Newsletter June 2016
NACDEP  Newsletter
June 2016

In This Issue...

  1. President's Column
  2. Silent Auction
  3. Now Is The Time!
  4. Development Committee
  5. Food Systems
  6. Something New At Conference
  7. NACDEP Awards
  8. Volunteers Needed

 


 Silent Auction Items Needed to Fund Scholarships


Just a friendly reminder that we are soliciting items for the 2016 Conference Silent Auction.  NACDEP's proceeds from the Silent Auction are used to fund scholarships to future conferences. Please consider bringing or sending an item (or several) to the conference.  Who knows, your contribution may be the "must-have" item that starts a bidding battle. Past items have included note cards & photos, books (some autographed!), honey, jewelry, hand-woven baskets, and a very wide variety of other items. 

If you are interested in donating an item for the silent auction, drop an email to Marty Havlovic ([email protected]) and he will send you a donation form to complete.

 

 


NACDEP Colleagues, 

Greetings and welcome to the June 2016 edition of the newsletter.  There is a lot of excitement as we approach the coming joint NACDEP/ANREP conference.  And the newsletter, as you might expect, reflects a lot of this excitement.  We have an open letter from Development Committee co-chair Melissa Bond, as well as an update from Melissa and co-chair Michael Wilcox.  Susan Kelly has filled us in on food systems work and a trade show - "something new at the conference."  We also have a special note from Michael Dougherty about the Awards program at the conference as well as a word from Marty Havlovic about the silent auction.   Lots of good info that I am sure you will want to read before Burlington.  Happy reading!

Thomas W. Blaine, PhD
NACDEP Newsletter Editor


Letter from the President

The best part of the NACDEP year has arrived! In less than two weeks, I'll get to see many of you at our 2016 Conference in Burlington, Vermont. As of last week there were 424 people registered for the conference, including 242 NACDEP members. For those of you who aren't able to join us, keep an eye out for #NACDEP16 on social media to see what's happening and stay connected.

In other news, Kelly Nix and I just returned from the Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) Summer Board of Directors Meeting. In addition to working on ways to improve JCEP's two conferences - Leadership Conference and Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference - we spent a great deal of time discussing ways of better fulfilling our mission. This mission of JCEP is to elevate the awareness of Extension's national reputation as an organization of excellence, synergistically leverage the efforts of the member associations, foster leadership and collaboration, provide professional development and scholarship opportunities, and advocate for the Extension profession. Actions identified include quarterly newsletter articles for NACDEP and other JCEP association members, continued communication and collaboration with Extension administrators and federal partners, and deliberate efforts to identify and address emerging issues through cross-disciplinary training and outreach.

I can honestly say that my appreciation for and commitment to NACDEP grows every year. I continue to learn more about what it means to be an Extension professional with every NACDEP member I get to know, every conference workshop I attend, and the information shared through our social media accounts. I sincerely hope you are experiencing this value as well. If there is anything you feel the Board of Directors or I can do to enhance this value, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. I look forward to seeing you in June. Safe travels and have a wonderful summer!

Stacey McCullough
NACDEP President



Now is the time!



Dear NACDEP Member,

The first time I attended a NACDEP conference, I went expecting "just another professional development opportunity"- where there would be 3-4 valuable sessions that were somewhat relevant to my work, but mostly presentations that didn't quite pertain to me in my community development role. Well, I have to admit-I was wrong. NACDEP was the first conference I attended that I wasn't searching for sessions to skip. (Don't judge-you know you do it too.) Instead of having gaps of time where I focused more on how behind I was getting on email and phone calls, I found myself trying to be in two sessions at once in order to gain as much information as possible.

The value of NACDEP lies in its ability to provide the venue for the high impact professional engagement that is critical to Extension professionals that love the communities they serve. We chose to be Extension professionals because we knew it is the best way to make a difference in our respective states, and impact communities and regions across the United States and beyond. Through my attendance at the NACDEP conferences, I have gained knowledge that allows me to return to my community and immediately put new practices into action.

NACDEP is a small organization, and we need your help to sustain it long into the future. For the first time ever, we are creating an endowment fund to provide much-needed financial support to the organization. The NACDEP board is committed to maximizing professional development opportunities and supporting the membership by providing on-going opportunities for networking, learning, and celebrating successes-not just at the conference, but year-round through the members' portal and quarterly newsletters. But we need your help to do so.

