Award Opportunities – Time is Limited

Excellence and Diversity in Cooperative Extension
awaits recognition by the Nation in San Diego in November 2019.

Luckily, Directors and Administrators and their associates can use a new leaders’ resource to organize and prepare nominations for the National Cooperative Extension Awards. Award-winning nominators strongly recommend starting the process well before the May 1 deadline. Go to www.aplu.org/CESawards to begin.  Please share this message widely and contact ECOP Assistant Director Sandy Ruble at 202-478-6088 for more information.

And speaking of awards...

New! 2019 Culture of Health Awards - The Well Connected Communities initiative is pleased to offer three Culture of Health awards to one youth volunteer, an adult volunteer, and a Land-grant University, that have been leaders in healthy living programming in their communities. All land-grant universities are invited to nominate, including those involved with the Well Connected Communities initiative. T. his work should have a focus on health equity and inclusion, address one or more of the social determinants of health, and successfully engage in youth-adult partnerships. Visit the Culture of Health Awards website to download and submit your applications by March 15, 2019. For more information, contact Shay McNeil at smcneil@fourhcouncil.edu.

4-H Council Strategic Plan Approved - National 4-H Council’s Board of Trustees approved a new three-year strategic plan for Council operations at its quarterly meeting in December. The plan, which covers fiscal years 2019-2021, was developed in collaboration with the ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee and looks to accelerate private sector support for Extension’s high-quality 4-H positive youth development programming. The plan maintains Council’s focus on creating public-private partnerships to generate funds and on telling the story of today’s 4-H. In this next phase of its 10-year vision, Council intends to highlight the positive impact that Extension and 4-H have on economic prosperity, equity and upward mobility for all young people. To read the plan and review Council’s accomplishments over the last three years, go to www.4-h.org/outcomes.

eXtension Member Events - Spring 2019. Registration for our April Impact Collaborative Summit is open. Each member institution receives five free registrations to send a project or program team to the Summit. More info can be found here. Also, State and Institutional Events are being scheduled, designed alongside leadership teams, to help with building skills in innovation. Contact Chris Geith at christinegeith@eXtension.org for more information.

Cooperative Extension Partnering with APLU Commission on Economic and Community Engagement (CECE) on Learning More About e-Connectivity in Rural America - Marshall Stewart, University of Missouri, and Ashley Stokes, Colorado State University, colleagues who are currently serving on the CECE’s Executive Committee encourage Directors and Administrators to participate in an online survey.

"There is no question that rural residents and businesses need access to high-speed internet service," says Sheila Martin, contact for the effort. "APLU knows its member institutions are already working in this area; however, we are certain we do not have the complete story of what our member institutions are doing to promote rural digital inclusion. APLU is requesting information from its members regarding their institution’s contributions to rural community’s access to the benefits of high-speed internet. We invite you to view read the white paper e-Connectivity in Rural America: Public Research Universities Advancing Digital Inclusion and share your institution’s contributions to expanding high-speed internet access in rural communities by taking this online survey by Sunday, March 10^th. Our staff will review responses and make the relevant contacts at your institution to understand the full picture of your work in this area. The final product will articulate practices making a difference for rural communities based on your responses."

Reminder: Extension Administrators and Directors and/or their economic development/community engagement associates may join CECE at no cost at this link.

APLU Draws on Cooperative Extension Expertise in Economic and Community Development

The ECOP Monday Minute returns on February 25, 2019 due to the observance of President's Day.

Extension's work with APLU's Commission on Economic and Community Engagement (CECE) is trending due to the expertise offered by the Cooperative Extension Section.

• Marshall Stewart (University of Missouri), Ashley Stokes (Colorado State University) and Jorge Atiles (Oklahoma State University; also representing BoHS), were named to the CECE Executive Committee. 
• Ivory Lyles (University of Nevada) is a member of the CECE Summer Meeting planning committee. 
• Michael Gaffney (Washington State University) is co-chairing a CECE Learning Exchange Forum around Rural Engagement for Resilient Communities. 
• Extension colleagues are engaged in their university’s pursuit of APLU's Innovation & Economic Prosperity University (IEP) designation and awards. 
• CECE is engaging the Southern Rural Development Center/Extension partnership on framing of some language to support broader university efforts in rural e-Connectivity. 
• ECOP is partnering with CECE in Learning for Leaders and other opportunities. 

