Meeting Participants:

Arkansas	Lynn Russell
Georgia	Tom Rodgers
Kentucky	Bonnie Tanner
Louisiana	Ellen Murphy
Mississippi	Mildred Holland, Beverly Howell
South Carolina	Nancy Porter
Tennessee	Shirley Hastings
Texas	Carolyn Nobles
Virginia	Eleanor Schlenker

Chair Mildred Holland called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. CST with ten Program Leaders participating. Shirley Hastings moved, Carolyn Nobles seconded, that the minutes of the January 10, 2003, teleconference be accepted as written. Motion passed.

Program Leaders Committee:

Carolyn Nobles and Kathy Volanty (via written correspondence) reported on activities of the Program Leaders Committee:

• The Southern Region PLC meetings will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, August 25-27. The meetings will be in combination with the Directors/Administrators meetings. Monday night will be Committee Night Out; Tuesday night will be State Night Out.
• During the PLC meetings, the Community Development Program group will provide a program on GIS Capability and has invited FCS to attend. As arrangements are finalized, FCS will be notified.
• A showcase of competency and taxonomy modules will be highlighted at the meetings. FCS was asked to identify two modules for inclusion in the showcase. Ellen Murphy agreed to assume responsibility for task. Mildred Holland will distribute a list of members of each of the FCS competency committees to FCS Program Leaders.
• Each Program Leader group has been asked to complete an Annual Work Plan and post it on the PLC website. A plan for the remainder of this year has been requested as a pilot exercise for the template. The 2003-2004 is due by the end of the PLC meetings.

State Updates:

The following updates of state activities were provided:

Arkansas (Lynn Russell)

• Plans are to advertise for a Family Resource Management Specialist if budget allows.
• The 2004 food stamp education program proposal is in the process of being developed.
• Arkansas is participating in a tri-state childhood obesity initiative with Louisiana and Mississippi.
• Arkansas administrators met earlier this year with counterparts in Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas to discuss potential multi-state efforts.
• The second 21st Century Families conference will be held April 20-22, 2004, in Little Rock. Information concerning the conference will be forthcoming.

Georgia (Tom Rodgers)

• A tri-state meeting with Alabama and Florida will be held April 30-May 1.
• Georgia may be facing state layoffs.
• Currently, there are 41 FCS agents and 12 vacancies.
• A consumer literacy program grant of $250,000 has been acquired.

Kentucky (Bonnie Tanner)

• Kentucky is looking at a 2% budget cut. They have operated without a state budget this year.
• Extension is slowly filling vacant agent positions, with four being in FCS.
• FCS is being moved to the College of Agriculture.
• An offer has been extended for a Limited Resource EFNEP staff member.
• FCS is collaborating with other groups on a Health Education program.
• Jo Herd will be the new 4-H Assistant Director, effective August 1.
• Extension continues to be involved in a re-envisioning process.

Louisiana (Ellen Murphy)

• Budget deficit projections have been made for the state.
• Extension is hiring new 4-H and FCS agents.
• Heli Roy, Nutrition Specialist, has assumed a joint appointment with the Pennington Institute.
• Plans are to hire new staff in nutrition and human development.
• Extension is preparing for a CSREES review scheduled for the end of April.
• Extension FCS will merge with the College of Human Ecology, effective July 1. Ellen's role will remain the same; her title will be Associate Director for Outreach. She will provide administrative leadership over FCS specialists and programmatic leadership over county FCS programs.

Mississippi (Mildred Holland)

• Alcorn State University Cooperative Extension Program (ACEP) continues to work with the Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative (NIRI) program.
• ACEP is in a transition period with a new director.
• Funding is low.
• A new logo is being developed to support an emphasis on marketing.
• ACEP is moving into multi-state projects in parenting and childcare.

Mississippi (Beverly Howell)

• Mississippi State University Extension Service (MSU-ES) has hired a new Health Education Specialist, Dr. Jane Clary of Purdue. She will begin work August 1.
  
• MSU-ES has employed a Budget Manager (Peggy Gunter from Auburn) to work with the food stamp nutrition education program and will be advertising soon for a curriculum coordinator to work with that program.
  
• Following reorganization of field staff, MSU-ES is evaluating the organization's middle-management structure.

South Carolina (Nancy Porter)

• The state is anticipating an 8-10% budget cut, with a 5% cut expected at mid-year.
  
• The Vice President for Public Service has eliminated the positions of Dean and Director of Extension and the Experiment Station.
  
• The Provost has identified eight emphasis areas, with Family and Community Living being one.
  
• A Center for Family Life and Finances has been proposed.
  
• After the current round of early retirement incentives, it is expected that there will by 15-20 FCS agents across the state.
  
• An EFNEP State Coordinator position is being advertised.

Tennessee (Shirley Hastings)

• The state is anticipating a 9% budget cut.
  
• Extension is not expecting to cut positions; however, vacant positions may not be filled.
  
• A Consumer Economics Specialist position is being advertised, as well as a joint position between Extension and Continuing Education.
  
• Extension is collaborating on an obesity initiative with other agencies.

Texas (Carolyn Nobles)

• Carolyn has been appointed to the Board on Human Sciences.
  
• Plans are underway for the 1890 National Conference that will be held in July in Atlanta. Conference details and the agenda will be posted on the website.
  
• Extension is in the second year of Project Hope, a collaborative hypertension education program with churches.
  
• Extension is unsure if they are going to do a proposal for the food stamp education program, as it is hard for 1890 institutions to get match. They are considering asking for a waiver of match.
  
• Extension continues to deal with budget shortfalls.

Virginia (Eleanor Schlenker)

• Extension experienced a large budget cut earlier this year.
  
• To avoid layoffs, two rounds of an early retirement option were offered.
  
• FCS has lost 27 field positions, with 39 remaining plus EFNEP and food stamp education program coordinators.
  
• Some reorganization has occurred, with Human Nutrition now in the College of Agriculture.
  
• Human Sciences has a new department, Liberal Arts.
  
• Three full-time specialist positions have been lost.
  
• A strategic plan is being developed to determine where FCS will be located.

Other Items:

• Tom Rodgers stated that there is a need to focus on marketing for FCS.
  
• The initiative for increased funding in EFNEP was discussed. While it was determined that the initiative is not dead, opinions are not optimistic for the increase.
  
• Mildred Holland announced that registration for the Priester Health Conference, April 22-24 in Phoenix, is down. Ellen Murphy, Bonnie Tanner, and Beverly Howell plan to attend, and each has a part on the program.
  
• Ellen Murphy expressed that the Farm to School partnership ties in well with the childhood obesity initiative. It is a good way to partner with school systems to get healthier snacks in vending machines, etc.
  
• Shirley Hastings inquired on the status of gifts for FCS Program Leaders who have retired. Mildred Holland will follow up.
  
• The next teleconference will be Friday, July 11, 2003, at 9:00 a.m. CST. The phone-in number is 662-325-8448.

The meeting adjourned at 10:15 a.m.

Summary of Action Items:

• Shirley Hastings moved, Carolyn Nobles seconded, that the minutes of the January 10, 2003, teleconference be accepted as written. Motion passed.