Involving Elected Officials in Extension Educational Programs

There is no question that one of the most effective interpretation strategies that can be implemented at the county level is to involve the elected official in "show case" educational events. The involvement of elected officials in county "show case" educational events enables the elected officials to witness first hand the effectiveness of the county educational programs, demonstrates Texas AgriLife Extension's partnership with funding partners, and provides the elected official with a positive platform to interact with constituents. The involvement of elected officials in "show case" educational events is also a component of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service County Programs Interpretation Initiative.

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). District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors provide continued leadership to ensure that every county is implementing a interpretation plan that includes formal interpretation events, involvement of elected officials in "show case" educational events and other appropriate interpretation methodologies for 2010.

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