It's county fair time! I'm in the midst of county fair activities--one of the busiest times of the year for agents with 4-H responsibilities. There are also summer tours and field work going on. Hope your summer activities are productive and enjoyable!
The coast is naturally air-conditioned so I don't worry about the heat until I have to spend time inland. Last weekend I traveled to Portland and ended up buying a pair of shorts. I didn't have any and the heat was a bit overwhelming for someone used to 65 degrees. The downside of the coastal air-conditioning is the cool wind that blows each day after 10 am. It can be quite rugged watching livestock shows with the wind in your face for hours.
The OSUEA Executive Committee held its summer meeting at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in South Beach on July 6. Discussions focused on preparations for annual conference.
Be sure to nominate people in your community for the cooperator of the year awards. Businesses that have helped Extension over the years can be recognized for awards as well as individuals. President Risser has again agreed to present the awards at the cooperator banquet on Tuesday night, September 14. He really enjoyed making the presentations last year. We'll have letters signed by the President to give to each of the recognized cooperators. Nominations should be sent to Gordon Cook in Union County by July 16.
This year Epsilon Sigma Phi will present their Friends of Extension awards to cooperators and their retiree awards at the cooperator banquet. It is a 1-year experiment. ESP will also be presenting their staff awards during OSUEA's awards breakfast on Wednesday morning, September 15.
There are a lot of staff awards that could be presented to Extension agents, specialists, and certified staff. Check the list on the Awards page of this Web site. Send nominations to Jim Hermes at the Department of Animal Science by August 13. Some awards may not be available any more if no one is nominated. That would be a pity since there is so much good work being done. It takes some effort, but nominating your colleagues is a rewarding activity. It really makes you feel good to see someone receive overdue recognition!
Poster abstracts should be sent to Susan Aldrich-Markham in Yamhill County by August 13. Instructions and the application form are on this Web site under "professional development." Posters will be displayed in Alumni Hall on Wednesday, September 15.
Search for Excellence abstracts should be sent to Janice Gregg in Jackson County by August 13. Again, the application form and information are posted on this Web site under "professional development." Search for Excellence presentations will be made after the Awards Breakfast on September 15.
Brian Tuck and Doug Hart have agreed to co-chair the Funds Committee. This committee reviews applications for funding assistance for professional development or attending national conferences. The next deadline for applications is October 1. Information is again on this Web site on the page labeled "Funds."
These funds grow primarily through your donations and the interest the donations earn. Holly Berry will be seeking your contributions to these funds at annual conference. Look for her at the membership table in the Alumni Hall.
Tom Gentle and Mike Bondi will be collecting membership dues for the coming year on Tuesday and Wednesday of annual conference. Remember that dues can no longer be paid through payroll deductions. Membership forms are also available on this Web site so you could send in your membership dues before annual conference if you wish.
Fred Lundin, chair of the Esprit de Corps Committee, will be providing a free 1-day pass to Dixon Center in your conference registration materials. With all the sitting and eating that takes place at annual conference, we figured that a little recreation wouldn't hurt.
Best wishes to you for a great summer, and I'll see you in September.
Bill Rogers
OAEA News
Eight members were recently notified that they were selected to
share in the $1550 in professional development funds available
through the Manning H. Becker Extension Professional Development
Fund. The fund was established in honor of Becker, a former ag
economist who holds a special place in his heart for the agents
and Extension activities.
Planning is underway for the Monday evening get-together at Extension Annual Conference. The OAEA members are making the arrangements for the meal at the Benton Co. fairgrounds as an esprit de corps function. Many of the former agents will be invited to attend, giving them a chance to catch up the news on the present agents and renew old friendship. Be sure to inform former associates in your area.
The national annual meeting and professional improvement conference of the NACAA will be held in Omaha, Nebraska in September, on dates that mirror the state Extension annual meeting. Several members are opting for the bright lights of Nebraska over Corvallis, including Dave Chamberlain, who will be recognized as Oregon's Distinguished Service Award (DSA) winner, and Phil Hamm, who was selected to receive the Achievement Award (AA). The DSA is the highest recognition for agents with over 10 years' experience, while the AA is reserved to recognize those with less than 10 years in Extension.
One of the key business items decisions to be discussed at Omaha involves the decision to fully participate in the Galaxy 2 Conference in 2003.
Sandy Macnab
Public Relations Committee
The Public Relations Committee is excited about the number of
nominations received for Cooperator Awards. Award winners will
be honored at the OSUEA Cooperator Awards Banquet on Tuesday,
September 14, 1999.
We hope all Extension faculty and staff will plan to attend this function, during Annual Conference, and help to honor the Cooperator Award winners. Without our outstanding volunteers/cooperators, Extension would not be able to help meet the needs of Oregonians. Plan to attend this event and help us honor these outstanding individuals.
