Extension Updates

To assure that all of you are kept up to date on a regular basis, the three regional directors and the state Extension Administration Office provides bi-weekly Extension Updates. This forum is for all Extension announcements, so if you have something to distribute, please forward it to Lori Bates with FOR EXTENSION UPDATE noted.

January 15, 2013

On Behalf of Bill Nobles:

2012 Reporting and Performance Appraisal

It is that time of year for county directors to focus on performance appraisals. We want all county directors to be on the same page as the regional directors. For 2012, it is expected that reports in CPRS reflect a year’s worth of work and it does not matter when the report(s) were entered. Throughout the year, end of the year, monthly, periodically - as long as what is in the system represents a person’s body of work for 2012. If this has been done – the person gets a check in the yes box for “CPRS reports were completed monthly.” Of course, if someone neglected to report – they can expect to have the “no” box checked.

You may also want to consider when deciding whether to check the “yes” box: someone who reports in March and June and then not again – likely does not have information in the system for the last half of the year – this individual would get the “no” box checked. If an individual reported “hit and miss data” in December or only outputs or put everything into a long narrative – again, you have to ask “does this represent their total programming for 2012.” You will need to apply some judgment here, but the intent is staff reports their 2012 programming accomplishments through the outputs, outcomes and narratives of CPRS. All regional directors are in agreement that the expectation is to report monthly which will include data, demographics and narratives for 2013.

Save the Date

Face-to-Face 2013 Diversity Training to be held April 9, 10, and 11 at the Morgan County Extension Office. This is an opportunity for the Diversity Catalyst Team, but more than that it is an opportunity for everyone to experience and learn about engaging in diversity.

There are expectations that county and area directors hold diversity programming at regularly scheduled staff meetings. The Diversity Catalyst Team (DCT) provides monthly Directors’ Dialog Prompts (DDP) as a tool you can use to initiate/facilitate staff discussions that include diversity as it exists in your county/area. We use the CADIRECTORS@colostate.edu listserv to deliver these prompts to you. You can share them with new staff members, members who miss the meeting, commissioners and other stakeholders, and also file them with your affirmative action materials.

Planning for 2013

If you didn’t see the email from Joy Bauder about reporting dates for 2013 please click here. You need to give teams some time to update their plans in January.

County and Area Directors Meeting

Hope you signed up for the County and Area Directors meeting. This meeting is open to anyone not just county and area directors. It is scheduled for January 28-30 in Breckenridge. Come prepared to interact and engage in conversations to better our overall programming and administrative priorities.

New Staff Orientation

This week long program is scheduled for February 4-8, 2013. The specific 4-H agenda will be sent soon, along with materials you will need to review and/or bring with you for the 4-H orientation. All new staff with 4-H responsibilities and ALL county directors are asked to attend the 4-H orientation that begins on Monday, February 4 at noon. If you’re a new employee and haven’t received any information about this program please contact Judy Barth at 970-491-6345.

Annual County Report Forms and Budgets from Wes Scharf

As all of you are aware, Extension changed the reporting dates for the three annual county reports. This was as suggestion made by several county directors. Instead of being due in the middle of the summer when everyone is busy they are now due at the end of January. Even though they were completed six months ago, in order to get on the new timeframe, I am asking that they be completed again for the entire 2012 calendar year. Hopefully the reports are easier to fill out now that the time frame doesn’t overlap two calendar years.

Click here for the document containing the following annual report forms:

  • 2011-2012 Non-Appropriated Funds Annual Report
  • 2011-2012 County Annual Financial Report
  • 2011-2012 County Rental Value Report

Please complete these forms and return one signed copy to your regional director no later than February 8, 2013. I will ask that they keep a copy for their files and forward the originals to me. Please do not send copies directly to me. Only send one copy to your regional director. The data to be reported on the forms should represent actual expenditures, revenue or rental value for the calendar year 2012. The annual financial report should be signed by the county/area director and appropriate county official. The non-appropriated funds and rental value reports should be signed by the county/area director.

For those of you that have a non-appropriated account, you will need to attach a year-end bank statement that verifies the year end amount on the form you complete. If the bank statement does not match the year -end report please include an explanation and details of the difference. Reasons why they may not match could be due to the date of the banks statement not being 12/31 or timing issues regarding checks written against your account or in transit to the bank to be deposited.

Also, in addition to the three forms above I will need a copy of your county’s certified 2013 budget. Again please send this to your regional director and not me. They will forward me a copy. I am asking that this also be due to your regional director by February 8.

Please call Wes Scharf or your regional director if you have any questions regarding the completion of these forms.

The National Disaster Response Framework (NDRF) and Drought Response Across Agencies and Organizations Webinar

Friday, February 1, 2013 at 1 PM Eastern

The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) offer a chance to take a closer look at how the National Disaster Recovery Framework was used to respond to the drought of 2012 and how it continues to be applied in 2013. This webinar was requested by members of the National VOAD Drought Task Force and the EDEN Drought National Extension Issues Leadership Team. The webinar is open to anyone, but may be of special interest to VOAD and EDEN members, and federal, state and local agencies involved in drought response. The link for the webinar is: https://gomeet.itap.purdue.edu/EDENDrought

Advisory Board Training

Some of you, your staff or board members may want to take advantage of this. I am pleased to share with you the opportunity to attend a webinar on “Engaged Advisory Committees.” The webinar is part of the Strengthening Extension Advisory Leaders (SEAL) program, a multi-state collaborative for sharing curricula and resources for supporting Extension advisory leaders. The SEAL program included face-to-face conferences in the past, but we are transitioning to more online delivery of materials. We have scheduled this webinar for February 11, and it is being marketing through eXtension at https://learn.extension.org/events/762. The webinar does not require any pre-registration, but it would be helpful if interested individuals click on the link to “Follow this event” so that they receive an email reminder for the event. Please share this opportunity with anyone you believe we appreciate additional resources for supporting and improving systems for Extension advisory leadership. If you have any questions, please let me know. Eric K. Kaufman Extension Specialist Virginia Cooperative Extension

Governor's Forum on Colorado Agriculture to Focus on Innovation for the Future

The critical role of innovation to the future of U.S. agriculture will be the focus of the 2013 Governor’s Forum on Colorado Agriculture next month, and participants may register now to gain insights from the event’s guest speakers.

The public forum, called “Cultivating Innovation: Creating Ideas for our Future,” will run 8 am to 4 pm on February 14 at the Denver Renaissance Hotel and will include a number of timely talks and breakout sessions. Cost is $100 per person, including continental breakfast and lunch; registration deadline is February 4 and is available online at http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/ag_Main/CBON/1251626539099

The annual forum is co-hosted by the Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado State University.

As for the month of January “STAY WARM!”

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