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.

May 6, 2015

On Behalf of JoAnn Powell:

• Front Range Region Spring Meeting – Sylvan Dale Ranch
• Congratulations!
• Salary Exercise
• AmeriCorps
• 2014 Commissioner Satisfaction Survey

Greetings,

Front Range Region Spring Meeting – Sylvan Dale Ranch

Greetings from the Front Range. We met April 27 and 28 at Sylvan Dale Ranch at the mouth of the Big Thompson Canyon. Great location and camaraderie. Both Lou and James Pritchett joined us for an update on Extension. We participated in a poverty simulation and experienced a (condensed) month in the life of a family living in poverty. The debriefing elicited comments ranging from “I never knew” to “I’ve lived this” to “this will be the piece of the meeting that I use immediately.” A huge shout-out to our university colleagues who made this training possible. We also committed to check in with a colleague regarding our work-life balance, moved our regional strategic plan forward, and provided input to the performance appraisal and salary task forces. Another highlight was touring the ranch with retired CU professor (CSU grad) Dave Anderson and learning about the 2013 flood, its impact and resulting restoration efforts, and the unique geology and wildlife of the ranch. Next year’s meeting will be hosted by El Paso, Douglas, and Arapahoe counties. Thanks to Thad Gourd, our photographer.

Congratulations!

• …to Jennifer Tucker, small acreage coordinator – Adams County, on the birth of her baby boy, Drake. He was born on April 12.
• …to Erin Post, 4-H program associate – Adams County, on the birth of her baby boy, Porter. He was born on April 15.
• …to Heather Pearce, administrative assistant and fair coordinator – Gilpin County, on the birth of her baby boy, Connor. He was born on May 3.
• …to Sharon Moore, horticulture technician – Adams County, on her upcoming retirement.
• …to Leticia Robles, accounting technician – Jefferson County, for completing the Boston Marathon. Go Leticia!

Salary Exercise

I wanted to confirm that the merit increase for this upcoming salary exercise is 2%. I also want to remind you that those administrative professional staff employed through CSUE will see a 1% increase in the university’s contribution to your retirement plan (from 10% current to 11% July 1). Jessi Fuentes indicates the university plans to increase their contribution to admin pro’s salaries an additional 1-2% over the next few years to remain competitive with their peers. The university changes do not affect your contribution percentage.

Also want to remind university employees that June payroll—through a budget maneuver of the legislature—occurs on July 1, not the last day of the month as you might expect.

AmeriCorps

The grant application was submitted May 1. We expect to hear back from Serve Colorado by mid-month. We are asking for 15.5 AmeriCorps member FTEs who will deliver STEM education in out-of-school settings in the following counties and locations: Larimer, Weld, Logan, Morgan, Otero, Prowers, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver Arapahoe, Jefferson, Mesa, Montrose, San Miguel, Garfield, the San Luis Valley and Schriever Air Force Base. We asked Serve Colorado for $210,338 to support member living allowances and operations. The partners listed above, Extension, and the Colorado 4-H Foundation are providing the balance of cash and in-kind. Thank you to all the agents, directors, and counties who were willing to step-up to this new initiative. I will keep you posted.

2014 Commissioner Satisfaction Survey

The results are in…overall, county commissioners view Extension positively. Download the full PDF at http://outreach.colostate.edu/docs/
2014_CommissionerSurveyCSUExtensionReportv2.pdf or view a brief summary at http://outreach.colostate.edu/docs/2014%20Extension%20Survey
%20Results%20Article%20FINAL4-16-15.pdf.