4-H Livestock Ambassador Program in Madison County

In support of the Administrative Priority to Increase Capacity to Allocate Resources to Maximize County Program Effectiveness the 4-H Livestock Ambassador Program was implemented in Madison and surrounding counties. The program is designed to teach senior age 4-H youth advanced animal science while expanding their leadership capabilities to assist other 4-H members with the management of their livestock projects.

The program includes a 3-day 4-H Livestock Ambassador Short Course to teach livestock production and management principles and a commitment by the participant to return at least 20 hours of service in helping 4-H members with their livestock projects and teaching animal science at 4-H Club Meetings. The Short Course provides the participants with the necessary tools to educate new 4-H members on the fundamentals of livestock project management and showing.

During 2009, 26 4-H members completed the 4-H Livestock Ambassador Short Course in College Station and have begun to return their 20 hours of service. The participants were from Madison, Grimes, Liberty, Brazoria, Harris, and Walker Counties. The students completed 45 hours of instruction in livestock nutrition, reproduction, management, anatomy and physiology, health, selection, fitting and showing. Additionally, the students completed a training concerning youth leadership and identifying critical livestock issues.

The participants were asked questions about the effectiveness of the short course, his/her perceptions of the 4-H livestock experience and what he/she hoped to accomplish as a Texas 4-H Livestock Ambassador. From the data, it was determined that five separate themes emerged. The themes in the highest frequency order to lowest were: a) newfound ability or qualification, b) importance of teen/peer leaders, c) better understanding of career aspirations, d) teaching providing leadership e) and understanding of higher education.

This program has been very successful in Southeast Texas. In 2010, the program will again be offered at College Station and will be expanded to Lubbock.

Content for this article was provided by Dale A. Fritz, Ph.D., District Extension Administrator-Texas AgriLife Extension Service

New Volunteer Management Resources Announced

On behalf of the Extension Volunteer Steering Committee, Courtney Dodd, Extension Program Specialist announced some new volunteer management resources that are available to agents. These resources are as follows;

• Economic Impact Brief for Volunteerism in the Texas AgriLife Extension Service-This one-page document provides an overview of volunteerism in Extension, highlighting the economic value of our volunteers' contributions in 2009. The 104,000+ volunteers contributed more than four million hours throughout 2009, which is valued at $84 million (using the current rate of $20.85/hour). The direct link to this and other economic impact briefs is located at: http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/about/strategyimpact/economicimpact/index.php. County volunteer reports for 2009 are still accessible at volunteerreport.tamu.edu.
• New Volunteer Resource Website- With the transition of Extension's web sites, the volunteer resources site has also been updated and changed! We are still working on it, but invite you to take a look! The address is: http://od.tamu.edu. Click on the Volunteerism link on the right-hand side of the page for resources that have been developed and are specific to the role of the volunteer manager. Additional resources, such as those for National Volunteer Week and the "Making a Difference Through Volunteers" interpretation piece are available on this site as well. As new resources become available, they will be posted on this site!
• "Empowering Volunteers" Publication Released- A new publication, Volunteer Administration in the 21st Century: Empowering Volunteers, has been developed and is now available as a resource to you. This resource is attached, available online via the AgriLife Bookstore and will be posted on the Volunteer Resource web site (referenced above) very soon. While there is no clear cut formula for empowering volunteers, as all volunteers have their own unique traits and personalities (as we do), we hope that the publication will provide you with tools and ideas to help with empowerment.
  

District Extension Administrators and County Extension Director should ensure that all agents are aware and are utilizing these resources.

Content for this article was provided by Courtney F. Dodd, Extension Program Specialist-Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

Program Planning Task Force to Provide Training During Mid-Management Centra On May 11, 2010

Program Planning Conferences are one of the most important meetings conducted by a District Extension Administrator/County Extension Director and Regional Program Directors. This process provides an excellent venue to coach, motivate and encourage County Extension Agents.

