|
|
Cooperative Extension Service |
 |
|
|
|
|
Agricultural
Experiment Station |
|
|
|
|
|
History
Dale Bumpers College
|
Cooperative Extension Service
Departments
|
|
|
|
Dr. Ivory W. Lyles |
None of us has escaped the rising prices at the grocery store and the gas pump. In addition to the usual stresses of work and family life, we're all trying to keep that balance while being squeezed by tighter and tighter home budgets.
The good news is that our Cooperative Extension Service offers help for coping with financial stress. Our own Laura Connerly, an instructor in family resource management, offers these tactics for managing our money while facing an economic slowdown:
However, if financial stress becomes overwhelming, the Arkansas Employee Assistance Program can help. "We talk to folks about what their pressures are and help them with prioritizing, coming up with alternatives," said Margaret Morgan, operations manager for AEAP. "We know that when people experience financial difficulties, those stressors can impact other areas of their lives, such as health, sleep, relationship and work performance."
"Sometimes, people have gotten stuck looking at things one way and can be helped by looking at the situation from different sides," she said. "For some folks who have gotten into financial trouble, we refer them to a true nonprofit for consumer credit counseling.""
For more information about the Arkansas Employee Assistance Program, call toll-free 800-542-6021 or 501-686-2576, or visit www.uams.edu/eap/.
- Ivory W. Lyles
Employees of the Quarter for the Quarter Ending June 30, 2008
Little Rock State Office
LaVona Traywick, Assistant Professor- Gerontology, Family and Consumer Sciences: LaVona's initiative and flexibility has been evident as she assumed responsibility for health programs along with her primary responsibility for gerontology programs. As a result of a retirement in Family and Consumer Sciences, LaVona assumed responsibility for the Extension health program, including leadership of the Body Walk program. She is a team player who is supportive of the state staff, has developed an excellent rapport with county agents and works well with her peers at the state and regional level. She exhibits all the characteristics of an extension professional, including resourcefulness, a strong work ethic, honesty and integrity. LaVona is a very positive influence in Family and Consumer Sciences.
Wanda Curry, 4-H Environmental Education Program Technician, 4-H Youth Development: For the past year Wanda has taken on extra responsibilities. She has gone from co-coordinator to sole coordinator of the Science Enrichment Education for Kids (SEEK) program and has been interim Responsible Environmental Stewardship Quest (RES-Q) coordinator. She has ensured that RES-Q is well organized during this interim period of several months without a coordinator. She has streamlined the SEEK registration process and made it more effective for today's phone/computer generation. Wanda is always kind and helpful and a real team player.
Angela Stacy, Accountant, Financial Services: Angela has assumed extra responsibilities in the post-award grants office since the resignation of Sheryl Baker. Because of her understanding of grants and contracts, she has been assigned the task of reviewing projects and approving them for the sponsored projects office. She is also training a new accountant in her section as well as carrying out her regular duties, which include assisting primary investigators with paperwork, explaining charges and answering questions concerning proper expenditures related to grant funds. Angela is very dependable, with a strong work ethic and positive attitude, and is a real asset to her department.
Delta District
Debbie Baker, CEA-FCS, Clay County: Debbie Baker is an innovative educator who has developed programs that have garnered statewide notice. Debbie's "Money for Seniors" is a one- day seminar on responsible resource management for high school seniors. She also developed a Nutrition Walk-Through for upper elementary students who participated in the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program, an idea that has been expanded to "Nutrition Week," which has become a new FSNE model for the state. Debbie has implemented five Strong Women classes and, additionally, she has taught Right Bite Cooking School for people with diabetes and worked with diabetes support groups. Her contributions to the Delta District Multi-County Team are invaluable. Debbie's work ethic, creativity and pursuit of excellence is worthy of notice.
Diane Cunningham, AOS, Monroe County: Diane has been with Extension more than 30 years. She has served on numerous committees, including a committee to create a new evaluation system for classified staff and the planning committee for the state support staff training. She is also an EEO counselor for Extension. She is an active member of Chi Epsilon Sigma and has served in many leadership roles within the organization. She works very well with members of the county staff and performs above and beyond what is expected. She is also an elected alderman for the Clarendon City Council. Diane has impeccable character and is always friendly, helpful and welcoming, as evidenced by the many compliments she has received from clientele and county leaders.
