation with your Area Extension Director and Executive Board. Seeing that you are involved with the most appropriate PFT is an important element in effectiveness with your education programs.
I also remind each of our Program Focus Teams that PFT impact/outcome reports are due into the system by November 1. All of these reports and plans are managed through KSRE OnLine: https://online.ksre.ksu.edu/login.aspx.
As a reminder, the document describing the Program and Professional
Development Cycle is posted on the Professional Development Website at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/Employee_Resources/~/doc9406.ashx.
Thanks so much for your diligence in completing your responsibilities in documenting the plans, impacts, and outcomes of your Extension programs. This information is critical in our further documenting to stakeholders the value of this public work we all know as Extension work. Hopefully, your reports in this system are being used locally with your Board, Commissioners, and other key stakeholders to convey the public value they are investing for Extension.
Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
LAST CHANCE: PILOT KANSAS 4-H HEALTHY LIVING AMBASSADOR/OFFICER PROGRAM
This is the final call for being a pilot site for Kansas 4-H Healthy Living Ambassador/Officer program.
Kansas 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors/Officers can motivate others
to be more healthy; they can educate others about alternatives to unhealthy
behavior and support healthier communities. Ambassadors/Officers (individuals
or teams) can also lead health activities, undertake group health events and
improve their community's health.
Selected 4-H Healthy Living Ambassador/Officer pilot clubs/groups
receive:
1. Supply of selected curriculum which may include:
2. Training (on-site, teleconference) and support of the
Ambassador/Officer(s), and adult mentor(s).
3. $350 mini-grant for costs related to club/group implementation
and community outreach.
4. Training for local youth to evaluate the Ambassador/Officer
pilot along with a $50 stipend disbursed to the partner club/group if
evaluation results are received by May 30, 2012.
After a brief phone interview, pilot Ambassadors/Officers will be
announced by September 30, 2011. The first training of the Ambassador/Officer(s) will take place
locally in early October. Participating clubs/groups are also invited to Extension's
annual HealthFest!, March 30-31 at Rock Springs 4-H Center.
To submit the name of your club/group by September 25 to be selected
for the 4-H Healthy Living Ambassador/Officer Pilot, contact: Linda Biles (state 4-H representative to the FCS Action Team), sewandsewbiles@aol.com; or Elaine
Johannes (designated Kansas 4-H Healthy Living Liaison), ejohanne@ksu.edu, 785-532-7720. --Elaine Johannes
NATURAL DISASTERS…. WHAT ABOUT THE ANIMALS? FALL 2011 HUMAN-ANIMAL BOND CONFERENCE
WHAT: Human-Animal Bond Conference sponsored by the College of Veterinary Medicine, K-State Research and Extension, and eXtension
WHEN: Saturday, September 24, 2011, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
WHERE: Kansas State University Student Union & WEB CAST
WHY: Learn about Hurricane Katrina and the Greensburg tornado; find out what may happen to your pets and other animals when a disaster strikes; discover how to be better prepared
WHO: Ms Pam Muntz, Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences, Kiowa County Extension, is one of the highlighted speakers
HOW: Although you may want to attend in person and/or encourage your clients to do so, you may also take advantage of the free web cast.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER (live attendance only): Visit the conference website at http://www.vet.ksu.edu/CE/2011/human_animal_bond.htm. --Debra Sellers dsellers@ksu.edu
A TEACHABLE MOMENT...
Have you ever hesitated to work with
someone different from yourself because of fear of saying or doing the
wrong thing? I have--more often than I'd like to admit. Sometimes it is easier to retreat than to risk
being insensitive or offensive. However, I'm learning these innocent mistakes need
not paralyze me. In fact, they usually become teachable moments for me.
Allow me to share the results of my most recent faux pas. In last week's Tuesday Letter,
you may recall I spoke of the possibility of engaging
with a "disabled youth" or a "hearing impaired senior." Thanks to an
astute state specialist, experienced in working with seniors and people
with disabilities, I learned to use "people-first language" to separate
the person from the disability. Focusing on the person first, now I
will say, "youth with disability," senior with a hearing impairment, or
person with diabetes. This minor change in my language honors their
personhood without ignoring their difference. I was excited to add this
strategy to my cultural competence toolbox; and, I wanted to share it
with you. It's one more step toward our goal of being more culturally
aware as an organization.
You'll gain even more helpful strategies when
you join The Change Agent States Catalyst team at
Annual Conference during the Navigating Difference workshop, October 19, 1:15 - 2 p.m. Be sure to register today. --Nozella Brown nlbrown2@ksu.edu
INVITATION TO EXTENSION IN SW AREA TO CDA
Extension agents in the SW Area are invited to attend a presentation at the Garden City Community Development Academy, (http://www.k-state.edu/cecd/cda/#), called Integrating Technology in Community Development on October 4, 10:45 - 12:00 at the Garden City Community College.
The session, led by Tanner Lucas of New Boston Creative, will help communities think about ways to integrate social media for public communication, and to think about their web presence through websites. In a concurrent session, which you are also invited to attend, the Kansas Department of Commerce will be speaking about the new Rural Opportunity Zones initiative.
There is no cost, unless you choose to stay for lunch! To join us, please contact Dan Kahl, dankahl@ksu.edu, to confirm. --Dan Kahl
COMMUNICATIONS MINUTE: SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON E-BOOK PUBLISHING
Everyone with a K-State Research and Extension eID recently received a
message from Daryl Buchholz containing a link to an e-book publishing
survey. Thanks to the more than 250 individuals who have responded so
far!
If you tried to respond, but couldn't select more than one device in the first question, please try again at the new offering (see new link below.)
If you haven't responded, we hope you will find time to provide feedback on what your client groups need from our
organization. The data collected will help us make decisions about resource investment in e-publishing.
E-pubs
can add value to our programs by providing information in an
additional format that works when a traditional computer and the
Internet are not available. They can be read on an electronic device,
such as a smartphone or tablet. Files are portable, user-adaptable, and
are becoming a technical standard. Disadvantages: formatting is limited
by small screen size, reader software is free but must be downloaded,
and file creation requires additional steps and time.
We
hope you will join us at this year's annual conference technology
session October 18, when we will present survey results and demonstrate
some test e-book publications.
Survey deadline is September 30. We appreciate your feedback! If you haven't yet responded, please follow this link to the survey: https://surveys.ksu.edu/TS?offeringId=183792 . --e-Book Publishing Team: Janie
Dunstan, Linda Gilmore, Sarah Hancock, Amy Hartman, Mark Stadtlander,
and Nancy Zimmerli-Cates, KSREPubs@ksre.ksu.edu
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