Jeremy Delost has recently joined Cooperative Extension and the Fire
Education/Firewise program. He will be working closely with Alix Rogstad
and others to develop and deliver Fire Education programs in selected
Arizona communities. He will be assisting the selected communities in their
efforts to achieve Firewise recognized status, and will be developing an
in-service that will be provided in Utah later this year. Jeremy will be
based in Forbes 309B and can be contacted by phone (520-626-0522) or email
(jdelost@ag.arizona.edu). Drop by and welcome him to the Cooperative
Extension family when you have an opportunity!
Al Fournier has officially accepted our offer of the IPM Program Manager
position. We are very pleased that he will be joining us and assisting our
IPM team members in the development and assessment of their programs. We
expect Al to arrive in Arizona around April 1. If you did not have the
chance to interact with him during his interview last month, I hope you have
the opportunity this spring to visit with Al either at MAC or as he travels
to campus or the various county offices. I think you will all find him a
bright addition to our group and a valuable asset to our programs. Thanks to
all that helped during this recruitment process!
Michael Crimmins will join the SWES faculty this month as the Assistant
Extension Specialist in Climate Science. Mike recently completed his Ph.D.
in Geography and Climate Science at the UA. This is a new area of operation
for the SWES Department, but one that offers a tremendous degree of
opportunity both in the short and long term range of development. Mike's
program in Climate Science will provide new opportunities for interaction
with SWES faculty and other faculty in CALS. Most important, Mike will have
the chance to develop a program that is truly interdisciplinary and will by
its very nature be interacting with many different programs across campus
and other agencies in our region. You can contact Mike at
crimmins@u.arizona.edu.
Two of our very active 4-H members have been selected to national advisory
groups. Amy Adamcin, 4-H member from Pima County, will be serving on an
advisory committee for the National 4-H Youth Directions Council (N4-HYDC )
along with nine other youth and adults to ensure the growth of this national
leadership group. Amy was also asked to serve as a group facilitator at the
upcoming National 4-H Conference. Viri Gutierrez, 4-H member from Maricopa
County, has been selected to serve on the National 4-H Congress design team
which puts together the National 4-H Congress event taking place in November
2005. Both Amy and Viri have attended National Congress and National 4-H
Conference and have served as state 4-H ambassadors. Congratulations to
these excellent representatives.
To be sure everyone is aware of the recent travel policy changes, I am
repeating an entry from last week: The Financial Services Office (FSO) has
approved an increase to certain travel reimbursements. Effective for travel
conducted on or after December 16, 2004, the mileage reimbursement rate has
increased to 37.5 cents per mile and the in-state lodging rates increased
from $55 to $60 per night. Please note that while other lodging rates have
also changed, the state has not yet updated their website. In the meantime,
please contact FSO-Operations (621-9097) for assistance. The following
website provides additional information about the change:
http://www.gao.state.az.us/news/details.asp?ID=399 .
UPCOMING DATES:
January 16-19: Greenhouse Crop Production and Engineering Design Short
Course, sponsored by CEAC, Arizona Cooperative Extension, the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences and the University of Arizona. The short
course will attract those interested in Crop Production, Engineering,
Marketing, Pest Management, and Environmental Control. January's short
course will be held at the Doubletree Hotel (across from Reid Park) and will
not only be expanded by half a day, but will also include the first ever
exhibitor's gallery and an optional field trip to a large-scale commercial
greenhouse. You can access the schedule of speakers and events, registration
forms, and more at
http://ag.arizona.edu/ceac/extension/shortcourse001.htm .