Meeting Participants:
| Sandra A. Zaslow, North Carolina | Joanne Bankston, Kentucky |
| Dee Furlough, North Carolina | Juanita Robinson, South Carolina |
| Katie Pomeraus, North Carolina | Nicki Bentley Colthart, West Virginia |
| Teresa Nieves, Puerto Rico | Thelma J. Feaster, North Carolina |
| Lynn Russell, Arkansas | Eunice A Bonsi, Tuskegee University |
| Sarah Anderson, Arkansas | Martha Keel, Tennessee |
| John Dooley, Virginia | Brenda Thames, South Carolina |
| Bill Whitaker, Kentucky | Margaret Hale, Texas |
| Carolyn J. Nobles, Texas | Linda Williams-Willis, Texas |
| Judy Mock, North Carolina | Mary J. Fant, Kentucky |
| Tom Rodgers, Georgia | Kathy Volanty, Texas |
| Lynda Harriman, Oklahoma | Mildred Holland, Mississippi |
| Martha Johnson, Alabama | Gina E. Eubanks, Louisiana |
| Nayda Torress, Florida | Carolyn Carter, Louisiana |
| Bonnie Tanner, Kentucky | Beverly Howell, Mississippi |
| Irene K. Lee, Arkansas |
Chair Carolyn Carter called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. She provided an overview and objectives for the three-day business/planning session.
Update from the Federal Level
Alma Hobbs, CSREES Deputy Administrator for Families, 4-H, and Nutrition, reported the following:
Current initiatives related to Family and Consumer Sciences include:
Childcare, Food Safety, Healthy People-Healthy Communities, and Workforce Preparation. Two new initiatives, Financial Security in Later Life and Childhood Obesity, are in the approval process. Financial Security in Later Life has cleared PLC, while Childhood Obesity has been sent to PLC.Base programs include 4-H Youth Development; Family Development and Resource Management; Nutrition, Diet, and Health; and Volunteer and Leadership Development.
A marketing plan for Family and Consumer Sciences is being developed upon the recommendation of the FCS Ad Hoc Marketing Committee. The committee, with the assistance of a marketing executive, will craft messages and words for a brochure and develop a national statement of how FCS is meeting the nation's needs.
PowerUp, a collaborative initiative developed to help bridge the digital divide, targets Native Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans. The goal of the initiative is to power up 250 communities. Grants have already been awarded.
A national nutrition conference will be in March 2001 at the Crystal City Hyatt Regency, Washington, D. C. Edith Thomas will coordinate the conference.
Nine applications were received for the National Nutrition and Health Program Leader position. The pool was narrowed to five and further delineated to three. The program leader should be named around mid-October.
Dr. Hobbs also led a discussion concerning multi-state program efforts. She discussed the elements of a successful multi-state program, as well as examples of successful multi-state programming efforts across the nation.
Update from Directors
Dr. Linda Williams-Willis reported that the Association of 1890 Extension Administrators completed an accountability strategic plan in 1998 and they are now moving forward with implementation. The purpose of the plan is to show impacts across the 1890 system, as well as to provide a mechanism for marketing programs at the national level. The strategic plan called for establishing program teams in the following areas: Small Farms; Leadership Development; Food, Nutrition, and Health; 4-H; and Water Quality. The Association of Administrators met in Orlando last July with the program teams to initiate their work.
Dr. Margaret Hale reported that the Association of 1862 Southern Region Directors met in Roanoke in July. The directors discussed issues related to families and youth and acknowledged the need for supporting programs for families. Dr. Hale reported that an ECOP concern is that, unlike ANR, families and youth do not have organized groups to influence funding sources. She also announced: The Board of Agriculture is restructuring.
ASRED will be hiring an executive director.
"Under-served communities" is a synonym for economic development.
NELD has been approved for another class.
Other Items
Michael Newman (Mississippi) and Roger Rennekamp (Kentucky) offered their continued assistance for FCS accountability efforts.
Sandy Zaslow provided a report from PLC.
The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
Chair Carter called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
Anderson moved, Torres seconded, to approve the minutes of the August 1999 meeting as distributed. Motion passed.
Southern Region PLC Website
Bonnie Teater, Southern Rural Development Center, provided an overview of the Southern Region PLC website. She reported that FCS has a page on the website composed of the following elements:
- Members and contact information,
- Minutes of previous meetings of the group,
- Links to every FCS page that could be found in the Southern Region.
Ms. Teater stated that her office is willing to work with the FCS group to list multi-state initiatives on the page. She requested that FCS designate a contact person to assist her in this effort. Torres moved, Johnson seconded, that the Secretary be appointed to assist with website development. Motion passed.
Carter will send a roster of members to Ms. Teater for inclusion on the website.