The board has volunteered to give a 1 to 1 match, up to $8,000.00 for every dollar the membership will donate. Can you help us reach our goal? We know you don't work in Extension for the large salary or luxury living, so we're going to keep our donation requests realistic.

If each member gave $25.00 toward our goal, we could reach that $8,000 mark the board has established. You can give today through our online link at (insert link here) or if you're not in a position to give, please take a minute to share with us how NACDEP has helped you, either through email, the website, or on your social media sites. Use #NACDEPGivesBack on the platform of your choice to share your story with other members and help us collectively realize the value of our organization. Your post could be featured at the conference in June as an important piece of our story.

Thank you and looking forward to seeing you in Burlington!

Melissa Bond
Co-ChairNACDEP Development Committee


Development Committee Update


In January, you received an email from NACDEP President Stacey McCullough asking you to consider making donation to the new NACDEP Endowment fund. In the email, she explained that NACDEP's development goals:

"Seek to advance NACDEP through three components: an endowment for sustainability, sponsorships for visibility and connectivity, and providing scholarships for accessibility."

The Development Committee is directly tasked with working on the first of these components. As Melissa Bond explains in her Open Letter to the membership, we are actively seeking donations to the Endowment Fund. Since the campaign began a few months ago, we are happy to report that we are over 10% of our goal and just getting started.

Now, there is a direct link for donations on the NACDEP Homepage. And, we are working on an Endowment landing page to keep the entire membership up to date with the latest information on the campaign and opportunities to give back to NACDEP.

Speaking of giving back, we are actively seeking additional Development Committee members! If you are interested in philanthropy and serving as a committee member, please reach out to us by email or directly while we are in Burlington. We would love to meet with you to discuss the exciting opportunities underway.

We are looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you in Burlington!

Michael Wilcox ([email protected]) and Melissa Bond ([email protected])Development Committee Co-chairs


Food Systems Work Finding A Home in Community Development


My very first NACDEP Conference was held in Minneapolis in 2010 and I presented on my project of developing a Growers' Market to a packed room of interested people. Looking back at the program, I realize that my presentation was likely to be the only obvious food system idea presented at the conference only six short years ago.

Fast-forward to 2016 and it is evident that those working in food systems have found comfortable homes in the extension community development discipline. Food systems presentations have had a regular presence in our conference proceedings for the past few years. Many of our community development colleagues are active and even leaders in the food system circles, such as eXtension's CLRFS Community of Practice and I-Three Corps, and NAFSN (North American Food System Network). In the Southern Region (and possibly others) program leaders are also meeting and working on collaborative food system efforts.

Reflecting on people I have met through NACDEP, I can think of experts in direct food marketing and sales, developing kitchen incubators, urban gardening, food access, farmers markets and food distribution. My own work has taken on a food system focus as my team develops a regional food hub after receiving a $625,000 grant; as well as work as a SET region, and organizing our farmers' market and community garden.

The NACDEP Board recently voted to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with NAFSN to partner with them in their efforts to create certifications for food systems personnel. There will be a table in the exhibit hall and a "meet and greet" on Monday morning at the conference in a few weeks for NACDEP members who are interested in learning more about NAFSN.

Our work with NAFSN is complimentary, because as NAFSN founder Duncan Hilchey stated, community development skills are lacking in many food systems projects. In fact, I would say that food systems work in general, is only successful when groups are well facilitated, partnerships nourished, leadership skills developed, economic impact documented and the stakeholders are engaged. The increasing focus on food systems, even if a trend or fad, makes a lot of sense.

Susan A. Kelly NC State University, Richmond County Center




Something New At The Conference    

For the first time, attendees at the Joint ANREP NACDEP Conference will be able to attend a full trade show with exhibitors from universities, agencies and private businesses. A sponsorship committee consisting of members from both organizations has been working all year to attract exhibitors to the conference. The Sheraton Hotel has an exhibit hall area that will be used for poster session, breakfast and breaks as well as exhibits and displays. $16,750 has been raised through sponsorships and exhibitor fees!

