March 2014

Table of Contents

President's Message

Candidate Applications Due April 1

Webinars Archived for Your Professional Development

Greetings From Kentucky!

Call for Items for the Annual Session Silent Auction

Your Webinar Subcommittee at Work

Central Region News

Meet the Board - Susan Routh






Important Dates

Members-only Webinar • March 20
The Increasing Importance of Content & Strategy: Lessons Learned from Two Extension Social Media Campaigns

Home Baking Association - Educator Award Contest Deadline • March 31

PILD Conference • Apr 6-9
Alexandria, VA

NEAFCS Annual Session • Sept 15-18
Hyatt Regency, Lexington, KY

View All Events...

National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Science
20423 State Road 7
Suite F6-491
Boca Raton, FL 33498
(561) 477-8100
[email protected]

President's Message
Kathleen Olson (MN)

Being the President of a National Association is pretty cool - right?  No boss hovering over your shoulder ...... wrong!  I have a board to work with and I have their phone numbers programmed into my cell phone and easy access by listserv, and lots and lots of other bosses that are called members!  We serve you as our members and you are all our “bosses” for our association work.  But this message will concentrate on our board members and the potential to serve your association.

Your board members care about their association enough to share their time and talents generously with NEAFCS. They all have jobs with a variety of clientele and employers with expectations. They have schedules to keep and families but they still find time to serve our association.  Serving on the board is part of your work as a professional, but also serving as a volunteer, as taking time outside of the “regular” job is essential to serve on the board.

Our board members serve two year terms and can serve a total of two offices on the board before they have to step down; unless they run for President (then you get to serve for a maximum of 7 years!). We meet monthly by webinar/conference call as a full board with most board members working with committees that meet throughout the year, mostly by conference call. They are all very engaged in the work of NEAFCS and have a chance to contribute to our association.   Committee work is a precursor to a board position, where you are able to learn more about the association and meet your peers across the country.  Almost all of our committees need more members!

Some of the best and most fulfilling professional development experiences of my career have come from serving on the board.  You will learn so much and gain so much professionally and personally.  When I speak with professionals about the opportunity they usually say that it never occurred to them that they would be a fit to serve on a national board.

We are looking for some new, excited, passionate, board members who have time, experience, knowledge and ideas to share.  Will we ask you to work? ... Absolutely, but we hope it is work that is enjoyable and meaningful.

You do not need to wait to be contacted to serve.  Carol Chandler, Past President is serving as chair of the Nominating Committee.  There are typically 6 open positions per year on the board.  The Nominating Committee may not know that you are interested in serving, so you may need to let them know you are interested.

I have always found serving on a board very rewarding and I have met some really great people that I would never have met if not for serving on the board. If you are interested...let Carol Chandler know.   The deadline to apply is April 1.

Not interested in serving right now?   If a board commitment is too much for you, then volunteer to be on a committee first.  This is a great way to learn more about the association before you commit to a board position. But get up and step out of your comfort zone.

Oh, and by the way - YES, being your National President IS pretty cool!  It’s magical!

Kathleen Olson

P.S.  Look for the magic wand in this newsletter. The first 3 members to email me at [email protected] with the exact location of the wand will qualify for a chance to be placed in a drawing to qualify for a free Annual Session registration, drawn in August; this contest runs October through August to increase newsletter readership.




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Candidate Applications Due April 1st
Carol Chandler (OH), Immediate Past Presdient

If you are considering applying to run for a national office, please keep in mind that applications are due April 1. You can find the application on the website under Member Center/Documents/Forms & Templates. Please check the policies and procedures manual for information about qualifications and duties of each office. If you have the application completed and you are waiting on letters of support and recommendation, send me what you have completed so that I am aware of your intent. If you have any questions you can contact me at [email protected] . The National Nominating Committee is looking forward to lots of applications!

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Webinars Archived for Your Professional Development
Sonja Koukel, PhD (NM), Vice-President for Professional Development

NEAFCS members are fortunate to have access to a variety of Extension programs at no extra charge. The webinars offered through the Association are FREE to members. In some other organizations, webinars are provided with a fee attached.

Current and upcoming webinars are posted on the NEAFCS website. You must be a member in good standing to access the webinars. To attend in real time, registration is required. The purpose for this requirement is to maintain the members-only benefit.

There is a space limitation for the online offerings: 100 registered members. The limited space is one reason for archiving the webinars. As we know, life or work sometimes gets in the way of attending in real time. If you missed a webinar, you can find it on the NEAFCS website:

• Log in
• Use the Professional Development pull down menu located on the blue toolbar
• Click on Webinar Archives
• Find the webinar of your choice and click on the hyperlink

It’s that easy. Watch at your leisure or download to your computer. Plus, many of the webinars include downloadable PowerPoint presentations. What a great service.

You are encouraged to take advantage of this professional development offering. If you would like to join the Webinar Subcommittee, follow the Member Resources link to Join a Committee. Feel free to contact us with questions.

And, as always, the committee is looking for proposals. Do you have a program you would like to share with the NEAFCS members?  To submit a proposal, follow the Professional Development link to Webinars. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the online form.

Thank you for your engagement. If you have suggestions or ideas to help make this service even better, please contact me via email, [email protected]

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Greetings from Kentucky!
Kathy Byrnes (KY) and Sally Mineer (KY), 2014 Annual Session Co-liaisons

Participating in an in-depth session is a great way to get a closer look at some of the wonderful things going on nearby while you are at the 2014 NEAFCS Annual Session in Lexington!  Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agents are excited about hosting our friends and colleagues September 15-18.  There are 22 in-depth sessions planned that cover all areas of Family and Consumer Sciences, so there will be something interesting for everyone.

