The following are just a few ideas that can be utilized to get elected officials involved in county programs by;
* Serving as Honorary Chair of diabetes educational task force or committee that sponsors the Extension Do-Well-Be-Well program.
* Providing welcome at Extension events such as Farm and Ranch Show, Field Days, Health Fairs, Walk Across Texas Kick off event or Recognition Event, 4-H and Youth educational activity, Cow/Calf Clinic, County Dairy Day, etc.
* Serving as Honorary Chair of educational agriculture task force or committee that sponsors major educational event.
* Serving as master of ceremony for the media event that kicks off major educational events.
* Serving as Team Captain or Honorary Team Captain for a Walk Across Texas Team made up of County officials or County employees.
* Serving as master of ceremony for a 4-H achievement event.
It is important to remember, Extension has an unusually wide range of stakeholders-legislators, funders, clientele audiences, and agency partners-who are interested in knowing the quality and effectiveness of our programs (Braverman & Engle, 2009).
Reference
Braverman, M. & Engle, M. (2009). Theory and Rigor in Extension Program Evaluation Planning. Journal of Extension. (47) 3. Retrieved at http://www.joe.org/joe/2009june/a1.php
Content for this post was provided by Ron Woolley, District Extension Administrator- Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Darrell Dromgoole Associate Director-Co. Programs Texas AgriLife Extension Service
District 11 4-H Round Up
I have not had a chance to review the evaluations , however, it seemed to be a successful day as the young people and the leaders were enjoying the event and had a good overall experience. It was good to see many of the agents on Saturday and I was especially pleased to see how each one of you took pride in judging, facilitating and supporting your 4-H delegation from your counties. I also want to thank the Washington County staff for coordinating the excellent facilities at Blinn College. If you had leaders that judged at the event please follow through with a note of appreciation for their donation of time and making our event successful. Also a big thanks to Jodi McManus for her great leadership as coordinator of 4-H Round up. I had a chance to interact with leaders and parents at the event , they had many great things to say about your ongoing efforts in supporting your 4-H young people.