In support of the 2009 Administrative Priority to Increase and Diversify Funding, the Montgomery County Master Gardeners have secured funding to construct an Extension Education Center in Conroe.
It was a great day for Texas AgriLife Extension in Montgomery County as the new Extension Education Center was official dedicated and opened. And much to my surprise, the County Commissioners' Court and County Master Gardeners Association named this building for Thomas R. LeRoy, County Extension Agent - Horticulture. This is a great honor and tribute for Tom and his dedication to horticultural programming and to serving the people of Montgomery County.
Over the past several years, it has become apparent that the Montgomery County Master Gardener's Association membership and numerous Extension educational activities have exceeded the capacity of the auditorium within the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Office in Montgomery County. As the population continues to increase in the county, so does the participation in our volunteer programs and educational activities.
To address this problem, the Master Gardeners began discussion and determined that the an Education Center was needed. In 2003, a Building Committee was formed to begin developing plans for this center and establish fund raising goals. Over the next five years, the Master Gardeners conducted a variety of fundraisers and plant sales to secure funds to construct this center. Also, several large donors stepped forward and contributed to this project. In the summer of 2008, the Master Gardeners had sufficient funds to break ground and complete the initial stage of construction. At this time the group had raised $440,000 and received over $100,000 worth of donated materials, supplies and services from Montgomery County, contractors, and manufacturers. This overwhelming community support has resulted in this excellent Extension Education Center to be used by Master Gardeners and all program areas in Montgomery County. In January, 2009 the building received an Occupancy Permit and we began to conduct our Extension educational activities in the new center.
Over the next few months, the Master Gardeners continued to work to complete the rain water harvesting system, landscaping, patio, and entrance areas around the building. Also, the group installed DSL service, a complete audio/visual system, and furniture and furnishings. The formal Grand Opening was held today (December 9, 2009)with presentations from County Judge Sadler, the Building Committee, and Master Gardener Leaders.
The Thomas R. LeRoy Extension Education Center serves as excellent example of how dedicated volunteers, community supporters, the County Commissioners' Court and AgriLife Extension can work together to Make a Difference.
Dale A. Fritz, Ph.D., District Extension Administrator
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Performance Appraisal Conference - Individual Progress Review
District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors will conduct Progress Review for agents who meet the following criteria;- If new agents have had at least two Comprehensive Performance Appraisals meeting program standards, and three years experience.
- If agents has been in current position for less than nine months.
- A Comprehensive Appraisal should be conducted every third year for agents meeting or exceeding performance standards.
- Agents have the discretion to request a Comprehensive Appraisal on an annual basis.
- Supervisors have the discretion to conduct a Comprehensive Appraisal Conference with any agent on an annual basis. Agents mus be meeting or exceeding performance expectations to be eligible for a Program Progress Review.
1. Educational Effectiveness and Quality- Outcome Programs
- Program Development
- Outcome summary
- Other major educational activities
- Outreach efforts for under-served audiences.
- Volunteer management
- Materials resource management
- Teamwork and interdisciplinary activities.
- Collabborations
- Professional development
Content for this article was provided by Mr. Ron Woolley-District Extension Administrator, Mr.Vincent Mannino- County Extension Director, Dr. Dale Fritz-District Extension Administrator, and Mr. Scott Durham- District Extension Administrator.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Conducting Effective Performance Appraisal Conferences (Total Staff Conference and Individual Comprehensive Appraisal)
Performance appraisal conferences involving District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors and agents are too often less than successful interactions because of lack of preparedness and organization. As discussed during the EXCEL training in Fort Davis on November 17 through November 19 the following are some elements that should be incorporated in the performance appraisal conference;
Performance Appraisal Conference - Total County Faculty
1. General Items
- Set the stage for a positive performance appraisal.
- Review the purpose of the Performance Appraisal Conference.
- Ask agent to share highlights and accomplishments from Outcome Programs (review Outcome Summaries).
- Ask agents to share highlights and accomplishments from Other Significant Programs .
- Review how these programs are addressing county issues.
- Review membership and meetings of Leadership Advisory Board.
