MAEA MessengerDates
The President’s Corner by Stan Moore
Over the past year, your MAEA board has made a significant effort to provide better communication through our enhanced web site and regular newsletters (special thanks go to Mark Longstroth and Don Smucker). It is my hope that we can take this communication to the next level over the coming year.
Two specific areas that we need to continue to work on are communications with campus-based specialist and MAEA life members.
At the MAEA Spring Conference (March 4th and 5th) we will be hosting a Great Lakes Fish Boil on Monday evening. This event will serve as a preamble/practice for our Fish Boil at the 2003 AM/PIC in Wisconsin. The event will also serve to help us build and enhance contacts with campus-based specialist. We are inviting Dean Armstrong and Extension Specialist to join us for the meal and a possible pre-meal discussion. I hope that these two highlights will encourage you to attend this year's MAEA Spring Conference.
Don Smucker has worked hard this past year to update our life member list and has passed this on to our new Secretary, Ned Birkey. If you know of a life member who is not receiving communications from MAEA or NACAA please contact Ned with that information. We owe it to our life members to keep them in the communication loop. We will also be counting on them to help us with the Wisconsin Fish Boil in 2003.
Another important communication role that MAEA fills is in our communication with Administration. Through both direct communication and through our involvement with MCEA, we continue to have a voice with our MSUE Director. Our January 17th board meeting is quickly approaching. If you have any comments or concerns that you would like shared with the board, please share these with your MAEA Regional Director. We then share these concerns with Administration if applicable.
On a final note, it is not too early to be thinking about our next NACAA AM/PIC. The 2002 AM/PIC is in Savannah, Georgia and is being held July 28-August 1. I look forward to seeing you all at the MAEA Spring Conference.
Treasurer’s Report by Paul Wylie
To join or renew your membership to the Michigan Association of Extension Agents, please see the new two-part form. The left side should be filled out completely and attached to the check made payable to the MAEA and sent to me at the Allegan County office. The right side is your receipt that you keep. The information we want to gather on our membership includes name, address, phone, fax, email for correspondence as well as county and MSUE region for grouping purposes. These are all columns in our database that we use for a variety of purposes and forward to the national organization. Please take a moment and fill in all the information about yourself.
The deadline of the end of the year for 2002 membership is approximate as some members turn the dues into their counties in 2002. The drop-dead date is March 1, as I need to forward the information in to NACAA.
Last year the dues straggled in quite late, usually as a result of the lag time in county payments. Please factor this into your plans. Often the county checks were for several members and no dues forms or names were attached resulting in unnecessary detective work on my part.
The dues for 2002 are $75 for regular members, which includes NACAA membership. The $15 increase from last year reflects the increase from the NACAA dues for 2002. Members in good standing with other associations represented with MCEA can join MAEA at a $15 discount. MSUE administrators can join for $37.50 as associate (non-voting) members, but full NACAA members.
Please take a few minutes to invite other staff in your county or regional office to join MAEA. Our strength is in numbers and reflects on the number of voting delegates MAEA sends to the national meeting.
Program Recognition Committee by Jeanne Himmelein
What better way to really get to know the members of an organization such as MAEA than to become a committee chair? Over the past few months I have learned a lot about this organization and came to the conclusion that it is a great way to get to know what work fellow agents do throughout our state. There is great programming that is brought to the citizens of Michigan either through the work of an AoE team, local team or even individually. I embrace this year in this role and I encourage all of you to either
Nominate / submit your work or a fellow agents work for the recognition that it deserve.
AA (Achievement Award) This award is given to MAEA members with less than 10 years experience for program excellence and able to attend the annual meeting in Georgia.
DSA (Distinguished Service Award) is for agents with more than 10 years of experience and deserves recognition for educational programming.
AA and DSA Deadline for submission:
Wednesday December 19th 2001Mail, e-mail or fax nomination to: Joanne Davidhizar Berrien County CED
Pursell Pinnacle Award is for a MAEA member who has proven to be an outstanding humanitarian within his /her personal life. This individual must also deliver effective extension programs.
Pursell Pinnacle Award Deadline is February, specific day will be announced.
Nomination forms are available on the MAEA webpage.
Keep thinking about what communication award you will be submitting. There is a delay at this time however by the first of the year more information will come your way on how to submit your entry to be reviewed for a state finalist.
Professional Improvement Committee by Mary Dunkel
Members of the committee charged with planning the 2002 Professional Improvement Spring Conference include Roberta Dow, Jill O’Donnell and Mary Dunckel (from the North) and Warren Schauer and Ray Clark (from the UP).
The Conference will begin Monday March 4th at noon and will conclude Tuesday March 5th with the Dean’s Luncheon. Although we are in the early planning stages, we’d like to believe that you have confidence in our abilities and have already marked your 2002 calendars to attend!
Our goal is to provide a mix of general sessions with broad topics of interest to all as well as breakout sessions with more specific content. Potential topics include:
In addition, we are working on a special event Monday evening around the theme of Enhancing Connections between campus and field staff. Specialists will be invited to join us for a Michigan Fish Boil at the Pavilion with discussion opportunities before and after the meal.
Please contact any committee member if you have a developed program or a presenter in mind for any of the above topics. The committee will also entertain program ideas that are not listed above until the coming of the New Year. Happy Holidays to all!
Web Site Update by Mark Longstroth
The new dues statement is on the MAEA web site, as well the updated officers, directors and Bylaws. The web site is: www.msue.msu.edu/maea/ Remember that new EANRA staff receive their first year membership free. This applies to the first calendar year in which they are first employed.