The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
(Vol. 20 No. 43)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Extension Agents Hired Since 01 Sept 2013. Have you welcomed all our new Extension agents who have come
on board since September 1, 2013? Following is a list, and hopefully I've
caught them all. If not, please let me
know!
JoEllyn Argabright, Rawlins, Director
Marlin Bates, Douglas, Horticulture
Michelle Buchanan, Midway, Agronomy
Darren Busick, Reno, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Crystal Futrell, Johnson, Human Nutrition
Dale Helwig, Cherokee, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Chaquetta Hessong, Wildcat, Family Development
John Jobe, Riley, 4-H Youth Development
Angela Jones, Sedgwick, Director
Anastasia Johnson, Marshall, Agriculture and Natural
Resources
Karol Lohman, Leavenworth, Agriculture and Natural Resources
JoAnn Long, Marais des Cygnes, Human Nutrition
Laura Marks, Dickinson, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Tressie Mitzner, Graham, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Jill Morgan, Rolling Prairie, Family & Consumer Science
Olivia Moore, Wyandotte, 4-H Youth Development
Jake Renner, Pawnee, Agriculture and Natural Resources Nora Rhoades, Post Rock, Family Development
Aaron Sawyers, Comanche, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Kurt Sexton, Thomas, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Jeri Sigle, Wildcat, Agronomy
Jenae Skelton, Post Rock, Horticulture
Nicolette Unruh, Midway, 4-H Youth Development
Megan Westerhold, Marais des Cygnes, Agriculture and Natural
Resources
As these new Extension agents come on board, I tell them
they have been selected because we believe they will be successful in their
positions. And, now it is up to us to work with them and support them towards
achieving that success. I know all of us have had great mentors and great
support from others. In this case, I hope you are the "other" who
gives great support to one or more of these new Extension agents. If you
haven't sent them a welcome, introducing yourself to them, please do so.
Kansas State Fair 2014. And, State Fair is coming up this week. Remember to WEAR
YOUR NAME BADGES and be proud of your connection to Kansas State University and
K-State Research and Extension. Let the people of Kansas know how much K-State
Research and Extension supports the success of the Kansas State Fair. I look forward to seeing many of you there. And, have
a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
2014 KANSAS OUT-OF-SCHOOL CONFERENCE
Want to engage youth in long-term, structured
learning-environments that address their interests and help develop their
physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills and abilities? Are you
interested in expanding your youth programming into the after-school hours?
This
one-day conference, sponsored by K-State Research and Extension 4-H, Kansas 21st
Century Community Learning Centers and the Kansas Enrichment Network, highlights
hands-on curricula that adapt easily for out-of-school settings. The conference
is open to anyone, including certified teachers, afterschool program directors,
community or faith-based afterschool providers, summer recreation providers and
extension agents.
Date:
October 7, 2014, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Location: Sedgwick County Extension Office in Wichita, Kansas
Cost:
$15 per person (includes catered lunch)
Register online at https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=QTOHNlEkzef0jUuQZqBCVA#. For questions, please contact Beth Drescher, drescher@ksu.edu. --Beth Drescher
PREPARE KANSAS REGISTRATION CLOSES SEPTEMBER 6
There is still time to register! All K-State Research and
Extension employees are invited to participate in the 2014 Prepare Kansas online
financial challenge. The challenge runs through the month of September. Registration
closes September 6.
Prepare Kansas is a new K-State Research and Extension
online financial challenge designed to help individuals and families be better
prepared ahead of disasters which can ease recovery. The program focuses on a
few activities every week during September, including Developing a Household
Inventory; Reviewing Your Insurance Coverage; Putting Together a Grab-and-Go
Box; and Tips for After the Disaster.
How the Prepare Kansas online financial challenge works:
-Individuals register to participate but the weekly
challenge activities can be completed by individuals, families or at work sites.
-Register at http://bit.ly/1pwiiFE.
-Weekly challenge tasks are sent via
email to participants on Mondays and are also posted on the blog at https://blogs.k-state.edu/preparekansas/.
-Participants report their progress online
when prompted via email to do so.
-Prepare Kansas starts on September 1
and ends on September 30.
Questions? Please contact Jamie Rathbun, jrathbun@ksu.edu; or Elizabeth Kiss, dekiss4@ksu.edu. --Elizabeth Kiss
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR CAREGIVERS TRAINING
Powerful Tools for Caregivers Leader Training will be offered again October 2nd and 3rd in Salina. The location will be the American Ag Credit office. Cost for this training will be $150 which includes license fee, Caregiver Helpbook and Dollmaker DVD. Participants will need to cover their own meals, mileage and motel room.
Evidenced-based program, Powerful Tools for Caregivers, leader
training will be offered in Kansas to interested agents. The 6-week PTC class has been shown to have a
positive impact on caregiver health for a diverse group of caregivers including
rural, ethnic minorities, adult children
of aging parents, well-spouses/partners, caregivers at differing stages of
their caregiving role, living situations, financial and Educational
backgrounds.
PTC is based on the highly successful Chronic Disease
Self-Management Program developed by Dr. Kate Lorig and her colleagues at
Stanford University. PTC is a national program sustained by extensive collaborations with community-based
organizations.