- Review membership and meetings of Program Area Committees, task forces, coalitions, etc.
- Review involvement of other planning groups.
- Discuss LAB sponsored educational activities, annual meeting (in counties that still have some type of annual event), and informational events.
- Review interpretation events for County Commissioners Court and Legislators.
- Review LAB newsletters and "Extension Education-Making a Difference 2009" document.
- Review 4-H enrollment for past three years and discuss expansion efforts.
- Review involvement for 4-H volunteers and mentors.
- Review County 4-H management- 4-H club manager training, 4-H Council Meetings, 4-H VLAT Meetings, and 4-H volunteer training.
- Identify goals for 4-H and youth development program and enrollment.
- Discuss and review Office Conference agendas and minutes.
- Review support staff supervision and performance appraisal.
- Discuss County budgeting process and additional resource acquisition.
- Review support group annual financial review forms and discuss financial Best Management Practices.
Comprehensive Review
Discuss and review the Agent's Performance Summary, review your summary with the agents and establish clear goals for progress for each domain.
1. Educational Effectiveness and Quality- Outcome Programs
The following should be reviewed...
- The Relevance, Response, and Results of Outcome Program
- The target audience and outreach to new audiences.
- Committee involvement.
- Marketing efforts.
- Partners and collaborations.
- Quality and quantity of educational activities.
- Evaluation strategy and results.
- Interpretation efforts.
District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors should review...
- How programs addresses key programmatic areas.
- The target audience and outreach to new audiences.
- Committee involvement.
- Marketing efforts.
- Partners and collaborations.
- Quality and quantity of educational activities.
- Evaluation strategy and results.
- Interpretation efforts.
District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors should review...
- County Budget management.
- Grants, sponsorship, donations, in-kind support, etc.
- Training efforts related to financial Best Management Practices for support groups.
- Utilization of volunteers.
- Involvement of other agents, specialists, elected officials, etc.
- Management for support staff.
The following should be reviewed...
- External partnerships and collaborations.
- Multi-county and interdisciplinary programming.
- interpersonal skills and teamwork.
- Cooperation with co-workers, other agents, and volunteers.
- Office conferences
- New audiences reached.
- New partnerships formed.
- Use of Extension organizations.
The following should be reviewed...
- Participation in professional development activities.
- Graduate study.
- Professional organization involvement.
- Professionalism exhibited.
- Scholarly contributions (publications, fact sheets, websites, exhibits, etc).
- Dossier updates.
- Awards and recognition.
- Involvement of community organizations and activities.
Content for this article was provided by Mr. Ron Woolley-District Extension Administrator, Mr.Vincent Mannino- County Extension Director, Dr. Dale Fritz-District Extension Administrator, and Mr. Scott Durham- District Extension Administrator.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
East Texas Judges and Commissioners Conference Extremely Successful
One of the components of the County Programs Interpretation Initiative is District Judges and Commissioners Conferences. On December 2, 2009 the East Texas County Commissioners Conference was conducted in Extension District 5. Some of the highlights of this very effective event included;- Attendance of 21 County Commissioners.
- Attendance of 5 County Judges.
- Representative Wayne Christian participated in this event.
- One Legislative staffer was in attendance.
Some of the programmatic efforts that were interpreted included the following;
- Water educational programs.
- Community Economic Development educational programs
- Emergency Management.
- H1N1 Update
- One Day 4-H Outcomes in District 5.
These Conferences continue to provide District Extension Administrators with excellent opportunities to highlight educational program outcomes, enhance relationships, solidify partnerships and provide County Commissioners with valuable continuing education.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Conducting Effective Performance Appraisals- Pre - Appraisal Process
An employee's performance has a significant impact on an organization's capacity to fulfill its mission. However, the effectiveness of the performance appraisal conference is directly correlated to the preparation prior to the conference itself. If this Pre-Appraisal process is to be effective District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors should...- Review monthly reports on the TeXas System.
- Review of County Commissioner's Court reports.
- Review annual outcome summaries.
- Review support materials provided by agents in monthly reports.
- Review interpretation materials that communicate programmatic outcomes.