Official Committee Minutes
Carter led a discussion concerning what constitutes official minutes of the FCS committee. The group decided that official minutes should be taken at the annual meeting of the committee at PLC and during official conference calls. The group expressed the need to hold regularly scheduled conference calls.
Rotation of Committee Officers
Discussion was held to decide the most effective way to determine officers for the FCS committee. Williams-Willis cautioned the group about moving to a model that would not allow 1890 representatives to become Chair. She agreed to work with the 1890 administrators to assure 1890 representatives would participate regularly in committee meetings.
Anderson moved, Zaslow seconded, to appoint a nominating committee to determine a slate of officers for Chair, Secretary, and PLC Representative. The nominating committee will be charged to consider tenure and 1890/1862 affiliation in their nominations. Motion passed.
Dooley moved, Anderson seconded, that the immediate past three chairs serve as the nominating committee. Motion passed.
The transfer of office will be made at the conclusion of the annual PLC meeting.
Other Items
Zaslow shared a proposal, "Partners in Wellness," for consideration of the group for possible multi-state programming. Interested states should contact Zaslow.
Dooley reminded the group of the sustainable development conference to be held in Nashville, October 10-12. States are encouraged to send teams to the conference.
Johnson reminded the group of the health workshop to be in Canton, Mississippi, October 2-6. States are encouraged to send teams.
Hale encouraged the group to consider expanding beyond the FCS group for multi-state programming efforts.
Anderson reminded the group of the 21st Century Families Conference to be in Little Rock, May 1-3, 2001. She encouraged states to submit proposals.
Thames reminded the group of the Strengthening Families and Youth Conference to be in Myrtle Beach, February 25-28, 2001.
Work Groups Session
The group divided into three work groups: Family and Community Health, Aging Baby Boomers, and Working Poor/Welfare to Work to explore multi-state programming efforts. Reports of the work groups will be given on August 30. Johnson suggested that work groups be recommended to directors as task forces, with the possibility of later becoming SERA work groups.
Election of Officers
The nominating committee of Harriman (chair), Torres, and Eubanks presented the following slate of officers for the 2000-2001 FCS Committee: Anderson, PLC Representative; Nobles, Chair; and Volanty, Secretary. Dooley moved, Zaslow seconded, that nominations close. Motion passed. The slate was elected by acclamation.
The meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m.
Chair Carter called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
PLC Report
Anderson reported the following:
FCS needs to appoint a representative to the "Strengthening Extension Advisory Groups" Conference. Johnson moved, Torres seconded, to elect Harriman to this position. Motion passed.
Nobles was elected Chair-elect of the PLC group.
Committee requests should be submitted to directors by September 30.
Accountability Workshops Follow-up
Johnson suggested that a conference be held to provide follow-up to the four accountability groups. The purpose of the conference will be to continue the work of the initial accountability workshops. The following will serve as advisors to the groups:
Family Resource Management-Carter (1862) and Edlow (1890).
Nutrition-Dooley (1862) and an 1890 representative to be recruited by Williams-Willis.
Parenting-Anderson (1862) and Eubanks (1890).
Health-Johnson (1862) and Nobles (1890).
Johnson will prepare a proposal for the workshop. The nutrition and parenting groups need to form specialists committees for planning.
Work Groups Reports
Family and Community Health-Johnson reported that the work group is requesting a follow-up to the accountability workshop to take the group through the impacts that were determined at the initial workshop to make them measurable. The workshop is proposed for March 2001 with Ellen Fitzimmons and Ellen Taylor Powell as speakers. The goal is to have measurable impacts by 2002.
Aging Baby Boomers-Dooley reported that the following timeline was established: October 31, 2000-Create inventory of what exists in the area.
January 2001-First meeting of development team in Atlanta.
Fall 2001-Program kick-off conference.
Torres is administrative advisor to the group. Robinsen is 1890 co-advisor. The group will propose the establishment of a SERA task force. Indicators will be developed. Community development, communication technology, and evaluation personnel will be invited to become involved in the project.
Other Items
Dooley moved, Anderson seconded, that the FCS Committee encourage PLC to determine a hub location for PLC meetings and negotiate a multi-year contract. Motion failed.
Hale suggested that multi-state work groups focus on what outcomes should be. Anderson shared that the ANR group is going to focus on one area (beef cattle) and develop resources accordingly.
Anderson asked if the group would be interested in sponsoring a multi-state conference on families and use the conference as an in- service training opportunity for agents.
Fant shared information on a parenting curriculum, "Keys to Great Parenting," developed by the University of Kentucky. She invited states to provide input and participate in the program.
One-hour conference calls of the FCS Committee will be held at 9:00 a.m. central time on the following dates: October 20, 2000; January 19, 2001; April 20, 2001; July 20, 2001; and October 19, 2001. The calls can be accessed by dialing 662-325-8448.
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 a.m.