October 8-11 Extension Fall Conference, Shanty Creek

October 9 MAEA Business Meeting/Awards Luncheon

This will be my last column as President of MAEA. I think I have done a good job representing you and your interests. Eight years ago I went to Fall Conference as a new Agent of MSUE. Everything was new and strange; but I tried to fit in. After the Annual MAEA Awards Banquet, my region had a meeting and one of the regional directors said he did not have the time to devote to the job and wished to resign if someone would take his place. I volunteered. I have always believed that you get out of an organization what you put into it. I figured "what better way to learn about the Extension Agent's Association than to serve in it." It has been a fruitful eight years. I have learned more about Extension from serving in MAEA than from anything else. I would encourage all of you who have not been regional directors, served on a committee or in some other capacity in our association to 'take your turn.’ I truly think that the more effort you put into an organization the more reward you will get out of it. Agents sometimes ask what can the organization do for me? Now I tell them "Nothing if you are not involved." One of these days I am going to thank that Agent for the opportunity he gave me.

This last year has been another learning experience for me. As your representative, I attended a NACAA Regional Conference in Des Moines and the PILD (Public Issues Leadership Development) Conference in Washington, D.C. For the past three years I have also attended the NACAA AM/PIC as a delegate. I always thought I was too busy to go and now I wonder why I waited so long. I know Extension Agents in almost every state and lots of program areas. I can't wait to go next year.

This year, I also participated in the Continuing Employment Review of Agents with 3 and 6 years of service. It is too bad all agents can't see one of those in their first year. What kind of programming do they do? What original programs have they done? Have they responded to a need that they perceived among their clientele or have they done just enough to get by. Are they a team player in the office? Are they active members of their Associations? All these questions boil down to… is this the type of person we want on our team? I am proud to be on our team.

I am often encouraged by how well the AoE teams work, but I think there is more to being an Extension Agent than being on an AoE team or serving growers in your county. We each need to be an asset to the state of Michigan and MSU, a part of the larger whole. I look upon the Agent's Associations as part of the glue that holds our organization together. As the AoE teams become stronger I often think that one of the bad things about them is that they tend to fragment us and pull us away from the larger organization as we specialize in our individual program areas. We have enough forces pulling us apart in today's world; we need some things to bring us back together.

I would like to thank all the members of MAEA for the opportunity to serve you. It has truly been my pleasure.

Our Annual MAEA Meeting and Awards Luncheon will be held during Fall Conference on Tuesday, October 9 at noon. The Conference Planning Committee has allowed the Associations the noon to 4 p.m. time block for meetings and training. Our New NACAA Regional Director, Dan Burkhart from Iowa, will be at the meeting to talk about NACAA. I plan to have the Awards portion of the program first, at the end of the luncheon, and then have the business meeting after a short break. There are several items to discuss.

1. A by-law change to allow members of other Extension Associations to become or remain members of MAEA with reduced dues. The MAEA Board last year created a reduced fee structure of $15 less than the normal member dues for members of other Extension Associations.
2. NACAA has raised its own Annual dues from $25 to $40. Our MAEA annual dues should now be raised by $15 and the amount voted on by the membership.
3. There is an opportunity for Michigan to Host the Annual NACAA AM/PIC in 2007. There are strong feelings both ways on this issue. One region has voted to bid and another has voted not to bid. It makes sense to discuss or debate this issue at our annual meeting and to have the membership decide as a whole if they want to proceed with a bid at the 2003 Meeting in Green Bay

Shanty Creek Resort, October 9, 2001

Awards Banquet - Noon to 2 p.m.

Annual Meeting - 2 to 4 p.m.

Call To Order

Secretary's Report

Treasurer's Report

President's Report and Report on National Meeting

NACAA National Meeting Promotion

Committee Reports

New Business

Installation of New Officers

Adjourn to Regional Meetings

By-law Change

Article Five of our Bylaws deals with dues. It states that MAEA dues are set by the Board of Directors and voted on by the membership.

1. Dues of the Association shall be determined by the Board of Directors with the approval of a majority of the members present and voting at any meeting.

2. A portion of these dues shall be paid to the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, amount to be determined by the National Association. Professional members of other Michigan Extension Associations may become members by paying NACAA membership dues providing he/she is in good standing in their respective association; otherwise the dues will be the same as for MAEA members.

Article 4 of the Constitution sets forth 3 classes of membership

A. Memberships of this Association shall be available to all staff of the Michigan State University Extension who are employed as professionals on a county, regional or district basis. All Extension Agents, and other Extension professionals, shall be considered in good standing who have paid their annual dues.