Public Relations Committee members include: Gordon Cook, Lillian Larwood, Nellie Oehler, Jan McNeilan, Scott Reed, Sally Bowman, Ron Mobley, and Fred Lundin. Additional committee members are always welcome. Contact Gordon Cook (Union County) if you are interested in being a committee member.
Gordon Cook and Lillian Larwood, co chairs
4-H Affiliate Report
The OSUEA 4-H Affiliate has been busy over the past year on a
number of projects and activities. There are currently 52 members
in the 4-H affiliate. Some of the past year highlights include:
--The Oregon 4-H Affiliate will be co-hosting the National
4-H Agents Conference in Denver for the year 2000 along with Colorado
and Idaho. Pamela Olsen, Doug Hart, and Lillian Larwood are providing
leadership to the Oregon 4-H efforts and will involve many of
the Oregon 4-H staff in these efforts.
--The 1999 National 4-H Agents Conference will be held this year
in Pittsburgh, PA from October 24-28. Jo Ann Mast is coordinating
the Oregon delegation for this conference.
--The programs committee distributed $1550 in grant funds this
year to five county 4-H youth programs for leadership, gardening,
and clothing.
--The Member Recognition Committee announced at the 4-H Spring
Conference the following awards:
These award winners will be honored at the National 4-H Agents Conference this fall in Pittsburgh:
DSA Winner: Virginia Thompson
ASA Winner: Melanie MarshallThe following state awards were also announced at spring Conference:
Education Technology: Debbie Nistler
Education package-individual: Maureen Hosty
Education package-team: Lillian Larwood, Jan Hiller, Mary Lee Wood
Periodical publication: Debbie Nistler
Periodical Pubication Team: Duane Johnson, Justin Staelin-Lefsky
State Assn. Publication: Melanie Marshall
Natural Resources Stewardship: Virginia Thompson
Professional Development: Debbie TracyCongratulations to our award winners!
--The 4-H Affiliate Esprit de Corp committee under the leadership
of Fred Lundin will again host a golf tournament for the September
Annual Conference. Look for more information and sign up to join
the fun.
--Evelyn Brookhyser is the incoming President for the upcoming
year and will begin her new leadership role at the September Extension
Annual Conference.
--The next meeting of the 4-H affiliate board will be August 23rd
at the 4-H Center in Salem. This will coincide with a 4-H affiliate
social hour from 4-7 p.m. All 4-H staff and friends of 4-H are
invited and welcomed to join. Be sure to contact Maureen Hosty
at (503) 725-2046 by August 9th to R.S.V. P.
--Maureen Hosty
President's Report
Sunshine and dry weather are such a welcome change from the long winter!
OSUEA is saving a lot of money by putting its newsletter on this Web site instead of distributing it by surface mail. However, readership may not be high. I hope the e-mail notice I sent out increases this readership. If you have a chance, let me know if you read this.
OSUEA offers many awards each year. In some cases no one is nominated for them. Even awards with significant cash prizes go begging. We all know people who are deserving of recognition. Please take a moment and look over the awards section of this Web site and see if there isn't someone you could nominate. I realize it takes a lot of work to put a nomination together. What rewards do you receive for your efforts? It really feels good to see your nominee selected. Part of our job is building other people up. That should start with our fellow Extension workers!
It may be possible to submit nominations through this Web ite in the near future. President-elect Phil VanBuskirk is working with Webmaster Rick Cooper to see if this can't be set up to facilitate the submission of nominations. Stay tuned.
Speaking of building other people up, one outstanding way to say thank you to the volunteers and businesses that provide significant assistance to our programs is to nominate them for cooperators of the year awards. President Risser attended the OSUEA banquet last year and personally presented these awards. Keep the nominations coming in!
The Professional Development Committee is active and seeking new members. It oversees the poster and search for excellence programs as well as reviewing and presenting other opportunities to OSUEA members. If you haven't been involved in OSUEA before, this might be an excellent place to start! Call Duane Johnson for more information, 541-737-1311.
Annual conference will be held September 13-15 this year. Fortunately, it will not be a split conference with part before and part after University Days. OSUEA's cooperator banquet will be on Tuesday evening the 14th. Our awards brunch, poster session, and search for excellence will be offered on Wednesday the 15th. It looks like there will be plenty of workshop opportunities for personal growth.
Best to all of you for an outstanding summer!
Bill Rogers
President's Report
Greetings. The OSUEA Board had a productive meeting in mid-November. A full copy of the minutes is available on the OSUEA Board page of this Web site.
One of the key points brought out at the meeting is that the Association is saving money by using this Web site instead of preparing and mailing hard copies of newsletters and award information. Last year, the Association spent less than it received for the first time in a number of years. Be sure to check out the information on awards, the Extension Fellowship Fund, and other portions of this Web site. Thanks to Jeff Olsen and Jim Hermes, who worked on developing the Web page, and to Rick Cooper, our very competent Web master.
