|
President's Message
Theresa Mayhew (NY), President
It's hard to believe we're more than halfway through our 2016-17 year! As they say, time sure does fly by, especially if you’re having fun! To mark the occasion, our Mid-Year Board meeting takes place May 16-18 via GoToMeeting and our agenda is action-packed!
Things are heating up both temperature and Annual Session wise! The Omaha NE tri-liaisons and their committees are working hard to guarantee the best possible experience this October. You can catch their update later on in this edition. A small group of us will be traveling to San Antonio this July to see what AS 2018 has in store for us. And we're working on expediting our "hub city" Annual Session model for 2019 -- we're currently checking out two cities in the Mid-Atlantic states.
I'd like to again congratulate all the PILD conference first timer scholarship winners. I hope you enjoy reading their reflection statements which start appearing in this month's issue. The need for community and civic engagement is more vital than ever. As Extension educators we are in a unique position to help individuals, families and communities tell their stories to their elected officials and we should advance those efforts whenever possible.
Drum roll please! By now you know we have a winner in our Name the e-Newsletter Contest! NEAFCS e-News is now NEAFCS Network! Kudos to Cindy Benjamin of UMass Extension for coming up with the name and to our judges -- Amy Peterson, Carol Chandler, Kathy Olson and Peggy Ehlers -- for paring down the 36 entries we got from 21 members! Cindy will receive a check for $100 for having her entry selected. Thanks to everyone who entered – your enthusiasm and creativity was appreciated! Thanks, also, to Will Ferguson for a vibrant and bold masthead design!
Speaking of the newsletter -- last month's “three” find the hidden icon finalists were Amy Peterson (NE), Hayley Napier (NC), Kathy Dotage(Missouri), and Julia M. K. Zee (HI) -- a three-way tie for coming in second - and Cindy Benjamin (MA) – apparently it's her lucky month! They will have their names entered into a drawing for a free registration to Annual Session 2017.
That’s all for now. Hope you all are enjoying the rejuvenating nature of spring!
Sincerely,
Terri
Back to top
A Look at Your Public Affairs Action Plan
Lora Lee Frazier Howard (KY), President-Elect
The Public Affairs Committees and Vice-President Glenda Hyde implement the Action Plan for Public Affairs. This Action Plan details the work of three committees; Marketing and Communication, Advocacy and Education. Each committee implements and coordinates the marketing, advocacy and education for our association.
The Marketing and Communication committee communicates the value of Family and Consumer Sciences to our communities, promotes our image as Extension Professionals and helps us build new relationships with other organizations. This committee promotes NEAFCS branded clothing and will have NEAFCS Marketing items for sell in Nebraska.
The Advocacy Committee promotes the use of Living Well material, NEAFCS’s public relations campaign. The committee works to provide resources and links to market our Association to other organizations, to NEAFCS members and the Extension System. Members are encouraged to use social media platforms to promote Family and Consumer Sciences to showcase the professionalism and scope of our association.
The Education Committee works to encourage members to participate in educational activities and to coordinate impact reporting at the local, state, and national level. This committee encourages eligible members to apply for the PILD Conference 1st Timers Scholarships and members to submit proposals for concurrent sessions for PILD. Our impact statements for PILD are compiled from the information you submit and are shared with legislatures to promote and educate them about our impact on families.
These committees will meet again to continue their work at the end of Annual Session in Nebraska. If you have an interest in working with them, please join their meeting. You can also join the committee by accessing this link https://neafcs.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&Itemid=272 .
There is a place for you on any of the committees. Choose the one that interests you and share your skills with others to improve, promote, and serve our association. You will not regret the decision.
Each of these committees are an important component to the success of Public Affairs. Becoming active on a committee will enhance your leadership opportunities, your professional development and positively impact our Annual Session.
Back to top
Can we Count on YOU?
Edda Z. Cotto-Rivera (GA), Vice-President Member Resources
In just a few months we will be gathering for our 2017 Annual Session to “harvest opportunities” in historic Omaha, NE. Aren’t you surprised about how fast time flies? I am still looking at my pictures from Montana, and I can’t stop smiling as I remember the great time we had! Next month, registration will open and we hope you take advantage of the “early bird” registration fees. The members of your board and our new management team are enthusiastically planning for a great session! When you register early, you are helping us, and you are helping your association. There are rooms to reserve, meals to plan, schedules to fill, and decisions that need to be made based on the amount of people attending the conference. The whole team is in full force preparing for your arrival!
Are you a first-timer? We are looking forward to helping you have the best experience. Have you been to all of the Annual Sessions since you started working? You will not be disappointed with this one. If you are coming, let us know. We get excited to see your name added to the list! Can you call a friend and a colleague to encourage them to join us? I hope we CAN count on you!