Keep checking your NEAFCS website for details; if you haven’t visited it in a while, you will see many exciting meeting details. Visit  http://www.neafcs.org/2014-annual-session to see the complete list of in-depth sessions.

Here is a sneak peek at a few.

A Simple Life at Shaker Village.  Architecture, furniture, and a frugal lifestyle are at the forefront in this carefully preserved living history museum.Start off this session with a full country breakfast in the Trustees Dining Room before you learn about life in the mid 1800s. Tour guides and re-enactors will give you an up close and personal view. Check out this YouTube link for more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YegOOZHBKy8&list=PL8B16AFA39E364877&index=77

Lexington Farmers’ Market. Take a short walk to the back of the Convention Center parking lot to the Tuesday Location of the Lexington Farmers’ Market. Learn about the Healthy Parks and Pools Better Bites program, and how a corner grocery is trying to bring healthy food options to an urban food desert.

Sanders Brown Center on Aging. Learn about research on Alzheimer’s research from leading experts, take a virtual dementia tour, and enjoy a brain-healthy lunch with Chef Ouita Michel of Holly Hill Inn.

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Call for Items for the Annual Session Silent Auction
Sarah Traub (MO), Chair, Silent Auction Sub-committee

The sun is shining here in Missouri and I’m hopeful that spring is in the air!  Spring in NEAFCS means the early bird registration for the 2014 Annual Conference in Lexington is almost here!  If you have attended an Annual Session in the past, you may have noticed the Silent Auction that raises money for the NEAFCS Awards and Recognition Fund.  Actually, I’m not sure how you could have missed it!  It’s a chance for each state to bring something fun, unique to its state, or handmade (quilted items, crafts, etc.) to benefit our organization.  We are requesting that each state bring at least one item to be auctioned and a maximum of five.  Remember to try to bring smaller items that one can easily fit into a suitcase.  Be sure to add this item request to your affiliate’s spring agenda so that your state is well represented at the 2014 Silent Auction!  I’m looking forward to seeing the item(s) your affiliate brings to make the 2014 Silent Auction in Lexington another successful year! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, phone: 573-774-6177 and email: [email protected]

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Your Webinar Subcommittee at Work
Leif Albertson (AK), Chair, Webinar Subcommittee

Greetings from the Professional Development Webinar Subcommittee!  We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback from people regarding our webinars.  Hopefully you have been able to attend some of our recent presentations such as Master Family and Consumer Sciences Volunteer Program (Jan 21) or Strong Women Healthy Hearts (Jan 27).  Most recently, Jan Scholl and Carol Schlitt brought us a fascinating and well-attended webinar titled 100 Years of Extension FCS History.

While NEAFCS webinars offer a convenient and inexpensive opportunity for professional development, they are just as valuable as an opportunity to connect with your colleagues from around the country.  As we all know, building our own knowledge base is laudable, but it can be equally valuable to identify colleagues with subject matter expertise.  This allows us to connect our clients with the best information available from national experts within the extension service.

If you haven’t attended one of our webinars, I would encourage you to give it a try.  In an era of shrinking budgets, there is no easier, cheaper way to connect directly with your NEAFCS peers and gain insights on relevant topics.  The Webinar subcommittee has several interesting presentations on the horizon including The Increasing Importance of Content & Strategy: Lessons Learned from Two Extension Social Media Campaigns presented by Jamie Seger (Ohio State University).  Join us on March 20 for this members-only event.  Watch your email for updates.

Finally, I want to remind everyone that teaching a webinar is a great way to reach out to colleagues, share expertise and connect with those who have similar interest.  The process is easy and a great way to leverage technology to reach a wide and receptive national audience.  To present your own webinar, see our application process at http://www.neafcs.org/webinar-proposal

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Central Region News
Nancy Stehulak (OH), Central Regional Director

A big Congratulations on your work with award submissions from the Central Region!  Here is a list of states who have submitted one or more entries for awards.

• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Ohio
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• South Dakota

Great work!  Kudos to your members for taking this time to submit, and your officers for working with the awards submissions.  This is a wonderful benefit of membership, for members to be honored with awards, and it looks to me that the Central Region has many projects worthy of national recognition!


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Meet the Board
Susan Routh (OK), Southern Region Director

Meet Susan Routh, NEAFCS Southern Region Director!  Susan Routh is the County Extension Director in Grady County, Oklahoma.  She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Oklahoma State University.  She previously served in the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Johnson County, Texas, as a 4-H educator.  Susan has been with the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service for nine years.  Her FCS programs specialize in family financial management, parenting education, and health education.  Susan partners with three FCS Educators and the District Attorney’s office which serves a four-county area in providing a monthly financial management program to bogus check offenders and the public.

Susan and her family reside in Tuttle, Oklahoma.  She and her husband, Brian, are active in church, community and school organizations.  Her son, Dylan, is a student at Oklahoma State University and her daughter, Rebekah, is a sophomore at Tuttle High School.

As a member of the Oklahoma affiliate, Susan has served as Secretary and President.  When asked to be nominated as an officer for NEAFCS, her natural inclination was to say “Yes!  I would be glad to serve!”  Becoming better acquainted with NEAFCS AND meeting NEAFCS members from the Southern Region and across the nation has been a joy!

Susan is a product of Oklahoma 4-H and a second generation Extension Educator.  Susan said, “2014 is indeed a very special year for those of us serving in Extension.  What a great time to be a part of the Cooperative Extension Service as we celebrate the Centennial and look forward to the next 100 years!”