For further information, contact Christine McPheter, 620-873-8790, cmcphete@ksu.edu; or Kathy Lupfer Nielsen, 785-524-4432, knielsen@ksu.edu; by September 24 if you would like to attend this training. --Kathy Lupfer Nielsen
KANSAS ADOLESCENT HEALTH COMMUNITY INPUT SURVEY - COMPLETE IT AND SHARE IT
K-State Research and Extension, with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Bureau of Family Health, is gathering information about adolescent health needs and local solutions.
If you live in Kansas and are over the age of 13, please complete the brief survey. The results of this anonymous survey will tell us what Kansans think are the health needs of adolescents and what could be done about them.
When you submit the online survey your identity will not be known, and you will not receive additional communication from Kansas State University research team members. Once you have taken it, share the survey links with everyone over the age of 13 in your communities. We want to have at least 1,500 responses from Kansans by the middle of September!
Log on now at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/KAHNA6X22VB2 (English version)
www.surveymonkey.com/s/GXTNWGW (Spanish version)
For more information, contact Elaine Johannes, School of Family Studies and Human Services, ejohanne@ksu.edu, 785-532-7720. --Elaine Johannes
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
This week my picks are outcomes and success stories from Linda Beech, Ellis County:
Two very successful estate planning workshops were held in Hays and Hoxie
in March on the theme “Preserving the Family with Estate Planning.” Attendance
was about 40 at the Hoxie workshop, and nearly 60 in Hays. The workshops were
planned by a group of NW Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agents and included two attorneys and
three Extension experts speaking on estate planning basics, family
communication, transfer of non-titled personal property, charitable estate
planning and farm transition estate planning. Two grants plus a number of local
sponsors supported the workshops.
Outcomes:
Of those who completed the closing evaluation, participants
agreed or strongly agreed that because of this program:
* 97% understood the importance of positive
and effective communication when talking with family about estate planning.
* 95% intended to review beneficiaries on financial accounts.
* 95% intended to create or review their wills or trusts.
* 92% intended to talk with their family about estate planning
issues.
* 90% intended to identify meaningful personal
property and how it might be distributed.
* 89% were aware of options for charitable giving through
estate plans.
Follow-up Success Story:
My husband knows the Planned Giving Officer for the
Salvation Army of KS-MO who is based in Kansas City, but who works much of the
northern part of the state. During a recent visit to Hays, he told my husband
about this visit to a local donor--while telling the lady about the benefits
of using her IRA for charitable giving, she smiled and said, "Yes, I
understand that. I learned about that at a seminar last week." When
questioned about what kind of seminar she'd attended, she replied, "It was
an estate planning program put on by Extension." As a result of our Estate
Planning workshop, an Ellis County lady had learned something specific about
charitable giving, she could relate that the information came from Extension,
and she was applying her knowledge with a charity she supports. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY GLOBAL CAMPUS OFFERING ITS FIRST MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSE: HEALTH AND WELLNESS 101
As access to information on the Internet has increased, so has access to
education.
Kansas
State University Global Campus is launching its first massive open online course,
or MOOC, titled Health and Wellness 101: Everyday Small Changes. This free
online course teaches the small, realistic changes that can be made in daily
lives to improve health, physical fitness and overall well-being. The first cycle of the course is taught
October 6 to November 15, with content remaining open to students until December 12.
The
popularity of massive open online courses, which allow access to online courses
without the tuition, has been growing steadily.
"MOOCs can reach people anywhere around the world in an
efficient and asynchronous manner, making them ideal for outreach education in
ways the traditional classroom can't achieve," said Linda Yarrow,
assistant professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University.
When Diana Wilson, a registered dietitian and Kansas State
University alumna, expressed interest in offering a massive open online course,
she and Yarrow started investigating how to make it happen. Yarrow led the
development team for the course and will teach its first cycle this fall. As an
experienced instructor of online classes through K-State Global Campus, she always
looks for new and entertaining ways to educate people.
"K-State does not currently have a MOOC, so this is a new
concept for many people," Yarrow said. "K-State Global Campus got
excited about the idea of exploring new ways to educate and supported us in the
startup."
Health
and Wellness 101 includes six modules containing fun, engaging activities, including
videos and interactive games. It also uses message boards for student
communication and weekly real-time chats with a registered dietitian to discuss
how students can apply what they are learning to their own lives. Topics
include meal planning, healthy cooking, body image, physical activity,
substance abuse, stress management and other helpful information for living a
healthy lifestyle.
Yarrow says the massive open online course process encourages
instructors to be creative and innovative in their educational offerings and
presents the opportunity to make a positive difference on a global scale.
"Developing a Health and Wellness MOOC with the potential of
improving lives and health outcomes for all individuals clearly meets the
mission of both K-State and the university's human nutrition department: To discover,
disseminate and apply knowledge to promote improved food choices, nutritional
status and well-being of people," Yarrow said. "We are very excited
about the future possibilities and the opportunity to continue to promote
K-State in a unique way via MOOCs."
To find out more about this course or to register, visit
http://global.k-state.edu/health4you.--Linda Yarrow, 785-532-7177, lyarrow@k-state.edu
AUGUST EXTENSION AGENT PERSONNEL CHANGES
Frank Swan, Director in Stanton County, retired effective August 2, 2014.
Roberta “Robin” Reid, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in River Valley District, transferred to the Agricultural Economics Department, effective August 10, 2014.
Dusti Betts, Livestock Production Agent in Midway District, transferred from 4-H Youth Development in Midway District, effective August 18, 2014.
Jeff Wilson, Director in Stanton County, transferred from Director in Hamilton County, effective August 18, 2014.
--Stacey Warner swarner@ksu.edu
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