January and February 2008 ESP Newsletter; Edition Number 109
Epsilon Sigma Phi The Extension Professionals' Organization
Opportunities for Professional Development, Service, and Leadership
Duane P. Johnson, President
As we begin the 2008 year it is an excellent time to reflect on some of the opportunities we have in ESP for our professional and personal development. Epsilon Sigma Phi and JCEP have planned some excellent training programs you are encouraged to consider in 2008.
The first is the Regional JCEP Leadership Workshops in Orlando, February 5-7 and in San Diego, February 20-22. The highlighted program will be "Reaching All Generations in Your Extension Efforts." This workshop will highlight some of the characteristics and values of these diverse learners and identify emerging tools and techniques that can be used by Extension to reach and engage them more effectively. Annette Bjorklund, Associate Professor, 4-H Youth Development Educator and Beverly Stencel, Professor, Community Resource Development Educator, UW-Extension, Washburn County, will be the presenters.
Jerold R. Thomas, Ph.D., Director, OSU Extension Center at Lima, Ohio State University Extension will then present "Emerging Technology and its' use in Reaching Extension's Diverse Generational Audience." This workshop will introduce and discuss technology appropriate for each audience. It will focus on the application of these tools and how they can be used to make the life of Extension professionals easier and expand our outreach to our clientele.
In addition, Extension professionals will have the opportunity to participate in leadership workshops being planned by each of the National Extension Professional Associations.
These workshops are open to all Extension Professionals. Information on registration and housing is available on the JCEP website http://www.jcep.org.
Another opportunity is the Public Issues Leadership Development Conference (PILD), sponsored by JCEP, which will be held April 28-30 in Arlington, VA. The PILD Conference Highlights include learning about: connecting the capitol and the community; public issues partnerships with USDA-CSREES, federal agencies and non-profits; how to communicate with public decision makers, and interact with your members of Congress during "Day on Capitol Hill." In addition, ESP is sponsoring some special events for ESP members. Registration and Conference information is available on the JCEP website.
ESP is encouraging all members to consider making application to serve on one of the National ESP Committees in 2009. We are especially looking for new Extension professionals, mid-career professionals and life members. Nominations/applications are due April 1. The form and additional information regarding the committees can be found on the ESP website http://espnational.org. Selected committee members will begin their term during The Galaxy Conference in September. ESP provides a travel stipend for their committee members. You can make a difference through participation in the National ESP Committees. Please give this serious consideration.
The Member Services Committee encourages chapter members to consider applying for a Professional Development Mini-Grant.
Epsilon Sigma Phi through the ESP Development Fund, will provide up to four (4) grants not to exceed $1,000 each, regardless of region. The purpose of the mini-grant opportunity is to stimulate the professional development of Extension faculty. The grant application should completely describe the project which could be replicated or adapted by other ESP chapters and include a budget. Examples of recently funded mini-grants include: Mentoring-A Professional Responsibility; Kenya Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship Project; Citizen Board Development: Part 2-Citizen Board Development Training Enhances Understanding of Change, Conflict and Leadership for Extension Professionals. ESP members interested in applying for a mini-grant can find the information on the ESP website: (National Organizational Handbook, Section E, Pages 3 & 4) and an application (in the Forms Section of the website or Page 34 of the Handbook).
The applications are due February 1 to the National ESP Executive Director. If not all 4 grants are awarded, there is a second due date of August 1, which will be announced. Selection recommendations will be made by the Member Services Committee to the Epsilon Sigma Phi National Board.
We look forward to reviewing many mini-grant applications!
Membership Recruitment and Retention Committee
2008 is a year of new beginnings. Get creative and make this year a year of excitement and enthusiasm for ESP. The Membership Recruitment and Retention Committee offers chapters the following checklist for strengthening chapter membership:
We want you to investigate your membership potential and send this information to the national office. Here are the membership categories:
Annual Member. An Extension professional (currently employed by or retired from an entity of the Cooperative Extension System) who has exhibited excellence in programming and leadership.
Member-At-Large. An individual meeting the above qualifications, but located where there is no affiliated chapter.
Life Member. Members who are retired from the Cooperative Extension System, may obtain a paid- up life membership by paying an amount equal to five times the annual dues at the time of the purchase of paid-up life membership.
The North American Association of Environmental Education's (NAAEE) 36th Annual Conference was held in Virginia Beach during November 2007. The conference was attended by over 1,300 people from the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Africa and Japan. Over 300 presentations, workshops, field trips, symposia, round table discussions and documentary films were used to help actualize the theme of the conference "Come to the Coast : explore new horizons for environmental education." There were seven conference strands which afforded an opportunity to delve into community and conservation education; environmental justice and cultural history; fundraising and leadership development; marine education; service learning; sustainability education; technology and Environmental Education (EE). I took part in a day-long training in evaluation of EE programs led by a faculty member from the University of Minnesota at Duluth, which I highly recommend.
