Congratulations to Debby Janes who received the CALS Outstanding Staff
Award. She will receive her plaque at the CALS Spring Faculty & Staff
meeting, April 3, 2003.
Each year, our campus faculty and staff's understanding and appreciation of
FCS Cooperative Extension is significantly enhanced through active
participations by county faculty members. Congratulations to Beth Tucker,
Michele Lytle, Juanita Waits, and Debra Umbower for your programmatic
efforts, ranging from the Project Soar in Maricopa County to Grandparents
Raising Grandkids in Coconino County. These are outstanding examples of
how we can partner to make an impact on the community.
AT LAST! VEGETABLE EXTENSION SPECIALIST TO START! Robert Leonard, Head of
UA Plant Sciences Department, reported that Jorge Fonseca-Laurent has
indicated his intention to accept the vegetable specialist position. He
expects to move his family to Yuma this June. Jorge is excited about the
opportunity to work with the vegetable industry and colleagues at the Yuma
Agricultural Center. He will be coming to Arizona from Clemson University
where his major was in food technology with experience in postharvest
physiology and technology, packaging sciences, and business administration.
The First Annual Forest Health and Safety Conference, "Building on Lessons
Learned," was convened by Governor Janet Napolitano in Prescott, March 10.
The conference brought together individuals from many organizations
interested in the health of Arizona's forests. The University of Arizona
was represented by Stephen Campbell, Chris Jones, Tom DeGomez, Pat Reid,
Alix Rogstad, and Jeff Schalau. Each of the UA representatives were able to
have input into the process of determining where the state needs to head to
plan for the future health of our forests.
Congratulations to Project CENTRL Alumni Association (CAA) for hosting a
highly successful International Leadership Alumni Conference (ILAC) this
past week in Phoenix. Over 100 rural and Ag leaders from thirteen
different states and Canada attended ILAC, which was hosted by the Project
CENTRL Alumni Board of Directors. Speakers for the Conference included Jim
Klinker & Neil Schneider from Arizona Farm Bureau; Dr. Gary Adams, National
Cotton Council; Kevin Rogers, Roger Brother Farms; Karl Peterson, Summit
Professional Leadership; Jeff Menges, Menges Ranch; Mark & Carrie Schnepf,
Schnepf's Farms; Cheryl Goar, Arizona Nursery Association; Tammy Baker,
Dairy Council of Arizona; and Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, High Impact
Presentations. Monica Pastor, Agent from Maricopa County, facilitated an
excellent round table discussion on the subject of Ag Literacy. Everett
Rhodes, CENTRL Director, and Karen Vanderheyden, CENTRL Program
Coordinator, provided major support for this special event which also
served as the final Arizona seminar for CENTRL Class XVI.
The "Arizona Beef Cattle: From Conception to Consumer" meetings will take
place at the UA Campbell Avenue Center Meat Science Laboratory, 4101 N.
Campbell Avenue, Tucson, March 19-20, 2003. To register, contact the
Mohave County Cooperative Extension office at 928-753-3788.
Mark your calendars for the Drought Recovery Workshop, March 25, 2003 at
the Lodge at Cliff Castle Conference Center, Camp Verde, Arizona. For more
information, please call Gila County Cooperative Extension, (928) 474-4160.
The 12th Annual Desert Horticulture Conference will be May 16, 2003 at the Tucson
Convention Center. The cost is $35.00 per person if received by May 1, 2003.
After May 1, 2003 registration is $75.00. For more information go to: http://cals.arizona.edu/deserthort/.