As District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors and Regional Program Directors begin thinking about establishing a Program Planning process that is part of a performance management system it is important remember that a program planning continuum is a series of related activities which includes the following;

• Distribution of Program Planning documents that provides expectations for programming, outlines key elements of plan (planning tasks with committees and task forces, marketing tasks, a series of sequential educational events, outlines evaluation methodologies, and outlines interpretation of results to elected officials and stakeholders, etc).
• Program Development Trainings and Workshops.
• Specialist Scheduling.
• Program Planning Conference.
• Plan review and feedback.
• Plan approval.
• Coaching and Feedback by District Extension Administrators and Regional Program Directors during the implementation of programs.
• Program Appraisal- this is where accomplishments are reviewed and goals for improvement in the future are established.
  

In an effort to improve processes related to program planning a program planning conference task force has been appointed. This task force has conducted a comprehensive review our program planning conference process and will be providing middle managers with recommendations during the Mid-Management Centra on May 11, 2010. The task force members include the following;

• Dr. Elaine Fries- Chairperson
  
• Hurley Miller
• Miles Dabovich
• Vincent Manniino
• Marvin Ensor
• Dr. Ruben Saldana
• Dr. Galen Chandler
• Dr. Susan Ballabina
  

This task force has been asked to accomplish the following;

1. Establish agency goals and objectives for program planning. These goals needs to be clear and concise and aimed to move our agency to the next level not just "we are going to plan good programs".
2. Review all current pre-conference documents developed to assist agents in preparation for program planning and establish consistent documents or templates to assist agents.
   
3. Review all current agendas and areas of emphasis for program planning and establish a consistent set of agendas and points of emphasis.
4. Review all processes associated with program planning and establish some best practices that are designed to ensure quality control.
   

As District Extension Administrators /County Extension Directors and Regional Program Directors work with agents in developing programs in the future it is important to ensure that we are...

1. Focusing our efforts.
2. Developing our agents.
3. Optimizing our results.
4. Communicating our results to decision makers.
   

Remember, success in Extension is by design--it just does not happen! Extension Program Planning Conferences are the venue that District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors and Regional Program Directors utilize to establish plans that will result in success.

Hurricane Ike: Landscape Recovery and Renovation Project in Galveston County

In support of the Administrative Priority to Increase Capacity to Allocate Resources to Maximize County Program Effectiveness the Hurricane Ike: Landscape Recovery and Renovation Project was initiated. Soon after the storm, Dr. Johnson, CEA-Horticulture, and the Galveston County Master Gardeners were asked to partner with the Texas Forest Service (TFS) to conduct a survey of damaged trees on Galveston Island. Over 40 Master Gardeners responded to the call for assistance. A day-long training session was conducted by TFS to prepare these master volunteers on the data collection process. Over the next two days teams conducted the survey, covering 9.47 miles, or roughly 5 percent of the 204 miles of streets in the study area.

Results from the study indicated that approximately 11,000 public right-of-way trees were dead or likely to die and another 31,000 trees on private property were in the same condition. Dr. Johnson and the Galveston County Master Gardeners also participated in a series of videos detailing the situation.

Throughout much of the recovery process, Dr. Johnson served as a liaison between Galveston County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). At the County Commissioners' request, he conducted the initial tree assessment on Bolivar Peninsula. He then prepared documentation to support requests for tree/debris removal for the City of Galveston. These requests totaled in the millions of dollars and FEMA looked to him for the definitive word on the appropriateness of the applications. Dr. Johnson, working with Extension colleagues, has prepared numerous articles documenting the ecological disaster following Hurricane Ike. His collaboration with the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association has been instrumental in drawing the attention of industry professionals to the task of rebuilding the landscapes of Galveston County.

Replacing much of the landscape throughout the Texas Upper Gulf Coast represents a significant challenge. To address this critical issue, Dr. Johnson and the Galveston County Master Gardeners launched an initiative to rate more than 800 plant materials on their ability to withstand storm damage. These ratings were added to the Earth Kind Plant Selector Database - providing a comprehensive listing of adapted plant materials for the area. This tool will play an important role in ongoing efforts to rebuild Galveston County.

On September 26, 2009, the Galveston County Master Gardeners Association conducted an Extension Educational Seminar focusing on Landscape Recovery and Renovation. The program, held at the Galveston Convention Center, was attended by over 284 participants. This Landscape Revival focused on a wide range of adapted plants, soil preparation and installation techniques. With an overall satisfaction rating of 80% and increase in knowledge/intent to adopt practice values well over 50%, the program was considered highly successful at meeting strategic educational goals and objectives.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service continues to serve the residents of Galveston County as they rebuild from the devastating effects of Hurricane Ike. Our Extension Office and the Galveston County Master Gardeners are committed to providing relevant, high quality Extension educational information to support the rebuilding process.