B. Life Membership - Retirees shall be considered members in good standing who have paid their life membership fee.

C. Associate (non-voting) membership of this Association shall be available to supervisory and administrative staff, and/or part time professional staff of Michigan State University Extension upon payment of the Associate membership fee. This fee is 50% of the amount of a full membership.

Last year the Board of Directors created a new class of Associate Membership for agents who were moved within MSUE from ANR programming, but still wished to maintain NACAA and MAEA membership. The MAEA Board created a reduced fee structure of $15 less than the normal member dues for due paying members of other Extension Associations. This created confusion because now we had two classes of Associate membership. Section 2 of Article Five of the By-laws is vague in that it implies that these members only need to pay the NACAA portion of the annual dues and also that the dues are the same as regular MAEA dues.

2. A portion of these dues shall be paid to the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, amount to be determined by the National Association. Professional members of other Michigan Extension Associations may become members by paying NACAA membership dues providing he/she in good standing in their respective association. The MAEA portion of the annual dues shall be determined by the Board of Directors with the approval of a majority of the members present and voting at any meeting.

Come prepared for the MCEA Auction at Fall Conference!

Each Agent Association is participating for the benefit of the Epsilon Sigma Phi "Extension Professional Development Endowed Fund." Items will be auctioned off through a "dollar auction" and a silent auction. Our Association, MAEA, is responsible to designate five items for this auction. Here’s the good news – the money from any additional items goes straight to MAEA! MAEA has determined that money will go toward the expense of hosting a dinner at the National Meeting in Green Bay in 2003.

There are two reasons for this heads-up to you. First, bring your money! I’m sure that there will be some unique, interesting or fun items that you would love to take home. So, bring your money and plan to leave some of it behind!

Obviously some of these ideas have more value than others, but that is what makes an auction appeal to a wider variety of people.

The other thing you might do is to contact a retired agent in your county. They may be the ones making things or with a cabin up north. It would be a way to involve them in the Association again. Contact them and let them know about this opportunity.

If you come up with something for the auction, or will commit to bring something, please let Jerry Lindquist, Jim Zook or myself know, that way will be looking for you and also know where we stand on items. See you there!

Thanks!

Phil Durst

As most of you are aware, we have begun discussions within our Association about presenting a bid to host the 2007 NACAA Annual Meeting/Professional Improvement Conference (AM/PIC) in Michigan. This bid would be presented at the 2003 meeting in Green Bay Wisconsin.

At the August 23 MAEA Board Meeting, your board voted to recommend to the membership that we make the bid in 2003. During our Association Meeting at Fall Conference you will be asked to vote on this recommendation. It is important for you to know that your board is not making this recommendation while looking through rose colored glasses. We do understand the amount of time and commitment that this undertaking will require.

At the board meeting, we discussed two issues brought to us by some of our members. The first issue questioned whether hosting a national meeting was "on mission" with MSU Extension’s mission "Helping people improve their lives through an educational process that applies knowledge to critical needs, issues and opportunities." In talking with MSU Extension Director, Maggie Bethel about administration’s support for our bid, Director Bethel shared the following perspective; one of MAEA’s and NACAA’s main goals is professional development and so hosting a National Professional Improvement Conference is certainly "on mission" for the Association. Administration has continually supported all Extension Agents’ involvement with State and National Associations because they provide critical professional development opportunities. So while the missions of MSU Extension and MAEA may and should be different, there is no doubt that they are critically interrelated. Obviously, good professional development opportunities will allow us to be more successful in meeting the MSU Extension mission.

The second issue is that of our current budget situation and how that might impact administrations ability to provide us with support for this endeavor. There is no doubt that we are in a tight financial position at this time, but we all hope that this can be corrected and that long term we will recover. This conference would be in 2007, six years from now, frankly none of us knows the exact financial state we will be in at that time. Director Bethel did share with me that she sees the need to continue professional development opportunities, even with our current budget deficit.

There is no question that a professional development opportunity of this magnitude will require a great deal of commitment on the part of our members and our other state associations. In order for the MAEA to host a national meeting that represents our state well, many people must be willing to adjust their schedules (programming and other in-service opportunities, etc.) to help coordinate the efforts of our state association. We will need a core group of people to take leadership of the effort, as well as all members being willing to help when asked. We must be committed enough to the purpose of the NACAA to offer our time and efforts to this task. There must also be support from the local counties, and industry sponsors to make the program the best that it can be.