Be sure to check the membership section of the Web page. Included
is a list of all
those who have paid their dues for 1998-99. Dues must be paid
by December 1 to be eligible for awards. The list can also be
used to nominate fellow staff members for awards. There is a lot
of excellent work being done by Extension professionals, and some
of it never gets recognized at annual conference. Every year some
awards are not presented due to a lack of nominees. Think carefully
about the staff you work with and consider submitting a nomination
this year!
I strongly encourage on-campus Extension faculty to join OSUEA. There are many potential benefits including the opportunity to gain recognition from fellow Extension faculty in Oregon; the opportunity to develop relationships with Extension staff members; and the opportunity to benefit from professional development funds. Everyone is busy and over-committed, but the small cost of OSUEA membership would not seem to be a large burden in the face of the benefits. I must add that some on-campus faculty are members and have contributed a great deal to OSUEA. A sincere thank you is offered to each of you!
The majority of the OSUEA work is done by committees. All committees could use your help. Especially consider being part of the Professional Development Committee this year. It supervises the Search for Excellence and Poster programs at annual conference and has responsibility for raising funds for the Extension Fellowship Fund (awards funds for professional development opportunities). Marjorie Braker, 503-655-8634, serves as the elected director assisting the committee.
Elected directors have agreed to serve as contacts with the
following standing committees:
Marjorie Braker--Professional Development
Irma Sargent--Esprit de Corps
Amy Peters Ruddell--Public Relations
Doug Hart--Funds Trustees
Ginny Goblirsch--either Awards or Membership
Speaking of committees: the Esprit de Corps committee will be planning a special event this year. Ideas include a raft trip, a trip to a dude ranch, and a spring golf tournament. Other ideas are welcome. Contact chair Fred Lundin at 503-325-8573.
Other chairs include:
Lillian Larwood and Gordon Cook--Public Relations
Mike Reichenbach--Funds Trustees
Tom Gentle and Mike Bondi--Membership
Jim Hermes--Awards
Professional Development--a chair is needed (Great opportunity!)
I wish you all a great holiday season and a productive year!
Bill Rogers
The Oregon Agricultural Extension Association is preparing for the new year by jump-starting its national awards in conjunction with the national association.
Already nominations for Distinguished Service and Achievement Award winners have been distributed to members. The DSA is presented to a member with outstanding contributions and more than 10 years of service, while the AA is presented to a member with less than 10 years service.
The search for other awards and special agent training programs recipients will begin after the first of the year, with nominations and applications due by March 15. Last year, Oregon featured a national winner in the Excellence in Forestry category with Derek Godwin. Ron Hathaway and Susan Aldrich-Markham were each selected to present posters at the national conference held in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, Susan's poster was judged second overall at the conference. No doubt Oregon agents benefited from the experience and the ideas gleaned from the poster display presentation offered by OSUEA.
Susan was also a national finalist in the Communications Slide Set category, as was Amy (Peters) Ruddell in the Direct Mail Piece selection.
On the national front, the National Association of County Ag Agents has established an NACAA office and executive vice president position in order to centralize mailings, sponsor contacts and other business related items. Hopefully, this will eliminate the need to try to track down the current president's address or number in order to access the organization.
The 1999 conference will be in Omaha, Nebraska in September.
--Sandy Macnab
1) The Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals
(ANREP) has created a listserv to share information among its
members. You can join the listserv by sending an e-mail to listserv@listserv.uga.edu
and including in the message the words "subscribe anrepnet"
without the quotation marks. Also include in the message your
first name and last name. For example, the message will look like:
subscribe anrepnet Jennifer Savitska. You will then receive an
e-mail message back asking that you reply to it in order to confirm
that you can receive e-mail at that address. Following this, you
will receive a confirmation e-mail that will contain extensive
instructions on how to use the listserv. You can also just reply
to this e-mail with the same information and I can add you. The
whole process can usually be completed in approximately 5 minutes.
2) ANREP has an email address: anrep@arches.uga.edu. Mail addressed
to this address will be forwarded to the appropriate anrep committee
chair.
3) Don't forget to check out anrep's homepage at http://www.uga.edu/soforext/natural/anrep/anrephome.html.
Specifically, we need some votes on when and where to host the
next meeting. There is a place where you can do this (http://www.uga.edu/soforext/natural/anrep/confevaluation.html)
4) Don't forget to print out and send to a colleague the membership
form (http://www.uga.edu/soforext/natural/anrep/membership.html).
A current list of members is available at: http://www.uga.edu/soforext/natural/anrep/members.html
5) Communication in this fledgling organization is crucial. Don't
hesitate to contact any of the Executive Committee members (http://www.uga.edu/soforext/natural/anrep/officers.html)
or Committee Chairs with your thoughts or questions.
--Bob Love
Questions? Comments? Send e-mail to Bill Rogers at William.Rogers@orst.edu
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Updated July 14, 1999