Friends,
These last few weeks have been filled with so many opportunities to participate in professional affiliation conferences and witness, once again, the full force and personality of OSU Extension professionals. At each of the conferences, Ohio had one of the largest contingencies attending, presenting (sessions and posters), providing leadership, and being formally recognized for their Extension programming excellence (see some of the award winners recognized below). Some quick examples of our high-performing professionals include:
- Our ANR professionals had 15 of the 109 accepted posters at NACAA; and Ohio had submissions in 11 of the 13 award categories and 54 entries in the contest. Of these, five were regional winners and two are national finalists.
- About 25 Ohio colleagues attended the Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) annual conference in Savannah, Georgia. Ohio had one of the largest state presences at the conference and one of the highest numbers of presentations, posters, and formal recognitions. Kudos to Travis West for being elected to the position of ESP national second vice-president!
- The NEAFCS annual conference was held virtually last week. Again, our OSU Extension professionals had a very strong presence and were recognized for the level of their Extension work and their leadership. Kudos to our national officers: Kate Shumaker, secretary, and Pat Brinkman (recently retired), VP professional development! And congratulations to Melinda Hill, recently recognized as NEAFCS educator of the year!
- Our NACDEP professionals had 50% of the 10 accepted posters and various presentations. Brian Raison was recognized with the NACDEP Excellence in Community Development Programming award. NACDEP recognized Treasurer Nancy Bowen and North Central Region Representative Brian Raison as their national leadership terms concluded.
It is very exciting and rewarding to see so many of our colleagues doing such commendable work and to see our Ohio professionals being leaders nationally and recognized for their expertise and service to the mission of Extension. You have much to be proud of; and your commitment to translating research into excellent practice and stewardship does not go unnoticed by your national counterparts or by me. I know many of our 4-H professionals will have similar stories of success to share as they have their NAE4-HYDP conference in Nashville, as well as the National Association of Extension Program and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP). Well done!
It goes without saying that the ability to shine nationally is built on the foundation of meeting the needs of our stakeholders in Ohio and sharing those insights, research findings, programs, and leadership ideas at the national level and then bringing ideas and resources back. I continue to encourage you all to join your professional affiliations, submit presentations to share your knowledge and expertise, engage in state and national leadership, and continue to learn from one another and colleagues across the great Extension system. Thank you for consistently shining at home and across the nation!