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Cooperative Extension Service |
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Agricultural
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History
Dale Bumpers College
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Cooperative Extension Service
Departments
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Dr. Ivory W. Lyles |
Saturday night was the final event in a yearlong celebration of Arkansas 4-H Centennial. It was amazing! For the Centennial to occur in such a grand fashion, Extension, and especially Administration, must say "thank you" to a lot of people who have worked so hard to make our year's celebration and the gala successful.
First, to our active planning committee chairs, Mrs. Charlene Reed and Mrs. Ann Shult, thank you. They have given many hours unselfishly to assure our success. To our honorary chairs, Dr. B. Alan Sugg and Mrs. Jean Sugg, Agriculture Secretary Richard Bell and Mrs. LaVerne Feaster, thank you for all the work and inspiration. And a special thank you goes to the entire 4-H Centennial planning committee, who provided advice and supported our efforts at all stages.
Thank you to our state 4-H office, especially Dr. Darlene Millard and Sarah Harrison, to our county offices, all Extension departments and our volunteers for making the Arkansas 4-H Centennial Celebration such a tremendous success.
Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Milo J. Shult for his support during this yearlong celebration, and the Communications Department for the wonderful material Bob Reynolds and his great staff produced to support the 4-H Centennial.
Thank you for making it happen.
- Ivory W. Lyles
Employees of the Quarter for the Quarter Ending September 30
Little Rock State Office
Rick Cartwright, Interim Department Head/Professor, Plant Pathology: Rick recently initiated a seed quality research and education project funded by a $180,000 grant from the Soybean Promotion Board. This project will help the state's soybean producers make better seed selections and planting decisions. It has already gained the attention of the seed industry and trade associations across the U.S. Rick is providing outstanding leadership to this project while maintaining his ongoing administrative, research and extension duties.
Paul Ballantyne, Program Associate, Horticulture and Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences: Paul has been a research associate for 17 years and is a true mentor and leader in Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science and Horticulture. His position is split between these two departments. His flexibility and willingness to work the long hours often associated with field demonstrations and research make him a true team player. He has demonstrated tremendous initiative in accepting critical responsibility for projects which support both departments. Paul is always pleasant and accommodating and is a great asset to Extension.
Linda Outlaw, Administrative Assistant, Southeast Research and Extension Center: Linda is a very competent, highly motivated and dependable employee who can be counted on to do whatever it takes to ensure that the work gets done. In addition to her own job duties, Linda recently stepped in and assumed the duties of another employee in her office who was on leave due to illness. She is very well organized, which helps ensure that the office runs smoothly and efficiently. She is highly respected by her coworkers for her work ethic and her personal integrity. Linda is a true team player and a real asset to the SEREC team.
Delta District
Donna Hoskyn, CEA-Staff Chair, Arkansas County: Donna has made a real impact on Arkansas County residents through the implementation of health and nutrition programs, EHC and 4-H. Donna enjoys working with people and helping them better themselves. She is very professional with a strong work ethic and provides overall leadership to all program areas. She has worked with the Partners in Health - Home Town Health Coalition in securing grants for numerous programs to improve the health and well-being of families in Arkansas County.
Felecia Cope, Secretary, Ashley County: Felecia does an outstanding job as secretary in Ashley County. She is very professional and does a great job in whatever task she undertakes. Felecia is very competent, knowledgeable, dependable, organized, friendly and maintains a positive attitude. She is a team player and supports the staff by helping any way she can. She works well in group settings and has lots of good ideas to offer.
Linda Stegall, 4-H Program Assistant, Cross County: In the short time she has been in Cross County, Linda has breathed new life into one 4-H club and established a new club in an area where none has ever existed. Linda likes to have programs planned well in advance, and her sense of responsibility is wonderful. Her initiative is second to none. When Linda sets a goal, she works to succeed. She is a great team player, and her outgoing personality and spirit make her a gifted spokesperson for Arkansas 4-H.
Ouachita District
Sherry Beaty, CEA-Agriculture, Howard County: Sherry is a hard worker. She is dedicated to Extension and to having quality programming available to her clientele. She is an excellent team player and is more than willing to step outside her area to help where she is needed. Sherry has implemented some very innovative programs in Howard County, such as using goats in her IPM program for weed control, and has been instrumental in maintaining the reputation of the tri-county Cossatot Forestry Clinic as one of the premier forestry educational programs in the state. She is the incoming secretary for ACAAA and serves as a committee chair at the national level. She is great to work with and is a well respected agriculture agent.