Mary Ann Shaver, Program Assistant, EFNEP: Mary Ann has an enrollment of 142 EFNEP adult homemakers for 2008 - twice the expected enrollment. Eighty-three of these have already completed the program, and 55 are currently working towards graduation. One-hundred percent of these graduates showed improvement in food resource management practices and nutrition practices, while 94 percent showed improvement in food safety practices. She also teaches five EFNEP youth groups with a total enrollment of 109 youth. She helps initiate and establish new groups and then shares the opportunity with other PAs rather than lose the chance to reach more with EFNEP lessons. Mary Ann creates a pleasant and positive work environment and is a valuable resource to her community, county EFNEP program and Extension.
Ouachita District
Terrie James, CEA-FCS, Sevier County: Terrie is very active in community organizations and plays an important part in Sevier County Coalition on health issues. She likes working with the people in the county and helping them to better themselves. She has been active in reaching out to the Hispanic population in all programs but especially in 4-H and nutrition. Terrie is always looking for opportunities to get information to the public.
Glenda McDonnel, Secretary I, Garland County: Glenda is always looking for ideas and ways to make the Garland County Extension Office work more efficiently and cost-effectively. She has taken the initiative to create a web page for the Garland County Arts and Crafts Committee as well as set it up on the Internet. Within a week, this web page had received over a hundred hits. Glenda is always offering to help in any capacity, and there is no job in her county office she will not tackle.
Ozark District
Carroll Prewett, County Extension Agent, Staff Chair: Carroll has a very straightforward, honest approach to Extension work and works hard to keep the county office running smoothly. During his tenure in Izard County, he has developed an educational program in beef and forages that is well respected. He enjoys advising farmers regarding forages and cow-herd operations. He is very involved in the local Master Gardener program and has been assisting the Melbourne Farmers' Market with applying for a grant to get the Melbourne Farmers' Market active for this growing season. He is working with Elena Garcia on an apple orchard project at the Arkansas Department of Corrections in Izard County. Carroll is a true asset to Extension.
Annette Brasel, Secretary II, Newton County: Annette handles her office management duties with an enthusiastic intensity and a cheerful attitude. She is an excellent team player, who goes above and beyond to ensure the success of a county program or activity. She strives to see that all staff complete appropriate paperwork, answer clientele requests and meet deadlines in a timely manner. She has a very good character and is well-respected by the clientele in the county. Annette is a valuable asset to Newton County.
Arkansas FSNE Receives Regional Award
The Arkansas Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) program received the Southwest Region Excellence in Nutrition Education award from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. The Arkansas FSNE program is a partnership between the Arkansas Department of Human Services, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and the UAPB Extension Program. According to USDA, this award focuses on quality standards for program and fiscal integrity as well as effectiveness in administration of Food Stamp Nutrition Education.
Criteria for the award include clarity of goals and objectives, timeliness and innovation. Special consideration is given to those programs that document positive behavior changes. Effective community collaborations and partnerships complete the award criteria.
The UACES FSNE program provides nutrition, food safety and food resource management education to food stamp participants and those eligible for food stamps in all 75 counties. Congratulations to all involved in the FSNE program.
- Rosemary Rodibaugh
NEAFCS-AR Officers for 2008-2009 Installed
The 2008-09 officers of NEAFCS-AR Affiliate were installed at the business meeting held on June 11, 2008, at Hot Springs. The theme for the installation was spices and was conducted by Alberta James, Ouachita District director. New officers are Robbie McKinnon, president-elect; Jane Newton, secretary; Linda Chappell, treasurer; Mary Ann Kiser, treasurer-elect; Katie Cobb, vice president for professional development; LaVetta Davis, vice president for awards and recognition; Janet Perkins, vice president for member resources; Joy Buffalo, president and Susan Pickle, past president and vice president for public affairs.
- Susan Pickle
Turf Field Day Scheduled on August 6
The University of Arkansas turf field day will be held on August 6, 2008, in Fayetteville at the Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
The turf field day provides individuals the opportunity to hear the latest up-to-date information about new products and research studies as well as providing an opportunity to network with others in the turf industry and visit with vendors at the trade show. Turfgrass research tours are available for those in golf and lawn care/landscaping, as well as those working with sports turf. Lunch, a hat and an information packet are provided. Exhibitors from the turfgrass industry will be present at the trade show. An afternoon program on handling pesticides is also available for pesticide recertification training. More information is available at http://turf.uark.edu.