Extension Administrators and Directors and/or their economic development/community engagement associates may join CECE at no cost at this link.

Rural Health Event-No Cost to Register - The Un-Meeting on Rural Health and Health Equity is set for Monday, April 8, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. An Un-Meeting is a dynamic experience where attendees drive the agenda, and the needs of communities take center stage. The goal of the Un-Meeting to forge new collaborations that bridge the translational science, Cooperative Extension and other sectors to improve rural health and achieve health equity. Partial travel stipends may be available for Extension nominees. National Extension participants are encouraged to click here to register by 2/18/19. The host is the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS).


Priester Award Nominations Due 2/20/19 - The purpose of the Jeanne M. Priester Award is to honor sound, innovative Extension programs that positively impact the health of people at national, state and local levels and provide leadership to expand Extension’s capacity to increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life. This year an Extension-community partnership Culture of Health category has been added. To read about all 5 categories go to https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/nhoc/priester-awards/. Awards will be presented at the 2019 National Health Outreach Conference, A Grand Vision for a Healthy America, held May 1-3, 2019 in Fort Worth, TX. Award winners will be notified by March 12, 2019.

2019 National Extension Conference on Volunteerism - Every other year Directors and Administrator are provided the opportunity to focus on and optimize volunteer development and program management at state and local levels by widely sharing the following information with faculty and staff. Early registration ends 4/1/19.

The 2019 National Extension Conference on Volunteerism will be held May 14-16, 2019 in Billings, Montana. Extension professionals will learn latest trends and research in volunteerism and gather tools and skills through interactive sessions and networking with colleagues while developing plans to utilize these new resources in their own programs. Registration http://necv.msuextension.org/ is now open. Please forward this information to all appropriate listservs, post on blogs and other social media, and link the website to all appropriate webpages. Like and share posts found at https://www.facebook.com/1NECV.

National Awards - What Directors and Administrators Need to Know

The 2019 National Extension Awards program offered by ECOP in partnership with USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) began February 1. The deadline to submit nominations is May 1.  Last Friday's Next Generation Extension – Learning for Leaders, National Extension Awards, Systems Thinking, and Winning Words, is available for review at https://youtu.be/k7zLKEB2q8s. Top comments from the session: Start process EARLY, there are many benefits to nominating, use a more systematic approach, resubmit nominations from past years, add value with quotes.  Click Here to View/Download the slides. Contact information for the experts Ann Kellett and Suzanne Deatherage is found on the last slide. Go to www.aplu.org/CESAwards to begin. Direct nomination process questions to Sandy Ruble sandyruble@extension.org.

Go to: bit.ly/AboutCoopExt

2019 Cooperative Extension Infographic - To use for relationship building and awareness at local, state and national levels, Directors and Administrators are invited to share the 2019 ECOP Infographic, available at bit.ly/AboutCoopExt. This evolving document will gradually be improved over time to align with the Cooperative Extension Section Strategic Agenda www.aplu.org/CESagenda and the future of Extension. The contact is National Office Executive Director Rick Klemme rickklemme@extension.org.



4-H Grows FAQ - The 4-H Grows Engagement Campaign has developed a resource to support the discussions that are planned with Extension Directors and Administrators following January's "Next Generation Extension: Learning for Leaders" session on the 4-H Brand. The 4-H Grows Engagement Campaign FAQ is available now and will also be distributed to state 4-H program and fundraising leadership across the country prior to the opportunity institutions will have to re-invest or invest for the first time in 4-H Grows, beginning this March. Contact Jen McIver, Vice President, Field Marketing and Partnerships, jmciver@fourhcouncil.edu.

Impact Collaborative Innovation Facilitator Training - By popular demand, eXtension will host a second Innovation Facilitator Training March 12-14, 2019 in Atlanta. Click here to listen to what some of the 41 newest Innovation Facilitators had to say about the January session. The training for one Facilitator is at no cost to 2019 member institutions, and includes travel, lodging, meals, and registration. Additional Facilitators are welcome; a registration fee will apply and the additional costs are at the responsibility of the member institution. Registration deadline: February 18, 2019. Direct Facilitator Training questions to Ashley Griffin at agriffin@eXtension.org. Direct 2019 eXtension member inquires to Chris Geith at christinegeith@eXtension.org.