Cooperative Extension Service Departments
Administration
Blue Letter - October 2010 No. 3702

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From the Director • Extension Service Honors Employees With Excellence Awards • Sharpen Your Anti-Spam Skills • Annual Meeting American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Held Oct. 1 • Save the Date • Employees of the Quarter Winners July-September 2010 • Flu Shot Clinic Set for Oct. 29 at LRSO • Who's Reading the Blue Letter? • Certifed 4-H Volunteers to Join Credit Union • Sevier CES Office Moves to Cossatot Community College • Grants and Contracts

From the Director

During September's quarterly faculty conference, we recognized more than two dozen individuals for their achievements in five areas: innovation, issue team, unit team, county team and diversity. We also recognized three individuals whose performance has been outstanding early in their careers.

The innovation award went to a weed scientist for his use of "Web 2.0" communications to help producers fight the growing problem of herbicide-resistant weeds.

The issue team award went to a team of weed scientists, a retired county agent and current county agents and staff chairs in Monroe, Lee, St. Francis and Phillips counties in their fight against herbicide-resistant weeds.

The unit team award went to nine Family and Consumer Sciences Department members and an FCS county agent for their "Adventures in Grandparenting" project.

The Craighead County office won the county team award for having turned a bare acre into a 4- H Centennial Park for use by the local community.

The diversity award recognizes employees who develop and conduct projects or programs that engage diverse audiences. This year's award was captured by FCS agents from Craighead, Clay, Greene and Mississippi counties.

Look at the article immediately following my column for details.

Preceding the annual awards, we recognized three employees of the quarter; county-based employees of the quarter will be recognized during their district meetings. Look for their information elsewhere in this issue.

It was professionally and personally meaningful to watch each of our honorees accept their awards. Extension is blessed with many talented, hard-working and devoted professionals who are driven to make a difference each and every day.

Thank you for all that you accomplish.

- Tony E. Windham

Extension Service Honors Employees With Excellence Awards

The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service honored employees for their innovation, teamwork and professionalism through the annual Extension Excellence Awards.

This year's winners were:

INNOVATION - Dr. Ken Smith, extension weed scientist, for his use of cutting edge communications tools to help growers fight the growing problem of herbicide-resistant weeds.

ISSUE TEAM - The members of the team below earned the honor for their work in communicating the latest findings in the fight against herbicide-resistant weeds. The team was comprised of:

• Robert Goodson, agriculture agent, Phillips County
• Van Banks, staff chair, Monroe County
• Ernest Bradley, agent, Lee County
• Mitch Crow, staff chair, St. Francis County
• Lazaro English, staff chair, Lee County
• Shawn Payne, staff chair, Phillips County
• Bob Scott, weed scientist
• Ken Smith, weed scientist
• Mark Brawner, retired agent, Lee County

UNIT TEAM - This team, comprised of members of the Family and Consumer Sciences Department, created a program called "Adventures in Grandparenting" that provided education for grandparents who suddenly find themselves as parents again. The team was made up of:

• LaVona Traywick, assistant professor - gerontology
• Laura Connerly, instructor - family resource management
• James Marshall, assistant professor - family life
• Wally Goddard, professor - family life
• Lindsey Smith, child care program technician
• Rosemary Rodibaugh, professor - nutrition
• Amy McClelland, program associate - SNAP-Ed
• Kris Elliott, Clark County FCS agent
• Sherry Jones and Katy Randall, former employees

COUNTY TEAM - The staff of the Craighead County office was recognized for its efforts to turn a bare acre into 4-H Centennial Park - a green space used by the community. The team is made up of:

• Branon Thiesse, staff chair
• John McFarland, 4-H agent
• Debbie DeRossitte, family and consumer sciences agent
• Eric Grant, agriculture agent

DIVERSITY AWARD - The Delta District Multi-County Pilot team was instrumental in the "Money Talks" project, which brought financial resources education to a highly diverse clientele. The team is composed of:

• Debbie DeRossitte, Craighead County FCS agent
• Debbie Baker, Clay County FCS agent
• Debbie Still, Greene County FCS agent
• Romona Thieme, Mississippi County FCS agent

EARLY CAREER AWARDS - Awards were given to classified employees, agents and specialists for theiroutstanding achievements early in their careers. This year's winners were Sandra Guzman, program associate in Benton County for early-career classified, Ron Baker in Clay County for early-career agent and Judi Shipps, an information technology specialist, for early-career specialist.

- Elizabeth Fortune

Sharpen Your Anti-Spam Skills

Beating spam requires two sets of skills: 1) being able to identify spam and 2) knowing how to use your e-mail filter to prevent a recurrence.

