Thursday, October 20, 2011

District 11 Agents Interpret Success of One Day 4-H

Agents Should Plan on Interpreting Success Associated with One Day 4-H

One of the keys to program interpretation is recognizing opportunities to communicate program success to stakeholders when they present themselves. Many times you as a County Extension Agent conduct very effective programming efforts which result in measurable outcomes, then move on to the next program without taking time to interpret the success of the program they just completed.
On October 8, 2011, Texas AgriLife Extension Service provided the leadership in conducting a very effective service project called One Day 4-H through our 4-H and Youth Development Program in all 18 counties in our District. There is no question that this activity will result in tremendous success and agents should make a special effort to interpret the results of their county project. 
The following is the type information that could be utilized in a effective interpretation effort;
  • Number of Projects in the county.
  • Number of 4-H Youth Involved.
  • Number of NON-4-H Youth Involved.
  • Number of Adults Involved.
  • Total Number of People Project reached/assisted.
  • Hours Took to Complete Project.
  • Value of Time Contributed (Independent Sector Value).
  • Number of lbs of food collected.
  • Value of the food collected.
  • Number of care packets made.
  • Value of care packets made.
  • Number of miles of road/beach/park cleaned.
  • Number of lbs of Trash collected or materials recycled.
  • Number of people reached by Educational Projects.
  • Money raised for other organizations.
  • Number of new 4-H members recruited because of One Day 4-H.
Please remember to step back evaluate and reflect on the successes of your programing and use this as the motivation to interpret to our funding partners and prospective supporters of our programs.

Superior Service Award Nominations Deadline Extended to November 15, 2011
 Agent/staff recognition is a tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes agents and staff create for our District/County. When we recognize agents and staff effectively, we reinforce the actions and behaviors we most want to see agents and staff to repeat. An effective employee recognition system is a powerful tool.

 One of the methods that can be utilized to recognize agents and staff is by nominating them for the 2011 Texas AgriLife Extension Service Superior Service Award.

Dr. Smith announced on October 4, 2011 that the nomination deadline for the 2011 Superior Service Awards Nomination has be extended until November 15, 2011.  Guidelines and the online application can be found at http://agrilife-extadmin.tamu.edu/SSA/.


District 11 Ag Retreat Call for Presentations- Due Oct. 28th

In preparation for the upcoming District Ag Retreat November 8th, and 9th   in El Campo,  I wanted to call for professional presentations from Ag. Marine, 4-H, and IPM agents planning to attend the retreat.  Each year we set time aside on the agenda for presentations by agents on information that would be useful to the group in terms of result demonstrations, new or innovative programing, and or results of your 2010 outcome programing.  The presentations may not be limited to Agricultural programing, topics may include 4-H leadership, community and or economic development etc.

The presentation should not be more than 15 minutes in length and must include some type of professional visual aids such as but not limited to a power point.  It is expected that if you have not presented in the past two years, you will present this year.   This would be an excellent opportunity to discuss a topic of your choice that would benefit others in the district.  This would also be a great opportunity to add to your dossier.

I need for you to submit your intent to present to me by email no later than October 28th, please include the topic of your presentation,  I will inform you if your presentation is selected for this year’s presentations by November 1st.  Give me a call if you have any questions. DM 

Program Planning Conferences as success on LYNC

The new process of using LYNC for our program planning conferences were a success. I believe we had good interaction with out having to travel to a central location for at times limited assistance for agents that have done a great job in establishing there plans for 2012. I would like to remind agents that if you have plans that need to be revised due to suggestions from our RPD's and 4-H specialist please complete these by November 1st.  These plans must be completed, submitted and approved by the RPD's by the 1st.  If you need assistance and can not get your plans approved by the 1st  we will encourage you to come to the Corpus Christi Center on November 14th for a face to face program planning conference to finalize your plans. Give me a call if you have any questions. 

County Coordinators please remember to forward me an updated job responsibilities form for my approval by December 1st. 


2012 Professional Development Contract

As you know we no longer have plans and or tasks in TeXas for your professional development activates. Please sign and forward me the contract for approval by the RPD and myself. Please review the contract and select the activities that you will be attending in 2012.  Please mail me a signed paper copy and I will forward to the RPDs for their approval and signature. I need these contracts in by your designated Program planning conference.

As you can imagine it is not easy to include all of the activities, so please add any other conferences , professional meetings , symposiums, workshops, etc.. that you plan on attending during the year.  I have also selected some of these activities and added them to our D11 Extension outlook calendar for your reference.  We can update unplanned activities during the year.

I also would like to remind you that this will be our contract and your investment in your Professional Development for 2012.  This contract will also be used by the RPD’s and myself as a tool to gauge your commitment in developing yourself as a professional educator in your county.Please refer to my email, on September 28th, 2011 for a copy of the contract.