- Aaron Patton
Kulkarni Attends Cotton Gin School
Subodh Kulkarni, program associate, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, attended the Stoneville Ginners School offered by the Southern Cotton Ginners Association in association with USDA-ARS at Stoneville, Mississippi, June 17-19, 2008. He was oriented to educational activities in which he would be actively engaged in the near future. He collaborated with research scientists in USDA- ARS, with a primary focus on cotton gin waste handling and its utilization. The school included demonstrations of cotton ginning in the USDA/ARS Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory at Stoneville and a series of lectures by various faculty in the cotton ginning industry.
- Subodh Kulkarni
Bioenergy Awareness Days II
Dr. Samy Sadaka, Extension biological systems engineer, and a UA Division of Agriculture team, which also included Dr. Julie Carrier and Dr. Pengyin Chen, presented posters at the Bioenergy Awareness Days II in Washington, D.C., June 18-22.
The UA team presented six posters covering feedstock, sustainability, value-added aspects of co-products, thermochemical and forestry.
The UA Division of Agriculture received a certificate of appreciation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary of Research, Education and Economics Dr. Gale A. Buchanan and Undersecretary for Rural Development Dr. Thomas C. Dorr.
- Samy Sadaka
Publications at Your Fingertips
With much anticipation, the new publications system went live in May, culminating two years of work by the Publications Committee chaired by Bernadette Hinkle. The new online system, available at http://pubs.uaex.edu/pubsWebuser.asp, gives both clientele and employees one point of access to order or download publications.
Features include:
As orders are processed, the print shop, warehouse and financial services receive notices to help speed the order to the customer. The new system offers improved service to our clientele and to you, providing the convenience to order publications available from Extension wherever there is Internet access.
- Nina Boston
Grants and Contracts
| Project Title | Award Amount | Principal Investigator | Granting Agency |
| Pest Detection, Exotic Cotton Pest | $7,850.00 | Gus Lorenz | USDA, APHIS, PPQ |
| Pest Detection Soybean Commodity Survey | $29,336.00 | Gus Lorenz | USDA, APHIS, PPQ |
| Soybean Weed Control | $69,227.00 | Bob Scott | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Soybean Verification | $100,017.00 | Jeremy Ross | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Soybean Diseases | $57,140.00 | Richard Cartwright | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Technology Transfer-Ashlock | $4,534.00 | Jeremy Ross | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Soybean-Soil/Nutrition Management | $28,527.00 | Leo Espinoza | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Soybean-Irrigation | $25,000.00 | Phil Tacker | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Investigating Emerging Production Recommendations for Sustainable Soybean Production | $85,041.00 | Jeremy Ross | Soybean Promotion Board |
| State-Wide Monitoring of Soybean Rust and Other Diseases | $73,107.00 | Scott Monfort | Soybean Promotion Board |
| State-Wide Monitoring of Soybean Rust and Other Diseases | $19,984.00 | Jeremy Ross | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Assessment of Soybean Varieties for Reaction to Salt Toxicity and Aerial Blight Disease, and Evaluation of Fungicides to Control Aerial Blight | $49,625.00 | Richard Cartwright | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Evaluation to Determine Three-cornered Alfalfa Hopper Recommendations for Full Season and Double-Crop Soybean Production in Arkansas | $16,560.00 | Gus Lorenz | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Value of Soybean Seed Treatments for Plant Health and Yield Response in Fields with Multi-Pest Pressures | $15,743.00 | Scott Monfort | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Value of Soybean Seed Treatments for Plant Health and Yield Response in Fields with Multi-Pest Pressures | $4,160.00 | Gus Lorenz | Soybean Promotion Board |
| Evaluation of Delta Geographic Concentration Project | $35,583.00 | Deborah Tootle | Mississippi State University |
|
Total |
$621,434.00 |
|
© 2006 |
|
|
University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture |
Mission
•
Disclaimer
•
EEO
•
|
Printer Friendly