Spam that "phishes" for usernames and passwords or spreads malicious programs usually comes in disguise. It can appear to be from your bank, a delivery service such as FedEx or UPS or an online shopping portal such as eBay or Amazon. More recently, spam appears to come from individuals with familiar messages such as "Oops! Forgot the attachment!"

We have made high-level changes that have drastically reduced the volume of spam we receive, but as long as there is an Internet and e-mail, there will be bad guys out there inventing new spam.

You also have the power to train Zimbra to keep spam from your inbox. There are two simple steps to strengthen your spam filter:

1. Right click on any junk mail or spam appearing in your inbox.

2. Select the "junk" option that appears on the drop down menu.

Contact the Call Center if you continue to see large numbers of junk mail in your inbox to allow them to review your settings: toll free 866-779-3375; local call 501-671-2255; e-mail callcenter@uaex.edu.

- Sam Boyster

Annual Meeting American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Held Oct. 1

Air quality in areas surrounding livestock production and algal growth bed design were among the agenda items for the 47th annual meeting of the Arkansas Section of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

The Oct. 1 meeting was held at LRSO.

Dr. Yi Liang, assistant professor with the UofA Division of Agriculture, presented "Overview of AFO Emissions and Mitigation."

Dr. Terry Siebenmorgen, UofA Division of Agriculture professor, discussed "Advances in Rice Drying Research."

Ryan "Zak" Johnston, a graduate student at the UofA Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, spoke about "Design of an Algal Growth Bed System."

In an afternoon professional development session, Dr. Otto Loewer, professor at the UofA, discussed "Leadership and Sustainability in the Emerging Chaos: Understanding the Linkages Among Technology, Economics and Societal Values."

- Dharmendra Saraswat

Save the Date - January 7, 2011

Be sure and set aside January 7, 2011, for the 2011 Division Awards Luncheon, which will be held at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Rogers. Employees receiving awards will receive formal invitations in late 2010.

Employees of the Quarter Winners July-September 2010

Delta District

Rose Dearin, Administrative Specialist II, Greene County: Rose has filled the administrative specialist position in Greene County with ease. She attends various in- service trainings to keep up to date on new techniques and procedures. Rose has a very calm and polite manner that makes clientele feel welcome. She is very cooperative and always willing to assist staff with any project at hand. She is a self-starter and always looking for a new project or reviewing information that will be beneficial to her job. Rose makes it a joy to come to work and is a very important part of our team.

John McFarland, County Extension Agent - 4-H, Craighead County: John has been instrumental in forming two shooting sports clubs and has increased 4-H enrollment and the number of clubs in Craighead County. He conducts 4-H ATV trainings at the district fair, assists with the 4-H RESQ program at Crowley's Ridge Nature Center and conducted Operation Military Kids when the 875th deployed to Iraq. John is a team player and assists with agriculture projects when needed. He conducts the 4-H program in a positive manner and is constantly promoting the Craighead County 4-H program.

Ouachita District

Ann Massey, Administrative Specialist, Grant County: Ann has worked in Grant County for over a year. She has a super attitude when assisting clientele and when  working with staff. Many duties this year have been new to her, but there is nothing she cannot do. She is loyal to the staff and the organization she works for. Ann is a team player and a pleasure to work with.

Kathy May, County Extension Agent - Family and Consumer Sciences, Dallas County: Kathy's character is outstanding. She is hard working, dedicated, honest and loyal. She always puts the clients first. She is a team player and is willing to do whatever she is called upon to do. Kathy is full of ideas and is very inventive. She is sought out by her peers for programming ideas. She is reliable, dependable and honorable in her work as well as in her personal life. Kathy aims to please and does. She is very deserving of this honor.

Amanda Watson, 4-H Program Assistant, Columbia County: In the past year, Amanda has started two new clubs, including a horse project club, and is currently working to get two other clubs started. She has also set up an ATV safety training class and conducted an embryology project with Walker preschool. She is very organized, energetic, enthusiastic, dependable and trustworthy. She works with agents and looks for ways to assist in 4-H activities that haven't been assigned to her. Amanda is self-motivated and will look for new objectives to tackle when she has completed a task. She is constantly looking for new avenues to promote or expand the 4-H program.

Ozark District

Nickie Harding, County Extension Agent - 4-H, Crawford County: Since Nickie has been in Crawford County, the number of 4-H clubs has increased 35 percent and enrollment has increased 50 percent. She has worked to increase the visibility of 4-H, as evidenced by coverage in the local paper. She assisted with  the development of a Dairy Skillathon and trained the state winner for Dairy Judging. Crawford County 4-H has won numerous awards for promotion and community service projects as well as top places in the District Broiler BBQ Contest. Nickie is a team player and an excellent role model for 4- 'ers and all the youth throughout the county.