Back to top
Relationships, Relevance, Results Highlights in 2017
PILD 1st Timer's Scholarship Recipient Reflections
Edited by Glenda Hyde (OR), Vice-President Public Affairs
This was my first visit to Washington, DC so imagine the excitement of seeing our capital. Not only were we provided with the basic information in a first timer’s meeting, many enjoyed a fabulous tour of the capital the first evening. An experienced guide gave us historical background, amusing stories, and opportunities to get off the bus and see national monuments. Then, it was “down to business.” We heard speakers with expertise and years of experience working with legislators. They provided excellent advice regarding the best practices when meeting with elected officials. LuAnn Duncan (FL)
This was a wonderful opportunity to network with others and to learn about educating, advocating, and lobbying for Extension on a national level. Not only did I meet wonderful fellow FCS agents, but also got to know volunteers and many leaders in Extension across the Nation. I am now more equipped to share the importance of Extension programming to stakeholders, partners, and communities. I have already begun utilizing my newfound knowledge and skills. Haley Napier (NC)
PILD 2017 was an experience of “firsts” for me. It was my first time in Washington D.C., talking with members of Congress, attending PILD and traveling via the Metro. Through these new experiences, I learned a lot about myself, but also gained more exposure to the national picture of Cooperative Extension. I made new connections with colleagues across the nation and was able to represent community impacts in my state to two of our congressional representatives. Justin Thomas (TN)
Back to top
Innovative In-Depth Sessions at October Conference
Carroll Welte (NE), Extension Educator
There’s more to Nebraska than you think! As evidenced by the 2017 NEAFCS National Conference In-Depth Sessions being offered, Omaha and Lincoln are hubs for innovation and change.
The hardest part about registering for the upcoming national conference in October may be choosing one session from a list that includes Omaha’s Boys Town, First National Bank, The Grey Plume, Metro Community College Culinary Arts Institute, Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and 426 Winery, Lincoln’s International Quilt Study Center, Archrival in the Historic Haymarket, Innovation Studio and the Food Innovation Center.
Depending on choices made, FCS educators will go home with new knowledge of parenting skills for at risk youth; technology that protects bank accounts and credit cards; ideas from an up-scale restauranteur; a nonprofit doing food service job training; having seen locally grown organic products culinary students use; farmers who grew agritourism businesses with pumpkins and grapes. Others will gain insight as to quilt preservation, marketing to millennials, historic redevelopment, food processing and places for creating extraordinary things using extraordinary tools.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a rural or urban FCS educator serving a county or a region, there’s an in-depth session for everyone on Tuesday afternoon from 1 to 5 pm. More detailed information can be found on the NEAFCS website.
The In-Depth Sessions are only a few of many opportunities for professional development and expanding FCS knowledge at the NEAFCS Annual Session, October 16-19, in OMAHA! Nebraska Extension FCS educators are eager and excited to share Nebraska’s style of innovation and change.
Back to top
Meet the Board
Karen Munden (VA), Southern Region Director
Greetings from Virginia! I have enjoyed serving as the Southern Region Director during the past year and a half. I have had the esteemed pleasure to get to know many Family and Consumer Sciences Educators across this great nation. I have also made new friends that I truly believe will now be friends for a lifetime.
My Family and Consumer Sciences story began at the age of 10. I attended a sewing class sponsored by the local Home Economics Extension Agent. She taught me how to cut patterns to make clothing and use a sewing machine. She also encouraged me to make clothes for myself. Thus, I started making my school clothes at the age of 11.
One of the reasons I was so motivated to make my own clothes was I have always been taller and larger than people my age. My mother had a difficult time locating clothing that was in style and in my size. Several adults noticed the quality of my sewing and encouraged me to major in Fashion and become a Fashion Designer. Thus, I majored in Home Economics and Business at Virginia State University to ensure I received both the fashion and business knowledge and skills to obtain a Fashion career. During my senior year at Virginia State I completed an internship with a Virginia Cooperative Extension Home Economics Agent.
After graduation I did not pursue a career with Cooperative Extension, because my main focus was a career in the fashion industry. I obtained a job as an assistant store manager with two different department stores. I turned down a fashion buyer job offer to further my education at Michigan State University where I obtained my Master’s Degree in Merchandising Management. I later worked at the University as the Academic Advisor and Graduate Students’ Recruiter for the College of Human Ecology. During my tenure at Michigan State, I volunteered with the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent in Wayne County, MI.
After leaving Michigan I started working as the College Recruiter for the Departments of Agriculture and of Human Ecology at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). During my tenure at UMES, I also volunteered with campus Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agents. After being away from Virginia for 15 years, not only did I return to my home in Virginia Beach, but back to my beginnings with Family and Consumer Sciences and Cooperative Extension. I have seen our field transition from Home Economics to Human Ecology to Family and Consumer Sciences. Through all these years and all the changes we have undergone, our mission has remained the same; which is helping families improve their living conditions.
I am a product of how we touch peoples’ lives each and every day, by providing citizens with knowledge and skills they can use for a lifetime. Therefore, I am very proud to be a member of the Family and Consumer Sciences nation-wide family.
|
Print This Page.