So why do all this? For those of us that have participated in several NACAA AM/PIC there is no doubt that these meetings provide excellent professional development opportunities, and have changed the way that we provide education to our clientele. Michigan has much to offer in the way of professional development opportunities to our Extension agent counterparts from around the country.

Hosting a national meeting allows us to showcase Michigan State University Extension, MSU, Michigan Agriculture, Natural Resources, Land Use activities, Community and Economic Development activities, etc. Hosting the AM/PIC requires that we search out the very Best in Extension programming around the state. It allows us to focus on the major impacts we have and are making and celebrate those accomplishments.

In addition, this would be an opportunity to work together as a team to host this event. MAEA members would not only work with other Association members statewide and across regions, but we would work with Agents from other Associations and program areas, with administrators, with clientele groups, and with your family. The camaraderie and teamwork that would develop would strengthen the foundation for future cooperative efforts. It would help to make us Michigan proud!

Finally, we owe it to MAEA and NACAA to be involved in carrying out the mission of professional development. As association members we ought to take advantage of opportunities put on by NACAA and other state associations, but we also need to be willing to provide some excellent professional development opportunities for them as well. In doing so, we not only elevate their expertise and ability to serve their constituents, but we also develop professionally as well.

Michigan State University Extension is a national leader in many ways. MAEA can add to that leadership reputation by hosting the NACAA Annual Meeting/Professional Improvement Conference in 2007. The dividends of visible leadership pay off in many intangible ways, but can affect the number and quality of applicants for positions here. Our clientele ultimately benefit from MSU Extension leadership.

I encourage all of the membership to attend our Association Meeting at Fall Conference and to carefully consider your support for a bid for the 2007 AM/PIC. Please also consider how you can be involved in the process if the bid should be successful.

As the new State Chair of the Scholarship Committee, I have two goals for the coming year.

First is to increase the applications for scholarships. This includes members use of the first time attending the National Meeting (to be held in Savannah, Georgia on July 28-August 1, 2002). Others may wish to utilize the NACAA scholarship for a study leave.

Second is to increase Michigan’s contributions to the NACAA scholarship fund. Each member must have contributed at least $40. to be eligible as a fund recipient.

Talk to me at the Fall Extension Conference or give me a call if you have interest in any of the above.

The "Land of Enchantment" turned out to be just that for the 23 agents and family members of the Michigan delegation of more than 50, that had an exciting, fun and educational experience at the Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

We found that the southwest offered a unique blend of history, culture and desert agriculture. Mexican and New Mexican cuisine at the Sunday evening Colorado Lamb Barbecue, on Michigan Tuesday Night Out at the Church Street Café in Old Town Albuquerque, and the New Mexico Barbecue on Wednesday night were enjoyed by all. Wednesday’s 25 different tours gave us the opportunity to observe New Mexico with destinations ranging from irrigated agriculture, cattle and sheep ranches, small farms and Indian reservations, to high technology and urban horticulture and landscaping.

Professional Improvement and Development Seminars on Tuesday offered a wide variety of educational classes, as did the Search for Excellence Luncheon Seminars on Monday and Tuesday. Keystone speaker Cowboy Baxter Black and Doc Blakely ,the capstone speaker, gave us positive messages with a lot of cowboy wit and humor.

The New Mexico Association may be a small group, but they truly gave us an outstanding Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference.

One of the highlights of the NACAA Annual Meeting is to recognize our Distinguished Service Award and Achievement Award recipients.

Distinguished Service Award recipients this year were presented to

• Ned Birkey, Monroe County who has been in Extension for 20 years;
• Andy Norman, Benzie County with 28 years in Extension
• Van Varner, Southeast Region with 22 years in Extension.

Achievement Awards were presented to

• Roberta Dow, North Regional Groundwater Agent who has served for 5 years
• Mary Dunckel who has served in Alpena County for two years.

Congratulations to these agents honored for their program accomplishments.

Michigan is proud to have these people serving with NACAA in these important responsibilities.

Congratulations to our NACAA AT&T Communications Awards recipients:

• Greg Patchan, Oakland, National Winner in Slide Set/Computer Assisted Presentations
• Ron Goldy, Berrien, National Finalist - Publication
• Greg Patchan, Oakland,  Regional Finalist Personnel Column
• Lois Ryan, Van Buren, Regional Finalist - Fact Sheet
• Julie Pioch, Van Buren, Regional Finalist - Team Newsletter