- Review correspondence from agents. District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors can determine if agents are announcing meetings, educational programs, workshops, etc. This type of correspondence provides an indication of the activities that are being conducted in a county.
- Review County Newsletters.
- Review notes from mid-year performance progress reviews.
- Review note from clientele feedback. When District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors have the opportunity to interact with clientele they will frequently provide insight regarding the agent's effectiveness.
- Review Commissioner Court feedback. When District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors have the opportunity to interact with Commissioners and Judges during conferences they will frequently provide feedback regarding agent's effectiveness. District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors should solicit feedback during conferences and formally in writing prior to performance appraisal conferences with agents.
- Review Regional Program Director feedback. Regional Program Directors provide excellent insight regarding agent's effectiveness as it relates to programming efforts.
- Review Specialist feedback. Specialists will many times provide feedback regarding educational events conducted in counties that enable District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors to analyze the effectiveness of a county program.
- Review notes taken when observing agents in teaching roles, conducting committee meetings, or during interpretation events. These observations enables supervisors to better provide constructive feedback to agents during performance appraisal conference.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Establishing a Effective Performance Management System
.jpg)
One of most important management processes conducted by District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors is managing an effective performance management system. Performance Management goes well beyond conducting an effective Performance Review Conference and monitoring agent performance through the TExAS reporting system. As discussed during the recent EXCEL training on November 17 to November 19 there are various components that must be successfully implemented to successfully manage agent performance. The following are elements that are involved in a performance management system with Texas AgriLife Extension Service;
- Conducting an effective Program Planning Conference- Any Performance Management System begins with District Extension Administrators/County Extension Directors and Regional Program Directors establishing clearly defined performance expectations.
- Professional Development and Training- All effective performance management systems have effective professional development and training in place to provide County Extension Agents with the professional competencies to accomplish the programmatic goals established during Program Planning Conferences.
- Monitoring Agent Performance- District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors should monitor performance on a monthly basis to determine if goals and tactical plans that are developed during the performance planning conference is being successfully implemented by agents.
- Coaching- Providing agents with feedback regarding performance on an on-going basis is critical component to a successful performance management system.
- Performance Appraisal Conference- Conducting a successful Performance Appraisal Conference involves effective preparation, effective implementation of the conference and appropriate followup.
The following graph depicts the systematic approach to performance management that is utilized by District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors with Texas AgriLife Extension Service;
The next few County Programs Vision 2009 articles will reinforce the concepts that Mr. Ron Woolley, Mr.Vincent Mannino, Dr. Dale Fritz and Mr. Scott Durham discussed during the EXCEL training related to various elements of an effective Performance Appraisal Conference. The elements that will be discussed includes the Pre-Appraisal Process, the Appraisal Process, and the Post-Appraisal Process.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Swine Validation Resources Available On-Line
Texas 4-H Swine Validation Demonstration is available in live streaming media at http://agrilife.tamu.edu/livestock101/
The Texas 4-H and Youth Development Program in cooperation with the Animal Science Extension Unit are proud to announce this newest offering of online resources to support Youth Livestock Project work. This video focuses on Swine Validation and is designed to assist agents with the procedures for validating Swine projects through the Texas Swine Validation Program. These videos are no substitute for reading the validation guidelines, but they should add visual references to the techniques used in the validation process. These videos would also serve as a great resource for training County Swine Validation Committees.
This website offers a fresh, new, and exciting way for us to share information and help deliver programs to youth. Topics coming soon include: Youth Livestock Project Evaluation; and in the near future, facilities, health care, and much more.
This website will be dynamic. Through your promotion and support, it also has the potential to be one of the most utilized online resources Texas AgriLife Extension Service has to offer. We obviously can't put everything there is to know about youth livestock projects on this site, but we would like your opinion on the topics and resources that would be most beneficial to agents and youth. If you have any comments or questions email Kevin Chilek at k-chilek@tamu.edu.
Please ensure that County Extension Agents are aware of this resource.
Content for this article was submitted by Kevin Chilek, 4-H and Youth Development Specialist, Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