Janie Garner, EFNEP Program Assistant, Union County: The goal of EFNEP is to graduate 75 homemakers and to work with two youth groups each year. Janie enrolled 177 homemakers and graduated 152 with 25 being carried over for 2009. She worked with eight youth groups during the year, reaching 224 youth. She has 16 volunteers assisting at the sites. Janie recently received the Great Job Award at the EFNEP statewide training. According to the EFNEP State Coordinator Easter Tucker, Janie consistently sets the bar for other program assistants in program outcomes. She was also awarded a certificate from the Literacy Council for working with their Hispanic audience. Janie has a servant's heart and a passion for reaching her clientele with nutrition information. She is hard-working and creative in her approach to teaching homemakers. She loves to cook and always has a recipe prepared for homemakers to taste to accompany the lesson being taught. Janie believes in teamwork. She participates in other agencies' advisory committee meetings and makes herself available to help with county agents' programs when called upon. Janie is an indispensable member of the Union County Cooperative Extension Service office, and we're proud of her accomplishments.
Gwen Vaughn, Administrative Office Supervisor, Scott County: Gwen has character and is very well liked by clientele. She has a friendly attitude and works to make sure each client's questions and needs are met. Gwen works well with the staff in the office. She is always willing to help with any matter that needs attention. She is always available and asks what she can do to help. Gwen takes initiative in tackling problems that may arise. She spots problems before faculty may be aware of the issue. She recommends various solutions to a problem and offers her opinion on which is the best one.
Ozark District
MaLinda Coffman, CEA-Staff Chair, Fulton County: MaLinda is organized, efficient, extremely competent and has an excellent rapport with people of all ages. She teaches good nutrition and eating habits to school-age and preschool-age children. She is in constant contact with teachers to involve them with nutrition programs in their classrooms. Each summer she puts on a Camp Fit and Fun to teach kids about nutrition and exercise while making it a fun and entertaining experience. MaLinda initiated a monthly diabetic support group and offers one-on-one counseling for diabetics. She started a StrongWomen program and taught an aquatic exercise program for people with arthritis during the summer. She coached a group of 4-H'ers for the Food Bowl Quiz at the State O-Rama and led them to victory. MaLinda is a tremendous asset to the Fulton County office.
Sheryll Gregory, 4-H Program Assistant, Crawford County: Sheryll is a very dedicated employee who truly believes in the 4-H program and its success. Since October, she has organized two new 4-H clubs on her own and has worked as a very active member of a team with the 4-H agent on organizing five new clubs, for a total of seven clubs and 63 new members so far this program year. She has increased the number of certified volunteers by 14, recruited 7 new adult volunteer leaders, and conducted 16 school enrichment programs in one school district. She conducted 17 4-H promotion programs (one of which was for the entire school population) in four school districts, which allowed her to make every school district in the county aware of the 4-H program. Sheryll developed parliamentary procedure mate rials and conducted of a mock 4-H meeting utilizing teen leaders as actors in order to deliver the materials in an effective way to members of a newly organized 4-H club. Sheryll is a valuable asset to the Crawford County office.
Karen Shearer, Secretary II, Cleburne County: Karen was the FNEP program assistant before assuming her current position as Secretary II. She is a team player who is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure things get done. She has a great relationship with clients in the county. The Extension Homemakers and Master Gardeners have commented on how helpful she is and how much they appreciate her assisting them with their needs. Karen is a great asset to the Cleburne County office.
Simmons Wins National Award
VeEtta Simmons was recognized September 18 at the awards program of the Extension Galaxy Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, for her SDA Clean Homes…Safe and
Healthy Families Award entry. This award recognizes National Extension Association Family and Consumer Science (NEAFCS) members for their innovative educational programs that help families and individuals understand the link between clean homes and good health.
Because dirty hands are one of the most effective ways to spread infectious diseases that can make us ill, VeEtta developed the program, "Don't Get Caught With Dirty Hands." She reached 325 kindergarten through sixth graders in Crittenden County on the importance of how, why and when about hand washing. As a result of the program, 100 percent of participants reported increased knowledge, 75 percent reported increased hand washing frequency and 50 percent reported sharing knowledge and skills with family members.
– Martha Sartor
Article Coauthored by Tucker Published in August Issue of the Journal of Extension
An article coauthored by Easter H. Tucker, "Improved Knowledge and Adoption of Recommended Food Safety Practices by Food Recovery Agency Personnel and
Volunteers Participating in the Serving Food Safely Program," was published in the August issue of the Journal of Extension <http://www.joe.org/joe/2008august/index.shtml>. The Journal of Extension (JOE) receives 6,576 visitors daily, of which 44 percent have bookmarked the site (entered the site with no referral). Combined with JOE's acceptance rate of 36 percent (rolling five-year average, 2003-2007), JOE provides readily accessible scholarship to other Extension practitioners and lends credibility to this scholarship.