Estela Saenz, EFNEP Program Assistant, Washington County: Estela has made the Hispanic community aware of the EFNEP program. Her leadership skills are outstanding as she recruits, organizes and teaches EFNEP classes like the professional she is. Her demeanor and nutrition knowledge draw people to her. Big boosts to the EFNEP program are the partnerships she has developed. Weekly group classes are held at the Jones Center and at eight Springdale elementary schools where she has taught the curriculum to parents participating in a literacy program in their ESL classes. She is welcomed in homes and conducts group classes for neighbors and friends. She has exceeded her quota of EFNEP graduates through the years and will do so again this year. Her nutrition column appears weekly in the La Prensa Libre. Her translated materials are shared with other program assistants in the state. Our office staff also appreciates her translations. Estela has had a very positive influence in the Northwest Arkansas Hispanic community and is making a difference in their healthy lifestyles.

State Office

Mike Daniels, Professor, Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences: Mike is being recognized for the hard work and effort he put into the Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences departmental review. This was a 10-year review conducted by outside peer reviewers from surrounding land-grant universities. Mike was assigned a difficult task - getting our extension group to put together their portion of the review document. He was instrumental in developing the agenda for Extension's portion of the review, assigning tasks and following up to ensure completion. Comments from the review team were favorable, and they appreciated our strong extension program. The extension portion of the review process went smoothly, thanks to his efforts. Mike should be commended for his work on the review process, which has taken more than a year to complete.

Jo Ann Fish, Purchasing Specialist, Financial Services: Jo Ann is the lead content expert and narrator for the new online course, Banner Basics - Requisitions. She has been instrumental in the creation and design of this new feature of our purchasing training. She participated in several course design meetings, was always prepared with her content and was open to questions. She enthusiastically learned new software to record and narrate the demonstrations of the Banner purchasing screen. She has great hopes that this course will help others gain knowledge in the requisitioning process. Jo  Ann is certainly an asset to Extension with her professional attitude and "can do" spirit.

Buff McCree, Technical Support Specialist, Information Technology: Buff lives and breathes customer service. He fixes problems without becoming one. He is very knowledgeable about computers, cell phones and computer viruses. He understands the various applications for cell phones and computers and remains current in his knowledge about a quickly evolving field. He is indeed the go-to pro when you're looking for help. He is a top-notch employee who strives to find solutions to your technical problems. As a professional, his impact upon CES's mission becomes quite apparent when you need his knowledge, skills and approach in solving technical issues that disrupt your work. Buff is extremely helpful and always wears a smile regardless of the situation. He more than qualifies for this award.

- Amy Hedges

Flu Shot Clinic Set for October 29 at LRSO

Employees are invited to take part in the flu shot clinic scheduled for 9 a.m.-noon, Friday, Oct. 29, in Classrooms 1 and 2 at the State Office. Please bring your QualChoice card. Employees will receive an e-mail with additional details. Contact Lynda Lee at x2055 for more information.

Who's Reading the Blue Letter?

Ever wonder who's reading what in the monthly Blue Letter? Webmaster Donna Rinke pulled a year's worth of numbers - from July 1, 2009, until June 30, 2010. Those numbers have proved intriguing.

The Blue Letter has an international following as well - with visitors from 48 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and South America checking in. U.S. readers make up the lion's share, with 84.15 percent of visitors.

The rest:

•  Russian Federation - 7.9 percent
•  Unknown countries - 2.34 percent
•  Sweden - 1.59 percent
•  China - .85 percent
  

Certified 4-H Volunteers Invited to Join Credit Union

The Cooperative Extension Service Federal Credit Union is inviting certified 4-H volunteer leaders to become members and to take advantage of all the services and benefits that extension employees enjoy. The board voted Aug. 31 to expand membership to include these certified volunteers. The credit union had 1,280 members as of Sept. 3.

For more information, contact Credit Union Manager Kim Wiedower at 501-671-2037.

- Kim Wiedower

Sevier CES Office Moves to Cossatot Community College

Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas (CCCUA) Chancellor Steve Cole, seated on the right, signs Memorandum of Understanding between UofA Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service and CCCUA. Seated with him is Rex Herring, Sevier County Extension staff chair. Sevier County Extension Service moved onto the CCCUA campus on Aug. 19.

Standing, left to right, are Barbara Lacefield, CCCUA; Nicki Dyer-Litchford, CCCUA; Dana Stringfellow, Sevier County Extension administrative office supervisor; Reyna Alvarez, Sevier County Extension family program assistant; Scott Post, CCCUA; Judy Johnson, CCCUA; Terrie James, Sevier County Extension family and consumer sciences agent; and Maria Parker, CCCUA.