Content for this article was provided by Dale A. Fritz, Ph.D., District Extension Administrator-Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Program Area Committee and Leadership Advisory Board Centra Trainings Scheduled

A series Centra trainings for County Extension Agents have been planned that relate to working with Program Area Committees and Leadership Advisory Boards. These trainings are appropriate for new County Extension Agents as well as those with several years of experience. District Extension Administrators should promote this with Agents could benefit from this type of training. Do NOT encourage those Agents who are participating in the upcoming Program Excellence Academy, as most of the topics will be covered fully at the Academy. Details of the four scheduled Centra's are outlined below:

May 3-2010, 10:00 Central Time (US & Canada);

• Selection, Rotation and Training of PAC Members- (HFS153187) Event ID: HFS153187

June 21-2010, 10:00 AM Central Time (US & Canada);

• Selection, Rotation and Training of LAB Members(PPN497890) Event ID: PPN497890

July 12 2010, 10:00 AM Central Time (US & Canada);

• Identifying Issues with the Leadership Advisory Board (HKT149078) Event ID: HKT149078

August 9 2010, 10:00 AM Central Time (US & Canada);

• Engaging Planning Groups in Program Development (JDH030125) Event ID: JDH030125
  

In order for agents to enroll in these sessions, participants need to go to the Centra site at : http://webconference.tamus.edu/main/tce and search for the Event ID for the session they choose to attend. All of these are public events and are located in the event folder "Program Development -2010". It is important that all District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors work with agents who need this type of training and ensure that they participate.

Content for this article was provided by Dr. Jeff Ripley, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist-Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

Form Numbers Changed for D-168 and D-1156

A project has been underway to reformat all forms on the various administrative services web sites. As part of that process, the form numbers only, not content, have been changed on the long used D-168 and D-1156.

( http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/ag-484.pdf )

D-168 Modified Notification of Employment Termination is now the AG-484 Modified Notification of Employment Termination and is available at http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/ag-484.pdf.

D-1156 Position Authorization is now the AG-485 Position Authorization and is available at http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/ag-485.pdf

Please make note of the new URL.

District Extension Administrators, County Extension Directors and District Office Managers should make note of these changes.

Content for this article was provided by Jennifer Humphries, Director of Human Resource Services-Texas A&M AgriLife

Extension Agents' Role with Fair Boards

From time to time, we as mid managers are questioned about an Extension Agent's role and responsibility with the County Fair Board and/or Junior Livestock Show Board. Recently, I received an inquiry concerning an agent serving on the Fair Board or even as President of the Fair Board. To address this inquiry, I drafted to following response which may benefit you in the event you receive a similar inquiry.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service asks its County Extension Agents to not serve on County Fair Boards or Jr. Livestock Show Boards for two primary reasons:

1. Our mission as an agency is to provide high quality and relevant educational programs which address the needs of the local citizens. So, our County Extension Agents' role in a county is to provide education and advise to 4-H members, 4-H families, agriculture producers, consumers, homeowners, etc. With this in mind and during a county fair, our agents should be helping and advising 4-H youth and families with their livestock projects and other projects. There are a lot of youth involved in a county fair. So, the agents' time should be focused on helping 4-H youth and families before and during the fair and not on the procedural processes and functions in planning, conducting and managing a county fair.
2. As you know, the agenda items and decisions for a Fair Board can be controversial at times and can cause disagreements across a county and between groups such as communities; 4-H and FFA; etc. In the educational role of an agent, he or she must remain non-biased and impartial and has the responsibility to work with all people. Serving on a Fair Board can undermine an agent’s effectiveness across a county. Also, when an agent serves as an officer or elected member of a Fair Board, the line between the agent’s official duties and volunteer duties can become blurred. A perceived conflict of interest involving the agent and/or the agency, and additional issues of personal and organization liability can be the result. Therefore, we ask that an agent not serve in this role. We do allow our agents to serve as an advisor to the board and we would hope that the board would have the Ag Science teachers serve as advisers to the board as well.
   

Hopefully, this will be of some benefit to you if needed.

