Tuesday Letter

The Tuesday Letter

Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

Tuesday, February 04, 2014 (Vol. 20 No. 13)

...Back

IN THIS ISSUE...


Word from the Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research
4-H Volunteer Screening Webinar, February 11
4-H Webinar on Criminal Background Checks for Volunteers
Discovery Days Call for Class Proposals
Webinar on the Value of Public Policy Engagement Programs, February 10
4-H Recruitment Campaign Helps to Increase Total Membership Numbers
Time to Submit Nominations for Our Classified Employees of the Year
Revised Board Leadership Modules Now Available!
Marie's Picks . . .
January Extension Agent Personnel Changes
KSRE OnLine
From the Master Calendar

...Tuesday Letter Archives

WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH

K-State Campus is closed today, February 4, due to the winter storm warning
and heavy snowfall expected throughout the day.
Stay safe!!

State Extension Advisory Council. With the round of Partnership meetings complete, my thanks to all the local Extension board members who gave a day to be with us in a learning and sharing attitude. We also conducted elections for the State Extension Advisory Council. This year we were electing 6 new members, 2 from the Southeast administrative area with one being a 2 year term fulfilling a vacancy, and 1 each from our other four administrative areas. The term is 4 years.

Those elected were:
Southeast: Jay Weseloh, Woodson County (2 yr term), and Brad Carter, Miami County;
Northeast: Diane Gauntt, Geary County;
Metropolitan: Lisa Pfannenstiel-Garrison, Shawnee County;
Northwest: Alane Radke, Midway District; and
Southwest: Richard Poland, Barber County.

Congratulations to each of these individuals, and we look forward to their participation on the SEAC.

I also want to point you to the monthly message from President Schulz dated January 31. Follow this link to his comments regarding social media policy and regarding legislative advocacy. The legislative advocacy is especially important as we move through the legislative season.

Stay safe in these wintry conditions and have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu

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4-H VOLUNTEER SCREENING WEBINAR, FEBRUARY 11

The quarterly 4-H Update webinar for Extension staff with 4-H responsibilities is scheduled for February 11, 2014. The topic will be 4-H Volunteer Screening: Criminal Background Checks. The webinar will be archived for future viewing.

February 11, 2014 , 10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Adobe Connect: http://connect.ksre.ksu.edu

Sign in as Guest

All volunteers working in direct contact with youth will be required to go through the initial criminal background check (CBC) before appointment as a volunteer. After the initial check, a recheck will be required every 3 years for as long as they are a 4-H volunteer. This webinar will review the costs and answer questions regarding the overall volunteer screening process. --Barbara Stone bjstone@ksu.edu

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4-H WEBINAR ON CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS

Extension Professionals with 4-H Responsibilities:

A 4-H Update webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11, 2014, 10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. on the topic of the Volunteer Screening: Criminal Background Checks (CBC). The webinar will outline who needs to go through the CBC, costs, timelines, responsibilities of the State 4-H Office, responsibilities of local units and budget considerations. This webinar would also be of interest to other Extension staff working with volunteers that are in direct contact with youth (Master Gardeners, Master Food Volunteers).

4-H Update Webinar, February 11, 2014 , 10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Presenter: Rod Buchele; Moderator: Diane Mack
Connect: http://connect.ksre.ksu.edu

The webinar will be recorded for future viewing.

As a review, see this message sent on January 15: https://online.ksre.ksu.edu/tuesday/tuesday_letter.aspx?date=21-Jan-2014#6172.

--Barbara Stone bjstone@ksu.edu

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DISCOVERY DAYS CALL FOR CLASS PROPOSALS

We are currently looking for anyone who would be interested in teaching a class at Discovery Days. We need any and all class ideas that you have! If you are interested in teaching an educational class at the 2014 Discovery Days, please click on the following link to sign up today! http://tinyurl.com/Discovery-Days2014

This year you will notice that the class lay-outs have changed significantly! If you have any questions about the following classes please do not hesitate to ask:

Tour - These will be 3 hours this year. We heard from many of you that you would have liked to have had some additional time at each of your locations to learn more!

