eNEAFCS-March 2013


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Join Your Friends and Colleagues in Pennsylvania!

Sonja Koukel, Ph.D. (NM), Vice President for Professional Development

Have you saved the dates for Galaxy IV?  If you are still debating on attending, here’s some information that I hope will persuade you. NEAFCS has scheduled two pre-conference sessions for Monday, September 16, 2013. Both programs will occur from 1:00 – 5:00 PM at the Renaissance. A tentative agenda for the conference can be viewed by following a link in the Upcoming Events section located on the NEAFCS home page. 


Baking Substitution Science Webinar

Sharon Davis, FCS Education, and Sara Wing, R.D., Home Baking Association

Sign up to be notified of the HomeBaking.org webinar, Baking Substitution Science to be held in April 2013.


2012 NEAFCS Journal is Online

Susan Cosgrove (MS), Vice President for Member Resources

The seventh edition of the NEAFCS Journal is available online under the Member Resources tab or at Journal of NEAFCS. The Journal is our annual electronic publication of member research, applied research, program impacts and reports of award winners.  It is a valuable tool to help our members stay current with programming research and methodology that is specific to our learning and teaching environment.


Baking for Special Needs: Galaxy IV Pre-conference Workshop

Sharon Davis, FCS Education, Home Baking Association

Don't miss registering for the Galaxy IV pre-conference workshop, Baking for Special Needs, Monday, September 16, 2013, 1:00 to 5:00 pm, at the Renaissance Hotel. 


Professional Development Opportunity at Galaxy IV

Sonja Koukel, Ph.D. (NM), VP for Professional Development

The Galaxy IV conference being held in Pittsburg, PA, September 15-20, 2013 is a good time to see old friends and make new ones. It’s an opportunity to attend sessions outside your field of work and experience the diversity of Cooperative Extension.  One of my responsibilities as the VP of Professional Development is to assist with the selection of educational sessions that address emerging issues for our members.


Welcome to Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is a city of bridges because it was built at the convergence of two major rivers, the Monongahela and the Allegheny, which meet at the point to form the Ohio. As a visitor to the city the bridges can’t be missed as almost every view from the triangular point faces a river.


Call for 2013 Officer Candidates!

Amy Peterson, Immediate Past-President and Chair of the National Nominating Committee is now taking applications for National Officers. The following offices are up for election in 2013. You DO NOT need to be contacted to apply but DO NEED to check the Policy and Procedures manual for the requirements needed for each office. Applications are due April 1st. Check out the list below to see what YOU might be interested in!


NEAFCS Tax-Exempt Update

Peg Ehlers (IN), Treasurer

The NEAFCS Board has been discussing the NEAFCS 501(c)(3) and (c)(6) tax statuses. A few states have asked about being included under an “umbrella” clause of the 501, which would require NEAFCS to apply for new tax-exempt status.  The guidelines have been reviewed with an attorney, CPA, and the NEAFCS Board, and all agree that it would not be in the best interest for NEAFCS to apply for a new 501(c)(3) or (c)(6) tax-exempt status. The status of tax-exempt was issued June 1969 for the organization.  This decision was made with a great deal research and thought.  If you have any questions please e-mail or call.


Meet the Board

Alexandra Grenci (NJ), Eastern Region Director

Greetings from the Garden State of New Jersey!

My name is Alexandra Grenci, but most folks call me Sandra, and I am in my first year as Eastern Region Director. I am from New Jersey, and consider myself a Jersey Girl through and through! I was born in the big city of Newark but have lived in more suburban Somerset County (Branchburg) for the last 30 years with my husband Tom. We have two daughters in their 20’s and three cats, which is way too many (cats, not daughters!).


President's Message


Friends,

The month of March always feels to me like spring is right around the corner. In Ohio, March weather can range from snow piles, blizzards, and winter coats to warm, sunny days, greening grass and flower bulbs beginning to sprout…and sometimes those extreCarol Chandlermes can be just days apart! In any event, March is usually a transition month weather-wise and the promise of spring revitalizes me.