The content of this article was provided by Dale A. Fritz, Ph.D., District Extension Administrator-Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

Role of County Coordinators

There is very few decisions that are made by District Extension Administrators which impacts county programs more than the appointment of a county coordinator. The reason this decision is so important is that the county coordinator can foster teamwork, enhance our capacity to interpret program outcomes, and establish an environment that fosters open communication.

Any discussion regarding a county coordinator must begin with what a county coordinator is not. A county coordinator is not the following;

• Supervisor of other County Extension Agents in the office.
• Automatically appointed annually. Appointment of county coordinator is not a lifetime appointment.
  
• Automatically appointed based on agent tenure.
  

When District Extension Administrators consider the appointment of a county coordinator the following should be considered;

• Does agent demonstrate the capacity to develop and submit reports associated with county programs to District office and State County Programs office? These reports must be complete and submitted in a timely manner.
• Does agent have the capacity to serve as the liaison to the District Extension Administrator and county commissioners' court?
  
• Does agent demonstrate the ability to foster teamwork?
• Does the agent have an appreciation for the total Extension Program? It is critical that our county coordinators know, understand, and appreciate the total Extension program if they are to effectively provide leadership in program interpretation, budget development, and in providing overall support of co-workers.
  
• Does the agent have the ability to solve problems? County coordinators must have the capacity to solve problems- not create them!
• Does the agent have the ability to provide leadership in developing a county interpretation plan that interfaces with a district interpretation plan?

The elements that county coordinator's should provide leadership to can be divided into five broad categories; personal management, fiscal management, office management, interpretation, and professional relationships.

While county coordinators do not supervise other agents in an office there are some personnel management responsibilities that they should provide leadership to include;

• Working with county faculty to develop job responsibilities for county support staff, para-professionals, interns, and county program assistants.
• Working with county faculty to develop position descriptions for county support staff, para-professionals, interns, and county program assistants.
• Reviewing performance appraisals for county support staff, para-professionals, interns, and county program assistants. The actual performance appraisal conferences may be conducted by the faculty member who is designated as the supervisor, but the county coordinator is ultimately responsible for ensuring that formal and productive performance appraisals are conducted.
• Providing leadership for coordinating efforts in all aspects of EEO programs including documentation and coordination of special compliance reports.
• Providing leadership in establishing an environment that fosters productivity in the workplace.

Some of the elements associated with fiscal management that county coordinators provides leadership to is as follows;

• Serves as liaison with county commissioners' court in all matters related to county budgets.
• Responsible for coordinating county faculty and staff input in developing a county budget.
• Responsible for accountability of all funds provided to and expended in support of Extension programs.
• Responsible for providing leadership in assessing fiscal resources needed to support Extension programs.
• Provides leadership to ensure that all Texas AgriLife Extension policies related to cash management are complied with in terms of working with support staff, interns, para-professionals, and program assistants. All agents have the responsibility of ensuring that Texas AgriLife Extension Service cash management policies are complied with in terms of support groups in the county.
  

Some of the elements associated with office management that county coordinators provides leadership to is as follows;

• Establishes an environment that fosters productivity, trust, and respect in the workplace.
• Responsible for working with county commissioners' court, county Extension faculty, and others to assure adequate office space.
• Arranges for orientation and training of support staff, interns, para-professionals and program assistants.
  
• Maintains complete records.
• Arranges for county Extension faculty and support staff to develop plan for equitable and efficient utilization of support staff time.

Some of the elements associated with interpretation that county coordinators provides leadership to is as follows;

• Provides leadership in working with county Extension faculty in developing a systematic program interpretation plan for county commissioners' court and elected officials that communicates programmatic outcomes.
• Provides leadership in working with county Extension faculty to interpret County Extension programs.

Some of the elements associated with professional relationships that county coordinators provides leadership to is as follows;

• Provides leadership for maintaining positive relationship with leaders in the community.
  
• Provides leadership for maintaining positive relationship with District Extension Administrator and District office staff.
• Provides leadership to ensure positive relationship with community groups and organizations.

The success of the Extension program at the county level is the responsibility of the total Extension faculty and staff. In order to achieve the highest level of success District Extension Administrators should expect that the county coordinator provide the leadership that fosters the teamwork that will ultimately result in effective programs and efficiently managed Extension offices.