Super Session - These are 3 hour classes. They will be offered once in the morning and once in the afternoon each day on June 4 and June 5.

90 Minute Class - As their title indicates, these are 90 minute classes. They will be offered twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon both June 4 and June 5. You are welcome to teach once in the morning or 4 times in one day!

Again this year we would like to challenge you to offer a class that relates back to one of the colleges at Kansas State University so that our delegates have a better understanding of what educational path they might take once they get to college. This is also a great opportunity for us to share with many of the departments on campus that 4-H Discovery Days is a vital recruiting tool for them. Class Proposals are due by February 17. --Sarah Keatley keatley@k-state.edu

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WEBINAR ON THE VALUE OF PUBLIC POLICY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS, FEBRUARY 10

You may want to take advantage of the opportunity to attend a webinar on “The Value of Public Policy Engagement Programs.” This webinar is being offered as part of the larger Strengthening Extension Advisory Leaders program. This particular webinar will highlight the findings from a recent study on public value that was published in the Journal of Extension, http://www.joe.org/joe/2013august/a10.php. The study observed peer-learning and networking opportunities as some of the most impactful elements in creating public value. The findings suggest that programming that focuses on collaborative efforts holds promise for sustaining communities.

The webinar will be Monday, February 10, at 11:30 a.m., and is being marketed through eXtension at https://learn.extension.org/events/1429. The webinar does not require any pre-registration, but it would be helpful if interested individuals click on the link to “Follow this event” so that they receive an email reminder for the event.

If you have any questions, contact Eric K. Kaufman, Extension Specialist at Virginia Cooperative Extension, EKaufman@VT.Edu. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu

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4-H RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN HELPS TO INCREASE TOTAL MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS

Great News! The Kansas 4-H enrollment figures show an increase in the total number of 4-H members across the state. This is the first increase since 2009. Comparing local unit membership data from 2012 to 2013, 62% of units showed an increase in their enrollment numbers. We attribute the increase in 4-H members to a number of factors, including the launch of the Life’s Little Questions recruiting campaign, combined with additional efforts from local units to reach young people and their parents at the beginning of the school year.

The “Life’s Little Questions” 4-H recruitment campaign was kicked off at the Kansas State Fair in 2011. The two key messages of the campaign - 4-H is a network of families that grows great kids and it’s for city and town folks too. The campaign encouraged interested families to visit JoinKansas4-H.org and it worked! There was an increase in the number of total inquiries in 2013. August continues to have the highest number of inquiries which shows that parents are looking for information on youth activities for their kids at the start of the new school year. The top units that receive inquiries include Sedgwick, Johnson, Riley, Wyandotte and Butler counties.

Thanks for your commitment to growing the 4-H program! We are proud of the work each of you are doing to bring 4-H to more youth in Kansas. We encourage you to continue to utilize the campaign to grow 4-H. --Barbara Stone bjstone@ksu.edu

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TIME TO SUBMIT NOMINATIONS FOR OUR CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR

It is the time of year to recognize the great work of our Classified Employees but these programs need immediate action now!!

1) Departmental/Unit Employee of the Year Award and Recognition Program ($300)

*The KSRE award nominations must come to the Dean and Director's office from your Department/Unit by February 14, 2014. The direct link to the form is http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/doc16629.ashx.

A committee appointed by the Dean and Director will determine the two KSRE winners to be forwarded to the Classified Senate to be recognized as Departmental Employees of the Year at the Classified Employee Recognition Ceremony on April 30, 2014.

For the award guidelines, go to http://www.k-state.edu/hr/ped/classified-award-guidelines.html.

2) Classified Employee Opportunity Fund - available all year round
- Classified Opportunity Fund Meritorious Service Award ($200)
- Classified Opportunity Fund Personal Expense Reimbursement ($100)

For the award guidelines, go to http://www.k-state.edu/class-senate/awards/award.html.

Please circulate this message in your offices/departments/units and encourage faculty and staff to nominate deserving Classified Employees for recognition.

