Fall Annual Meetings 2013

Strategic planning has been the focus for K-State Research and Extension in 2013. Our Partnership Meetings were a great opportunity for dialog and input on the “WHY” of Extension. What is the central purpose of Extension in Kansas that will enhance our relevance, reliability, and value in the coming year? From that work comes a brief statement that outlines the why and how of Extension today and in our future:

Extension provides practical education you can trust – to help people, businesses, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future. Our focus in Kansas is on solving grand challenges in our state around water, health, global food systems, vitalizing our communities, and growing tomorrow’s leaders. We are Kansas State University in your local community. We have numerous opportunities for you to get involved in making serious progress on each of these grand challenges. Will you join us?

This statement provides focus on our purpose… in solving problems, developing skills, and building a better future for Kansans. It also expresses how we approach our purpose by focusing our work on five grand challenges facing Kansans today and in the future. Those challenges are our water resources; health and wellness; agriculture and food systems that will help the Kansas economy and our contributions to the challenge of feeding the world; keeping communities and neighborhoods vital and strong throughout our state; and to grow the capacity and quantity of leaders for the future of Kansas.

And, Extension strength comes through volunteers and creating co-learning with local constituents, stakeholders, and all who can benefit in being a part of our educational initiatives to make progress on solving those grand challenges. We need volunteers and influencers to engage with us to make the solutions your solutions!

Thank you for Board Leadership! Through the work of a task force, including SEAC members and Extension agents, charged to seek ways to improve the experience and work of local Extension Boards, that task force rolled out a guide for best practices towards Excellence in Board Leadership in 2011. Over half the Extension Councils across the state completed the self-assessment this past year. Thank you!! We’d encourage you to complete that assessment again for 2013 and seek ways to continue to improve your effectiveness as an elected board. Excellence in Board Leadership will help the board focus on the major responsibilities of budget, personnel and program, leaving the daily management to the local office staff. Those who attend a partnership meeting in January will have the opportunity to learn about and participate in activities that reinforce the Excellence in Board Leadership project.

Promote Attendance at Partnership Meetings in January 2014!!

Partnership meeting dates have been set for 2014. They will be as follows:
January 22 in Wichita;
January 23 in Lawrence;
January 29 in Ellsworth; and
January 30 in Scott City. 

All Executive Board members are invited and encouraged to attend, especially officers and any newly elected Board members. These meetings are intended to be across traditional Extension administrative areas. An opportunity to interact and have conversations with Executive Board members from other areas of the state is a bonus the SEAC embraces in this format.

Examples of Impacts through Extension Programming – Local, Area, and State:

• Local unit support for Extension has grown from $18,163,988 in 2009 to $19,192,157 in 2013. That is a 5.6% increase during this period of economic recession. The increase in funding from 2012 to 2013 was 2.4%, which demonstrates continued support for local Extension programming.

• Our organizational structure is changing to allow local units and its faculty to become more efficient and effective in responding to the Grand Challenges, with greater Extension agent specialization and in-depth focused, proactive programming. Five years ago 21 counties had joined together in forming 7 multi-county Extension Districts. Today we have 42 counties now organized into 15 Extension Districts, and 63 county extension local units. Extension’s ability to provide in-depth, proactive educational programming focused across the Grand Challenges remains a goal for all local Extension units.
  

• Water - Watershed specialists made over 3,100 contacts while facilitating and/or participating in over 100 educational events which include demonstrations, field tours, field days, conferences and/or workshops, project management team meetings, public meetings, stakeholder leadership team (SLT) meetings and WRAPS meetings. Resulting implementation of water quality protection practices have documented impacts of reduced sedimentation and nutrient loading in critical Kansas watersheds, while maintaining or improving agricultural practices and economic wellbeing.

• Health - Walk Kansas, challenging teams to walk the equivalent of 423 miles and improve eating habits over 8 weeks each year, has involved 185,300 participants over the 12 years of the program. Documented impacts include increased energy, increased endurance, improved sleep, decreased weight, increased muscle strength, improved ability to manage stress, increased flexibility, lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol, and better diabetes control.

• Global Food Systems - The AgManager.info website averages more than 70,000 visits by more than 25,000 unique visitors each month. Livestock marketing, grain marketing, crop insurance and government programs, and farm management information are the most popular in providing information, analyses, and options in making critical agricultural business decisions.

•  Vitalizing our Communities - In all of the 55 Kansas PRIDE communities, volunteers demonstrated effort and commitment to Kansas communities. PRIDE communities document completing 1,178 community improvement projects, and investing nearly 95,000 volunteer hours on various PRIDE projects and initiatives including examples like parks, community buildings, historic preservation, business development, and health and fitness initiatives. Youth were involved in 93 projects and more than $474,000 were invested in projects through private and public funding.

• Growing Tomorrow's Leaders - Reaching families who have never participated in 4-H is a goal for expanding the positive impacts. As one parent of three new 4-Hers expressed, “4-H has helped me get more involved with my children. It has helped me learn that just because we’re immigrants (to the United States), that doesn’t mean that we can’t go to college.” In 2012 – 71,727 youth, 6,274 adult volunteers, and 2,224 youth volunteers worked together with our Extension professionals to deliver programs, curriculum, and activities towards creating a positive future for our young people.  We know it as 4-H.

November 13 - Poll Everywhere Tool: Sarah Caldwell Hancock and Linda Gilmore

• Promote the training opportunity to community boards and commissions in your area.
• Secure a place to host the sessions that will accommodate up to 25 people and has excellent internet access. Note: if there is a rental fee it will be the host site's responsibility to cover any cost in addition to what is returned as a portion of the registration fee.
• Prepare copies of all the meeting materials for the registered participants at your site. These will be sent by email to you the Friday before the session on Monday. 
• Provide a light snack at each of the 4 sessions for the participants. You will receive some financial compensation to help defray the expense of the copying and food.
• Serve as the on site facilitator/moderator for each of the sessions. This will include managing the adobe connect interface; facilitating the interactive learning pieces; facilitating the questions and comments; providing the evaluation follow-up.

John Beckman                   Mark Ploger                      Nancy Honing

Brian Swisher                    Kurth Werth                      Gary Kilgore (retired)

May 21 - 22 in Hays