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Solar panels will heat water for the new staff house at Swannanoa 4-H Camp. (Photo courtesy of Maggie Hedge)
Staff members working at Swannanoa 4-H Camp next summer will get their hot water without the help of electricity or natural gas. In September, solar panels for heating water were installed on the new staff house at the camp, located near Asheville.
The idea of solar water heating came from a committee of Extension agents and program assistants who were asked to develop a plan for Swannanoa.
From left, George Quigley and Jon Ort greet Rep. Bob Etheridge, along with Lisa Childers. Etheridge visited the Extension center in Harnett County recently. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Childers)
Rep. Bob Etheridge, second congressional district, visited his home county and Harnett County Extension Center recently to learn about the impacts the local Cooperative Extension program is having on the county and its residents. Cooperative Extension Advisory Board members, along with Extension customers and administrators, were among those who attended this event.
“Back Home” visits are held annually for U.S. congressional representatives in order to showcase quality Extension programs and provide a forum for Extension Advisory Leaders to interact with members of Congress.
The Xi Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Guilford County center of Cooperative Extension. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. with an education program, followed by a business session, awards ceremony, silent auction and dinner banquet. A professional development tour has been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31. The session will begin at the Guilford County center with a program focusing on an internal look at Extension's visionary leadership, followed by lunch. The afternoon session will be held at the facilities of the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro. The center has developed a session specifically for Cooperative Extension titled, "How to be an Innovative Leader." For more information on the annual meeting and the professional development tour, visit the Web site:
Agriculture Field Day at Riverbend Park in Louisburg, held in September, was sponsored by the Cooperative Extension center in Franklin County. The event gives third-graders in the county an opportunity to learn about rural life, farming and agriculture. Field day organizers also teach students that food comes from the farm, and then to grocery stores and restaurants. Here, youth listen to a presentation.
(Photo by Carey Johnson, The Franklin Times)
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Dr. Richard T. Liles, retired from the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, is among seven exemplary educators recognized with one of the most coveted awards in the adult and continuing education field, induction into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. This special induction ceremony for the Class of 2008 was held Sept. 8 in the Hall’s institutional home at the University of Oklahoma.
Educational scholars and practitioners whose contributions provide the foundation for continuing education and adult learning are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Ag agents group presents awards
North Carolina Association of County Agricultural Agents has announced its 2008 award winners, listed below:
Dr. Jon Ort: Update on Extension team at research campus
The new North Carolina Research Campus at Kannapolis is an exciting development for our state and for N.C. State University, along with the other seven universities that have programs at the campus. I am pleased to share with you that North Carolina Cooperative Extension is also a part of this new venture. Our Extension team at the new campus will move into the N.C. State University building in October, just in time for the building dedication on October 20.
Earlier this year, the Program for Value-Added and Alternative Agriculture, initiated by Dr. Blake Brown, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, relocated to temporary offices at the new campus. With the move came the development of a multidisciplinary team to build on the value-added program and to develop programs that will complement the work of N.C. State University’s Fruit & Vegetable Science Institute at the new campus.
Iredell agent's training will be featured in national Webcast
Iredell County Extension Agent Ann Simmons, family and consumer sciences, recently worked with the Thorlo Sock Co. of Statesville to pilot “Prepare to Care: A Planning Guide for Families.” AARP wanted to see how the project would work in a 30-minute lunch time session. Many Thorlo workers only get 30 minutes for lunch, so their wellness workshops have to fit that time frame. Dr. Luci Bearon, aging specialist in family and consumer sciences and program coordinator, asked Simmons to participate in the pilot project.
A camera crew from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, a group working with AARP, came to Statesville after the workshop to interview Simmons, Suzanne Black of AARP-North Carolina, the Thorlo wellness coordinator and an employee who benefited from the workshop. The video will be featured during an online training program Sept. 17, 1-2 p.m. The link to the training site is:
http://www.blsmeetings.net/caregivers/about/index.cfm
Sue Counts endowment fund established
Sue Counts is stepping down as director of the Watauga County center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, but her name will live on as a contributor to local educational and community-development programs. An endowment fund is being established that will support local programs in the years ahead, and Counts has asked that people contribute to the fund instead of commemorating her retirement w