The meeting was called to order by Claude Bess, Chair of the Middle Manager's Committee at approximately 10:03am eastern time. The agenda for the meeting was sent earlier via email to all participants. We appreciated the assistance of Dwayne Hunter OSU, during the use of CENTRA. Those individuals participating in the conference were: Claude Bess, Pam Hudson, Quinton Hornsby, Kent Rorie, Judith Jones, Barbara Board, and Tony Roberts.
Claude Bess provided introductory remarks. He also stated that Joe Shaffer from Florida would be unable to join us, but stated that presently he had no report from the Administration.
Claude asked Judith Jones to give us an update on the MM Conference in April of 2007. Judith provided the update and gave a brief synopsis of the program agenda. The theme: Extension Middle Management: "Learning from the Past- Planning for the Future".
We discussed the need to Market the Conference. We need to make sure we get the dates and location out soon as possible after the first of the year. Possibly develop fliers, send out date saver cards, etc. Pam and Claude will contact Kathy at the Southern Rural Development Center for an updated email listserv of all Middle Managers in our Region.
We likewise discussed the issue of "getting on the MM web site" our Plan of Work, MM Conference program, etc. for our Region Middle Managers to access. Claude was to discuss this with Kathy as well.
The Middle Manager's Conference will be held Monday, April 9 starting with registration from 3:00pm to 6:00pm with an opening reception from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. The conference will adjourn at approximately 12:00 noon or so on Thursday April 12th. The conference will be held on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Airport access may be best through the Roanoke, VA airport.Greensboro, NC demands a two hour drive to Blacksburg.
The Plan of Work was addressed. Much discussion centered on Emergency Management. Claude is to develop a survey and send to State Administrators. Moreover, he will make sure the MM Conference is included in our Plan of Work. We basically discussed item 3- Emergency Management Plan under our number 2 item - Plan of Work
We also tossed around the idea of continuing these CENTRA meetings. It was decided to continue these opportunities. We all are to send Claude Bess our dates of availability around mid-January 2007. Everyone liked the time 10:00am Eastern.9:00am Central.
We further discussed the role of Middle Management. Pam Hodson and others addressed the future of MM as they see if from their state's perspective. Question.What or how do the states see the future of Middle Mangers? It was agreed that this should be a topic for discussion at the April MM Conference in Blacksburg under to heading of State Sharing Session. It may also be worthy to address at the August meeting of PLN as well. We all had strong feelings and ideas concerning this topic and thought it very appropriate to address.
Two openings were shared for everyone's consideration and promotion:
- Assistant Director for 4-H Programs in Oklahoma
- Associate Dean for Extension in Georgia
No further business, the meeting was adjourned approximately 10:46 am.