NEW FACULTY:
We are pleased to announce that Stephanie Shank has accepted the 4-H Youth Development position in Yavapai County and that Cynthia Warzecha has accepted the Natural Resources position in Coconino County. Both will be starting within the next two months.
SWIAA REPORT:
The Southwest Indian Agriculture Associate (SWIAA) met this past week in Laughlin, Nevada with nearly 200 people in attendance. CALS and Cooperative Extension were well represented in booths for potential students and excellent program presentations by faculty. My thanks to all who made this a strong annual event.
FOCUS ON FACULTY:
- Congratulations to Beth Tucker , Coconino County, for KKONA being selected as a Grandparent Resource Site by Western Michigan University to support programs to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. KKONA, as well as nine other national sites, were selected from this Kellogg Foundation project of Western Michigan. More details will be posted on the site www.wmich.edu/grs .
- Jim Sprinkle was recently honored for his work on rangelands in Arizona, in particular for the Reading the Range program by the Society for Range Management, Arizona Section. He was awarded the Professional Technical Guidance Award for his service to area resource management on January 26 at the Annual Winter Meeting. In addition, he was elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors and Rob Grumbles was elected to serve in the role of Vice-President and will be the Section President in 2009. Congratulations to Jim on his much deserved award and to both of these faculty members on their upcoming leadership roles.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Cooperative Extension Administration supports professional development opportunities for all appointed personnel with Extension appointments. Faculty can submit for funds up to $750. All requests must be submitted in writing in advance . Effective July 1, 2004, faculty must include with submission a three to five-year professional development career plan with yearly updated goals and plans of action. Basically, we want you to think about where you are today, where you want to be in 5 years and what professional development will help you. For discussion of the competencies needed for Cooperative Extension faculty, go to the professional development website or check out the new policy . If you have any questions, contact Lisa Lauxman (520.621.7205).
PROGRAM FOCUS:
Office buildings throughout Arizona routinely spray pesticides to control and prevent an assortment of fire ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, bark scorpions and other pests. In response to societal concerns and to control pests while avoiding reliance on chemical pesticides, Arizona Cooperative Extension has embraced Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which is a science-based decision-making process for managing pests. We are looking for one representative from each county Extension office to demonstrate best practices in their location. Does your building regularly use pesticides? Are you looking for methods to decrease the amount of pesticides used in your work environment? Simple techniques such as learning to spot trouble areas around food preparation; sealing the openings around pipes and conduits; closing off crawl spaces; and repairing drains and building slabs may significantly reduce pests and the need for chemical controls. To learn more, contact Dawn Gouge .
WATER WISE WEBSITE UPDATE:
The Water Wise program announced last week a new web page on Water Usage in Sierra Vista . Unfortunately, there was a link problem which has now been fixed and by clicking on the above you can now see the map and graph usage pop-ups.
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
- The High Desert Gardening and Landscaping Conference will be held February 15-16 in Sierra Vista. Over twenty presenters will discuss landscaping with native plants, food production and environmental stewardship. A new venue, The Palms, is the site of this year's conference. For additional information and a registration form, go to http://ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg or contact Rob Call or Joyce Williams (520.458.8278, ext. 2141).
- The 2007 Southwest Nutrition and Management Conference will be held February 22-23 at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference Center . This conference is recognized as one of the largest gatherings of west coast dairy and beef nutritionists, consultants, academics and veterinarians. It is a great opportunity to learn more about cutting edge research with regards to cattle nutrition, metabolism and management as well as a chance to network with key personnel in the west coast dairy and beef industry. A conference brochure, printable or online registration forms, and more information are available at http://animal.cals.arizona.edu/swnmc/2007/ .
- The Professional Development Working Group is planning a communications workshop for extension faculty and staff on March 21-22 in the Phoenix area. Mark your calendars. Communication topics include: communicating with decision makers to demonstrate the impact of your program; writing for your peers: journal articles; communicating impact by using qualitative and quantitative information appropriately; impact statements; Survey Monkey; PowerPoint; online course delivery; and a writing workshop. More information will follow later.