June 5, 2018
When it Rains, it Pours
Before moving on to the Extension portion of this Tuesday Letter, I hope that we all were able to take a break over Memorial Day weekend and honor those who paid the ultimate price while serving their country. I also hope that you were able to spend time with family and friends. We all need to step back from time to time from our professional lives and enjoy a little time off.
Now, let’s get back at it!
Our professional gigs have had more than their fair share of excitement and stress over the past year. It is funny how problems always seem to run in streaks. Whenever one problem seemed to begat another, my mom would always say, “When it rains, it pours!”
While we could use more rain, the expression aptly describes this past year: the cash callback, the budget reduction, Director Floros’ departure announcement, the Hale Library fire, and its accompanying temporary loss of our online systems. In a letter to K-Staters, President Myers explains the Hale Library fire at the following url: https://www.k-state.edu/media/update/halelibrary/presidents-letter.html.
Of course, the fire and the resulting technological problems led to the postponement of the first in our new series of online Partnership Meetings. I want to thank all of our colleagues on campus, at the regional offices, and in our local unit offices who helped to get that message out via two but reliable technologies, the telephone and word-of-mouth. We have rescheduled the online Partnership Meeting for this Thursday, June 7, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. We will be discussing our strategic emphases, the budget outlook, the administrative restructuring plan, and purposeful programming. The connection information has been distributed to local units via email.
Getting back to our recent adversities, yes, we have been knocked around a bit. Whenever faced with a “when it rains, it pours” situation, I think back to the Confucius quote “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” So, once again, let’s pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off, and learn from our experience. Let’s focus on what is truly the most important thing for Extension professionals – no matter what temporary or persistent adversity we face. Let’s focus on continuing to help all Kansans by delivering the great Extension programs they need to improve their lives, livelihoods and communities!