– Anne Sortor
SPOT Ready for Rollout
SPOT, our new Intranet site, is ready for rollout; however, due to end of the year reports, we will delay the unveiling of SPOT until October 6. SPOT has gone through
"Alpha" and "Beta" tests, with county and state office staff trying out the site and providing extremely valuable feedback. Thanks to all who participated. We believe you will find SPOT helpful, and we look forward to making this tool available to you.
– Bob Reynolds
Ballot Issues Materials Available
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Public Policy Center has developed educational materials on ballot issues that will be put before a vote of the public on November 4. The materials, which include fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations and broadcast scripts, are designed to present all sides of the issues while maintaining neutrality. Issues facing voters this election season include three proposed constitutional amendments, one proposed initiated act and one referred question.
Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 1 concerns removing obsolete language from the Arkansas Constitution and allowing alteration of poll worker qualifications. Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 2 concerns annual legislative sessions. Both proposed measured were referred to the voters by the General Assembly.
Creating state lotteries to support higher education scholarships and grants is the subject of Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3. This measure is a citizen-initiated proposal, meaning a sponsor group was required to submit petitions with the signatures of registered voters to have it placed on the November ballot. Restricting adoption and foster parenting is the subject of Proposed Initiative Act No. 1. It, too, is a citizen-initiated measure.
Finally, Arkansans will vote on the issuance of bonds for financing water-related projects, which will appear on the ballot as Referred Question No. 1.
PDF versions of the ballot issues fact sheets can be found at <http://ppc.uaex.edu/>. Hard copies of the fact sheets are also available. To request copies or for more information, contact Debbie Henry at 501-671-2299.
– Lorrie Barr
Will GroupWise Stay or Go? E-Mail Committee Seeks Employee Input
Will GroupWise stay or go? The Ad Hoc Committee to Evaluate Extension's Current E-Mail Software wants to know what you think.
The committee, now in its second month of work, has been charged with looking at the system, which was first implemented more than 10 years ago.
The survey asks employees to say what they like or don't like about GroupWise and how they use it. The survey opens October 1 and winds up October 15.
To participate in the survey and to enter a random drawing for a $50 American Express gift card, visit <http://survey.uaex.edu/COM/EmailUsage/emailusage.htm>.
The committee, appointed by Dr. Lyles, has until the end of the fiscal year to complete its mission to offer a "stay-or-go" recommendation and have that recommendation evaluated by an independent consultant.
Your committee members are Brett Barham, Mark Barnhard, Ryan Francis, Amy Hedges, Melanie Malone, James Marshall, Donna Taylor, Willa Williams, Phyllis McQuany and Mary Hightower, chairman.
Feel free to offer comments to committee members.
– Mary Hightower
Publication Order System Update
The publication order system overhaul project took several years to complete and has received a lot of positive feedback. I do want to thank Judi Shipps, the Information Technology programmer, the Publications Committee for all of their work on this project and those of you who gave us feedback.
Since rolling out the publication order system, we have received your comments and are making a system modification. Beginning October 1, all external customers who ship their orders to county offices will pay for the cost of the publications, sales tax, handling and postage. The postage cost had been charged to the county office budgets. The postage expense for these previous pick-up orders will be reversed and placed back into the county's budgets.
Another area of the publication order system that has received a lot of attention is handling fees. Currently, all publication orders are charged handling. The rate is calculated based upon the weight of the publication. For publications that weigh 1 ounce to 2 pounds, the handling charge is $2, and it goes up from there. Handling charges cover the cost of the warehouse boxes, supplies and labor. We are currently assessing the handling charges when it is appropriate to charge. For instance, handling fees are charged even though publication orders are picked up at the warehouse.
Some may not be aware that if publications can be shipped in the county's dispatch, no postage is charged to the county offices. Dispatch mail is shipped on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the cost to mail is paid by Administration.
Sales tax is charged on publication orders. The UA Division of Agriculture pays state and local sales tax on vendor purchases but not when we internally order from the publication order system. No sales tax is charged on internal orders.
State and county sales taxes are due on all external publication orders, unless the order is placed by a sales tax exempt organization. As an example, all 4-H clubs and the Arkansas 4-H Foundation publication orders are sales tax exempt.
Again, thank you for your feedback, and we hope you enjoy the publication order system!
– Bernadette Hinkle
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