Many of conference activities and workshops were focused around coastal and other aquatic ecosystems. An evening gala fundraiser was held at Nauticus, a maritime-themed science center amidst the navel port in Norfolk. A finale dinner event included an oyster roast sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation at First Landing State Park. Local watermen were on hand to shuck thousands of oysters and talk about their origins.
The famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle was one of the keynote speakers. Dr. Earle spoke about the state of the world's oceans, including commercial fish populations, ocean exploration and the critical importance of being a good steward for these wildlife populations and for unexplored ecosystems that are found in the deep blue. Another keynote speaker, Dr. Milton Chen of the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) described the opportunities he sees for environmental educators to tackle environmental literacy and other education issues through use of technology such as that used in the GLEF programming modules.
During the conference, the NAAEE Research Commission held its 4th Annual Research Symposium, titled "Celebrating the Diversity of our Research Methodologies: Finding common ground." This year's Symposium received the highest number and diversity of participants ever with more than 100 researchers from U.S., Canada, U.K., Turkey, Colombia, South Africa and other countries sharing results of their investigations in EE. The organizers combined different forms of participation to accommodate large numbers of participants. The results of a participatory research project about networking among environmental educators in NYC, which I co-conducted, were presented at an interactive poster session (e.g., about research methodologies, diverse audiences in environmental education, and impact on youth knowledge). Despite the great variety of research methods, environmental education research is perceived as being more legitimate these days, and it has also become more connected with real environmental education programs. During the closing discussion participants concluded that they need to continue integration of research and practice, support participation of graduate students, and continue developing a shared vision of the field of environmental education research.
The Xi Chapter State Meeting was held on November 15, 2007 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Our theme was "Positioning Cooperative Extension for a Global Economy." Chapter President, Tammy Kelly introduced the special guests including Dr. Jon Ort, Associate Dean and Director of Extension, North Carolina State University. Our speakers discussed the concept that "everything is connected" and we, as Extension Professionals, must work to break down the barriers that hinder cross-cultural exchange. Extension must begin to prepare our communities for success and help our residents understand that events around the world make a difference in our lives and vice versa. There were some small group discussions about making this happen locally and unanimous agreement that this is important information we will take into consideration for community programming.
We held a silent auction that raised money for our ESP breakfast at Statewide Extension Conference. We held our annual meeting, recognized our state award winners and elected officers.
The 2008 ESP Officers installed at the 2007 annual meeting, pictured from left are: Natalie Hampton (Webmaster), Debbie Bost (President-Elect), Robbie Furr (President), Tammy Kelly (Past President), Craven Hudson (Treasurer-Elect) and Cedric Jones (Treasurer). Not pictured: Dee Furlough (Secretary).
"Go Global"
Greetings and Happy New Year 2008! Have you checked the "Go Global" link on our ESP website lately? A goal of the ESP Global Relations Committee for 2008 is to expand the "hits " to our link! Please check out the "Go Global" link. We would especially appreciate you sharing this link with your entire State extension faculty! We welcome input and contributions from everyone connected with Extension international programs. Check out our Plan of Work under the "National Committees" link on the ESP Homepage. Your comments and thoughts are most welcome.
"Leading Change for a Healthy Organization" is the theme for the ESP-sponsored pre-conference scheduled for Monday, September 15 in Indianapolis. The keynote speaker is Kathleen Lingle who leads Alliance for Work-Life Progress (AWLP), a national center of work-life expertise that defines and recognizes innovation, best practices and provides global thought leadership. AWLP advances work-life effectiveness as a high-performance business strategy that integrates work, family and community.
Attendees will be exposed to a new, integrative model for total rewards strategy that serves as a 21st century roadmap for leaders responsible for attracting, retaining and motivating a workforce in today's work environment. She will conclude by describing what it takes to make this highly profitable journey, whether you are a lone practitioner, leader of an enterprise or member of a team. Case studies will be provided that show how a variety of employers across industry sectors have generated significantly better business outcomes than their peer group by integrating work-life effectiveness into their overall people strategy.
Prior to the workshop, registered participants will complete a brief survey tool to help set the stage for an effective learning experience and more closely tailor the presentation to the audience's specific needs.
The workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m., include lunch and conclude at 3:00 p.m. Extension educators across all disciplines, county and regional director, human resource and professional development personnel and Extension administrator are encouraged to attend. Registration information and additional conference information will be posted on all the Association websites.
Leadership Opportunities! National Committee Membership!
