Meritorious Service

County Meritorious Service Award
Trudy Rice

Trudy has provided leadership to the development of the Kaw Valley Agritourism Council and the Kaw Valley Farm Tour. In addition to extension staff, members of the council include farmers and businesses in Douglas County and surrounding areas. While there were already a variety of businesses in the area competing for agritourism dollars, the council was developed to plan a more coordinated marketing effort.

The Douglas County Afterschool Alliance was created under Trudy's leadership. The alliance has allowed Douglas County youth organizations to collaborate to receive grant dollars and provide enhanced after-school opportunities for youth. Trudy has served on K-State Research and Extension's 4-H After School Action Team where she has helped train agents statewide about ways to enhance 4-H youth development programming through 4-H after school.

Trudy also provides leadership to Douglas County ECO2, which focuses on the development of a long-term plan for the advancement of industrial/business parks and open-space preservation. This effort developed from work that began in 2000. The membership of the initial committee included extension, diverse representation from business, open-space, and agriculture from across Douglas County.

In addition to the services she provides to residents of Douglas County, Trudy is an excellent contributor to the statewide extension system. She currently serves as ESP Endowment Fund chair and served as Alpha Rho Chapter president in 2006. Trudy worked with Elaine Johannes to present Basic Grant Development Workshops for extension staff to increase awareness of grant resources and build program plans into funding proposals to address youth-related programming.

Prepared by Laurie Chandler and Jennifer Wilson


 

State Meritorious Service Award
None awarded in 2007.

We believe many extension professionals see a direct correlation between professional development and Margaret Phillips. Margaret's extension career began in 1972 working as the 4-H and youth development agent in Ford County. From the beginning to her current role with K-State Research and Extension as assistant program leader, Margaret has been instrumental in encouraging staff to remember the importance of leadership and professional development.

Margaret has shown a personal passion and dedication to extension programming. She is able to view professional development from multiple perspectives because she has worked as a 4-H youth development and family and consumer sciences agent, FCS area specialist, and currently as assistant program leader.

Margaret's current appointment allows her to provide leadership and a renewed effort to emphasize the importance of professional development throughout ones extension career.

Margaret has served in a coordinator and facilitator role on many committees and projects, including the New Agent Professional Development Training, LEADS (Leadership Excellence and Dynamic Solutions), Extension Board Leadership Modules, 21st Century Leadership, Master Volunteer Project, Capable Kids Can, and now the Program Focus Teams.

Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted as saying "Our own success, to be real, must contribute to the success of others." We feel that Margaret Phillips has contributed to the success of others and because of that has been very successful in her own extension career.

Team members –
Diane Mack, Northeast Area; Gerry Snyder, Department of Communications; Brandon Cummins, Department of Communications; Rod Buchele, Southwest Area;
Beth Hinshaw, Southeast Area

The Kansas 4-H Youth Development depends on more than 10,000 adult volunteers to help youth enrolled in 4-H. To ensure the safety of these young people, K-State Research and Extension uses the Kansas Volunteer Information Profile process. The full VIP process includes application, screening, orientation, and appointment by the appropriate extension unit board.

To make this process readily available to those who could not attend face-to-face training sessions, 4-H youth development specialists Diane Mack, Rod Buchele, and Beth Hinshaw explored the use of technology with help from the Department of Communications Information and Technology unit (IET).

The team decided to use K-State Online to provide a simple, yet powerful, set of tools for managing and delivering Web-based resources in support of traditional and distance education. These tools connect the university community to the flexibility of online instruction. K-State Online allows 4-H volunteers to complete the orientation with easy-to-use features that fit their schedule.

This is the first time K-State Research and Extension has used K-State Online to offer training. Now more training courses can be developed using K-State Online for extension agents, staff, and volunteers. To date, 97 volunteers have enrolled in the course.

Advantages of the new system:

Volunteers now complete the orientation portion of the 4-H VIP process sooner and are able to start their role as a 4-H volunteer quicker.

Using K-State Online or the VIP CD brings consistent 4-H volunteer training across the state.

Local extension units now have more options to help their volunteers complete the VIP orientation.

Prepared by Dale Fjell


 

Anna Muir has been a family and consumer sciences and 4-H Youth Development agent in Rooks County and the Phillips-Rooks District for many years. She has designed and implemented programs that combine both of these areas. Anna has done in-school programming for the Plainville Sacred Heart Grade School and the Palco Grade School. These educational topics range from nutrition and healthy lifestyles to many science-related subjects.

Anna has been through both of the Making Science Make Sense training programs. These programs are held at least once a month in each school and more frequently on some occasions. The youth in these programs learn about a healthy lifestyle, and they also learn why this is so important today. Anna seems to know every youth in Rooks County, and more importantly, all of the youth know and respect Anna!

She has organized, promoted, and delivered many Farm Safety Day camps, local day camps, fishing derbies, and Barnyard Olympics during her career as an extension agent. The youth that participate in these programs learn about sportsmanship and team building while having fun. These programs are well planned and implemented, and Anna always has a great demeanor and incredible enthusiasm during these programs. She is always willing to help other agents with their programs and is a great team player.

Anna is the district director of the Phillips-Rooks District, and she was very instrumental in the formation of the district. She spends many hours working with district finances and administration, while finding time to deliver high-quality FCS and 4-YH and youth programming to Rooks County and the Phillips-Rooks District.

Anna was the chairperson of the Northwest Area District Horse Show for many years, and she continues to chair the State Horse Show at the Kansas State Fair.

Prepared by Kent McKinnis
 

Since 1996, Nancy Peterson has been the family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, and community development writer for the Department of Communications News Unit. She focuses on marketing K-State Research and Extension through news. She brings to K-State national news, feature writing and development experience, having managed projects for a $20 million development campaign.

Nancy writes 150 to 200 news and feature stories, briefs, and promotional pieces annually. Releases are distributed to the Kansas Press Association, wire services, USDA, and other radio networks and television stations. Her news stories have been syndicated and printed in newspapers such as the "Dallas Morning News" and "Detroit Free Press."

Nancy also has landed a K-State food safety story on the front page of the "Kansas City Star," a front-page story in the "Wichita Eagle," and set up a 4-H appearance on "The Prairie Home Companion," which was broadcast to millions from the Kansas State Fair. "The New York Times" included part of her story on long-term care insurance with agent Mary Lou Odle.

Nancy also monitors a writer's query service to match experts at K-State to news opportunities in publications such as "Better Homes and Gardens," "USA Today," "Good Housekeeping," and Associated Press stories.