Present
Bo Beaulieu, SRDC
Gae Broadwater, Kentucky State University
Brian Calhoun, Virginia Tech
Hank Cothran, University of Florida
Steve Isaacs, University of Kentucky
Sally Maggard, CSREES
Joe Sumners, Auburn University/Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Greg Taylor, Texas Cooperative Extension
Sandra Harris Thompson, Florida A&M University
Deborah Tootle, University of Arkansas
Louis Whitesides, South Carolina State University
Michael Wilcox, University of Tennessee
Tony Windham, University of Arkansas
Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University
Welcome and Introductions
Louis Whitesides, chair, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone and asked for self-introductions.
SRDC Updates
BR&E Training
Hank Cothran reported that the Business Retention and Expansion workshop held January 7-9, 2008 at Clemson University attracted 25 participants. All but two of the participants were from Extension. Participant feedback was very positive and Hank thanked Alan Barefield and Gae Broadwater for their contributions.
Another training is expected to be held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (potentially DFW Embassy Suites) July 21-23 in partnership with the Texas Economic Development Commission. Training registration is anticipated to be similar to the Clemson training (~$375 for Extension / ~$475 for non-Extension) and participation will likely be limited to 35 individuals.
Personnel Changes at SRDC
Bo Beaulieu announced that the two vacant positions (Business Manager and Program Manager) at SRDC should be filled sometime in February.
Strategic Planning Document Requests
Bo Beaulieu reported that 1000 new copies of the SRDC Strategic Plan have been printed and 500 are currently left. An electronic version of the Strategic Plan, “Blueprint for the Rural South: Discovering New Ideas, Applying New Strategies”, can be found at: http://srdc.msstate.edu/sp/blueprint07.pdf . If you would like hardcopies of the SRDC’s strategic plan, please contact Julianna Brown at 662-325-3207 or via email at julianna@srdc.msstate.edu .
SARE National Conference Travel Scholarships
Bo Beaulieu announced that thanks to the generosity of the Farm Foundation, the SRDC is offering travelships to attend Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) 20th Anniversary Conference - New American Farm in Kansas City, Missouri, March 25-27, 2008 ( http://www.sare.org/2008conference/ ).
In order to increase collaboration between sustainable agriculture and community development, the Southern Rural Development Center is awarding five travelships each valued at $750 to community development extension educators in the South who wish to help new partnerships with colleagues engaged in sustainable agriculture efforts.
Registration is not covered in this scholarship. Applications are due to SRDC on February 20th. Please refer to Bo’s email dated 1/31/08 for more information.
SERA-37 New Hispanic South Initiative
Bo Beaulieu reported that the Social Science Research Center and the Southern Rural Development Center have worked with a team of colleagues across the South and beyond in the development of new Southern Extension and Research Activity (SERA) addressing the growth of Latinos/Hispanics in the South. The result is the SERA-37 project. In support of the project an organizational meeting is being held at the Embassy Suites Atlanta Airport Hotel Feb. 11-12, 2008. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. on the 11th and end around 1 p.m. on the 12th. As of the conference call, 33 people have registered.
Gae Broadwater announced that there will be 90 minute session in support of this activity at GALAXY in September. This session is in partnership with the North-Central and Western Region.
Multi-State Training Opportunities
Opportunities for multi-state training were discussed by conference call attendees. Entrepreneurship, e-commerce, civic engagement and leadership development were all mentioned. It was agreed that the identification of target audiences (professional development, community leaders, youth, etc.) was critical and existing curricula/programs be considered (“Community Voices”, FasTrack, EDGE, etc.). Partnerships with other regions will also be important.
Two sub-committees were created to explore these opportunities:
Leadership and Civic Engagement
- Louis Whitesides
- Steve Issacs
- Bo Beaulieu
- Greg Taylor
Entrepreneurship and E-commerce
- Greg Taylor
- Michael Wilcox
- Bo Beaulieu
- Sandra Harris
CSREES Update
eXtension Entrepreneurship Website Official Launch
USDA will be holding their annual Agricultural Outlook Forum February 21-22, 2008 in Arlington, VA (http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/ ). As part of the activities, there will be a “Ribbon Cutting” at 3:15 p.m. for eXtension, the new national Internet resource of the Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). The Community of Practice: “Entrepreneurs & Their Communities”, will be one of the CoP’s highlighted.
NACDEP Update
Galaxy Conference
The GALAXY Conference will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from September 15-19, 2008 (http://sharepoint.agriculture.purdue.edu/ces/galaxy/default.aspx ). On-line web registration for Galaxy III Conference will open via Purdue University Division of Conferences on April 15, 2008. Galaxy hotel reservations will begin March 15, 2008 via the Indianapolis Housing Bureau. NACDEP will be in the Hyatt.
Gae Broadwater reported that 754 proposals were received by GALAXY and 243 (32%) were associated with NACDEP (only 4H and ESP had higher).