Let me echo Duane's suggestion that you consider submitting an application for an ESP National Committee. Our ESP Mission "Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) is dedicated to fostering standards of excellence in the Extension System and developing the Extension profession and professional" depends upon our working committees and you, our membership! The six National Committees are: Professional Development, Member Services, Public Issues, Resource Development and Management; Global Issues and Member Recruitment and Retention. Additionally, members are sought for the Marketing Committee. Go to the website http://espnational.org/ and click on FORMS. There you will find under "Committee" either a "New Appointment" or a "Re-Appointment" form. Fill it out. Ask your chapter president to sign it and then send it to me at corridon@umd.edu, fax it or mail it by April 1st. Consider this a curriculum vitae builder!! Another bonus - National Committee Members get a stipend to use towards the cost of attending the National Meeting!!! I look forward to working with you.
PILD Conference Offers Unique OpportunityPublic Issues Leadership Development - hopefully you have heard of this professional development conference, more commonly called PILD. But, have you been to PILD? If not, 2008 would be a great year to attend. PILD will be held April 28-30 in Washington, D.C. and is open to all Extension professionals. PILD participants include people at all levels of Extension, from volunteers and county educators to Extension directors and CSREES program leaders.
In addition to the opportunity to network with fellow professionals, PILD provides an opportunity for Extension professionals to glimpse how the federal government works as it relates to our programs and funding. Conference sessions include both subject-matter specific topics and "process skills." The highlight of the conference for many attendees is the final day, which is spent on Capitol Hill visiting members of your state's Congressional delegation and their staff, along with the option of visiting federal partners at USDA and other agencies. But the knowledge and skills you take home apply at the local level as well as federally. This year's theme, "Connectivity: Community to the Capitol" emphasizes this concept. Make 2008 a year where you invest in this professional development opportunity.
The early-bird registration deadline is March 1, and it is best to make your hotel reservations early as well. Complete details can be found at http://www.jcep.org. Click on the link for the PILD conference and you will find information about the agenda, registration, preparing for your visit, etc. Scholarships are available through ESP. They include four PILD Conference scholarships and one McKinney Public Issues Education scholarship, and applications are due February 1. You may also apply to submit a poster at the PILD conference, and 10 presenters can receive a $100 stipend. These submissions are due March 7. If you have any questions, please contact any member of the 2008 PILD Planning Committee, including Gwen Wolford, ESP Public Issues chairperson at wolford.1@osu.edu.
Going for the GoalAs 2008 begins, so begins the 6th year of ESP's Fund Development Campaign to raise $500,000.00 dollars. This comprehensive campaign will help endow sufficient resources for scholarships and professional development opportunities for Extension professionals. The monies raised will be put into an endowment to financially support committee members' travel to the national meeting, regional workshop participation for each chapter, scholarships for professional development, concurrent session presenters at the national meeting, mini-grants, and costs incurred with recognition (awards).
As you can see, ESP supports a multitude of activities. It is the only organization that gives back to its members in this manner of support. In fact, from 2001 through 2006, ESP reimbursed 44 Chapters over $197,000. Of this amount, forty-one Chapters received over $42,000 for voting delegates to the national meetings. Thirty-three Chapters received over $31,000 for committee members to attend national committee meetings, while 43 Chapters received over $68,000 dollars to attend the JCEP regional workshops. Twenty-two Chapters received over $22,000 in scholarships and 14 Chapters received $18,000 in mini-grants and twenty Chapters received over $14,000 for concurrent session presenters. This money was tallied by Chapter, but it actually went to the members from each Chapter. This literally gives meaning to the phrase, "it pays to be a member of ESP."
We need about $135,000 to complete the campaign, and our hopes are to "reach the finish line" at Indianapolis during the GALAXY III Conference. For more information on the campaign, or how to give, follow this link in your web browser:
Going-for-the-Goal and consider joining the over 475 currently employed and retired Extension professionals in supporting this effort to support the Extension profession. If you have given previously, please consider an additional contribution in 2008. Your tax-deductible contribution to the Epsilon Sigma Phi Development Fund will support ESP's continued leadership in excellent professional development opportunities and recognition programs for Extension professionals.
ESP CALL FOR CONCURRENT SESSION RFP'SThe Epsilon Sigma Phi National Board has determined that all six ESP concurrent sessions will focus on LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. This topic may apply to youth and/or adult programming.
All presenters who are eligible for ESP membership must be a current member of ESP. All presenters must register for the conference and are expected to attend the entire conference.
Please note that potential presenters may submit a maximum of two proposals; however, only one will be selected. For information regarding "Presenter Responsibilities" please read the "Request for Proposals for Concurrent Sessions."
"Request for Proposals for Concurrent Sessions" can be found on the ESP Web site at http://espnational.org/2008NationalMeeting/rfp2008.htm.