In your professional life, what things revitalize you? During the month of March, what can you do to renew your enthusiasm for your work? What helps you re-charge your batteries?

NEAFCS offers support for you in your efforts to maintain your passion for your work in Extension. Soon, we should be announcing dates for professional development opportunities in the form of more free webinars for members. In the meantime, check out the webinars that are archived at neafcs.org under the professional development tab. In addition to our own website, there are many learning opportunities on eXtension.

The Galaxy conference in September will offer hours of professional development opportunities. You will also be able to network with colleagues from across the country. The synergy that takes place in that kind of setting may be just what you need for inspiration!

You may also want to consider attending the JCEP sponsored PILD conference (Public Issues Leadership Development Workshop) in Alexandria, VA, April 22 – 24. If it’s too late to plan that for 2013, put it on your calendar for 2014. It is an annual event and there are partial scholarships offered by NEAFCS for first time attendees.

While you are planning for 2014, the JCEP Leadership Conference will be once again held in Memphis, TN. The dates are February 11 – 13. It has been an excellent conference the last couple of years. If someone from your affiliate attended, ask them about it, and put it on your calendar for next February – then prepare to be motivated!

Brainstorm with your colleagues about programs that you are already doing or developing for which you might want to submit a proposal for presenting a concurrent session or a poster session at an upcoming NEAFCS Annual Session. Those submissions seem to come at a busy time of year (and just when aren’t we busy??) so take some time between now and the end of the year to pull together the information that you need and when the call for proposals is announced, you’ll be ready! Maximize your effort and submit a proposal to do a webinar for our members.

Is there any among us who doesn’t get a little fired up when we win an award for one of the outstanding programs that we do? The awards deadline has passed for 2013 NEAFCS awards, but ask your colleagues what you do that they feel is award worthy. Again, you can start working on the award application now and over the next several months so that you aren’t stressed to complete it early in 2014.

Have you ever considered submitting an article for the NEAFCS Journal? Take a look at the 2012 issue that is now on our website. It might inspire you to share results from a project that you have done. Wouldn’t seeing your work in print and knowing that others will benefit from your article be exciting?

2012-13 Theme

Somehow we need to make it a priority to spend a little time each week making an effort to engage in activities that energize our work. There’s a well-traveled story by an unknown author about a teacher who showed his class a one-gallon jar and a dozen large rocks.

After a little rearranging, he got all the rocks into the jar, filling it to the top. He then dumped a bag of gravel into the jar until the spaces between the rocks were filled. Next he poured sand into the jar, shaking it so the sand filled the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Finally, he emptied a pitcher of water into it.

What does this demonstration prove? There are many valid answers, but it’s really about setting priorities. If you don’t deal with the big rocks first, all you’ll end up with is a jar of wet sand and gravel.

We will live fuller and more fulfilling lives if we set our priorities – not only at work but in our life as a whole. Our relationships, work, spiritual life, hobbies, and charitable causes all claim our attention. We have to decide what’s really important.

Too often we surrender control of our days, even the direction of our lives, by letting circumstances or other people determine how we spend our time. Thus, we deal with what comes at us in the order that it comes or with squeaking wheels and demanding people.

Unless we distinguish between the rocks, gravel, sand, and water in our lives, we are likely to neglect or forget the things that truly matter. Don’t let the passion for what you do die. Charge up!

Until next time,
Carol


Upcoming Event List


PILD Scholarship Application Deadline
• March 1

Public Issues Leadership Development Conference • April 21‐24
Westin - Alexandria, VA

NEAFCS Mid-Year Board Meeting • May 21 - 23rd

OnlineNEAFCS Affiliate President Webinar • June 13
Online

Galaxy IV • September 15-19
Pittsburgh, PA


About the eNEAFCS Newsletter

eNEAFCS is published monthly by the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences. www.neafcs.org, 561-477-8100.

The copy deadline for articles, calendar items and announcements for the eNEAFCS newsletter is the first Friday of each month. All submissions must be made electronically to: [email protected].

eNEAFCS is edited by Rhea Bentley, NEAFCS Secretary.