If you submitted the name of a great Classified Employee last year and they were not recognized, please consider resubmitting their nomination this year, with some new details. --Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu

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REVISED BOARD LEADERSHIP MODULES NOW AVAILABLE!

During the discussion about Strengthening Program Development Committees at Partnership Meetings, we heard from agents and board members at all four sites that additional resources were needed to help members understand the responsibilities of serving on a PDC and how to make PDCs more representative of the community.

Two new (recently revised) resources have been posted to the Board Leadership website that address those needs.

"Program Development Committee (PDC) Orientation" is designed to:

Provide PDC members with information in order to understand the responsibilities of program development committees, and
Understand the responsibilities of expanded PDCs

"Reaching New Audiences" will assist board members and extension professionals in the process of:

Examining local demographics and identifying audiences not being reached
Developing strategies for reaching new audiences
Expanding program development committees (PDCs) to be representative of the local population

Check it out! For more information, contact Stacey Warner, swarner@ksu.edu; or Laurie Chandler, lchandle@ksu.edu. --Laurie Chandler

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MARIE'S PICKS . . .

This week my picks are outcomes and success stories reported by Sheryl Carson, Kearny County; and Jennifer Wilson, Riley County; members of the Community Development PFT.

2013 marked the second year for the Board Leadership Series. In 2012, we had 37 participants at five sites across Kansas. This year the participation grew to 170 participants at 10 sites. The PFT chose to use an approach that involved “high tech with high touch” as the sessions were delivered through Adobe Connect and the participants were hosted at 10 sites across the state with a local facilitator at each site. With the increased demand for this program, two additional 4-session presentations will be offered during the 2014 program year.

**A six-month follow-up evaluation was conducted for the Board Leadership Series. Participants were asked: "How have you used the information gained during the sessions?" Here are a few of the responses:

    “The conflict resolution session has helped us in the board meetings. It has helped us be more tactful in dealing with others.”

    “We took the information back to the board and have tried to implement the information with them. We were happy to find out that we were doing a lot of things right. We get some good ideas about how to get others involved. We do a better job of communicating with ourselves and with the community. We work more closely with the newspaper. We have also had more money/donations come in to support our efforts.”

    “I have been able to feel much more comfortable speaking up at various meetings I have attended. I now feel more comfortable asking questions when I don’t understand something. I now know what questions to ask. It has helped me be more aware.”

    “During the middle of the program I was in the process of putting together a safe routes to school grant for our community. The class gave me the knowledge to develop this plan and hope for the best. I’m a certified grant writer and this helped me focus on what it takes to get this funded.”

**Three Randolph citizens, one Manhattan resident, and one Riley area resident who attended the Board Leadership Series were elected to positions on the city council and school board. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu

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JANUARY EXTENSION AGENT PERSONNEL CHANGES

Marlin Bates, Horticulture Agent in Douglas County, began employment on January 2, 2014. His email address is batesm@ksu.edu.

Mike Deewall, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Comanche County, retired effective January 4, 2014.

Scott Gordon, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Wildcat District, resigned effective January 4, 2014.

Nora Rhoades, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Post Rock District, began employment on January 5, 2014. Her email address is nrhoades@ksu.edu.

Ann Ludlum, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Southwind District, retired effective January 18, 2014.

Jo Argabright, Director/Extension Agent in Rawlins County, began employment on January 19, 2014. Her email address is joargabright@ksu.edu.

Nancy Honig, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Stevens County, began sabbatical leave on January 19, 2014.

Delta George, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Southwind District, resigned effective January 31, 2014.
--Stacey Warner swarner@ksu.edu

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KSRE ONLINE

https://online.ksre.ksu.edu/

Bookmark this URL for access to Action Plans, Impact/Outcome Reporting; KSRE Program Impacts Collection System (K-PICS); Quarterly Effort/Contacts; Professional Development; Agent Performance Review; Master Calendar; and the Tuesday Letter. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu

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FROM THE MASTER CALENDAR

Events for the next 2 weeks. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu

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