Universities sponsoring the conference are: North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Purdue University, University of Florida, University of New Hampshire, University of Vermont and UVM Provost Office, and West Virginia University. Other related sponsors and exhibitors are the Regional Rural Development Centers, the National Tourism Extension Design Team, USDA Rural Development, SARE, JCEP, IACD/Community Development Society, and North American Food Systems Network (NAFSN). Other exhibitors include Bruce Seifer (author), High Mowing Organic Seeds, University Press of New England and Woods Vermont Syrup Products.

There will also be Vermont tourism brochures and information about the upcoming NACDEP/CDS conference in Montana in the trade show. Be sure to visit all of our sponsors and exhibitors during breakfasts, breaks and especially Monday evening during the poster session.

Submitted by Susan Kelly




NACDEP AWARDS

This year at the NACDEP/ANREP joint conference, it will be: celebrate winners and then eat good food.Things will be just a little bit different at the joint conference in Burlington, Vt. The awards session is a stand-alone event at 5:45 on Monday afternoon in the Emerald Ballroom.  In the one-hour session, 12 national winners will be honored - three individuals, six teams, two distinguished award winners, and the NACDEP nominee for the JCEP Creative Excellence Award.  National runners-up and honorable mentions will also be recognized.

This is a once a year opportunity to hear about the best Extension programming in community development - and to recognize your colleagues from across the county who are doing this fine work.After the ceremony, there will be farm-to-table dinner stations, a cash bar, and a poster session to cover both your hunger for substance and your thirst for knowledge.  And if you want to learn a little bit more about those award-winning efforts, and how you might be able to use similar programs or processes in your work, that informal reception will be a great opportunity to meet the winners.

For those of you won't be able to be in Burlington - or for anyone interested -- watch this space in future issues (as well as NACDEP's social media outlets) for more information about the NACDEP award-winning people and programs.

Submitted by Michael Dougherty, NACDEP Recognition Committee Chair



Volunteers Needed

In less than two weeks, we will all be invading Burlington for the 2016 ANREP/NACDEP Conference.  This joint effort has taken years of planning by the dedicated membership of each organization; however, in order for it to be a success, we still need a few more people to get involved!  Have you volunteered to serve in Burlington?Please consider volunteering to assist in one of the following areas!

NOTE - PLEASE HELP FILL THESE POSITIONS BY FRIDAY, JUNE 17!  The number in parenthesis represents the spots still to fill!

Concurrent Session Moderators (6)A handful of moderators are still needed to assist with room management during the sessions.  This job includes - loading USB drives, introducing the speakers, keeping the speakers on time, and facilitating questions.  If you know you plan on attending a session that is open, volunteer to moderate the room and get some easy National Service! To Volunteer: Please visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_u1lVDS3Mwq9bekkEo13gUViWQTKX_BtaQFuqKoQPLg/edit#gid=0; enter your NAME, EMAIL, and ASSOCIATION in the yellow cells under the session you wish to moderate.

If you have any problems accessing this page or have any other questions, please contact, Jamie Mullins at [email protected].

Silent Auction (12)
Volunteers are still needed to assist with the Silent Auction!  These volunteers have various responsibilities base on which session they are working; these include - shuttling auction items from the registration table to the auction room, assisting with display of items, promoting the auction, and collecting payment for items won (last session only). 

To Volunteer: Please visit http://doodle.com/poll/rkgs52cmp3s36sba.  Enter your name and mark the time at which you are available to volunteer; NOTE - Four (4) volunteers are needed for each time slot listed.  Once you have agreed to volunteer, please enter your NAME, EMAIL, and ASSOCIATION in the comments. 

If you have any questions, please contact, Marty Havlovic at [email protected].

A/V Set-Up & Breakdown (10)University of Vermont's tech team needs your help!  Volunteer to help them with the A/V equipment during the conference.  This job includes - setting-up and/or breaking down A/V equipment before and after the concurrent sessions.  This may include laptops, LDC projectors, etc. in the 11 concurrent session rooms. If this is your "thing," please volunteer! 

To Volunteer: Please visit http://doodle.com/poll/zp72itzmgyzdvvyx.  Enter your name and mark the time at which you are available to volunteer; NOTE - Six (6) volunteers are needed for each time slot listed.  Once you have agreed to volunteer, please enter your NAME, EMAIL, and ASSOCIATION in the comments. 

If you have any questions, please contact, Ellen Rowe at [email protected]


 

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