Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) is dedicated to fostering standards of excellence in the Extension System and developing the Extension profession and professional.
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Committee reports, membership blitz, silent auction, global opportunities,
member news and more.
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ESP Mission Statement
Epsilon Sigma Phi is dedicated to fostering standards of excellence in the Extension System and developing the Extension profession and professional.
ESP Vision Statement
Epsilon Sigma Phi leads the Extension System in promoting and supporting professionalism in Extension.
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President's Report
By Nathan Winter, wint0146@umn.edu, (320) 583-2257
I had the great opportunity to attend the Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference this past April. This year’s conference theme was “Enhancing Leadership Capacity for Emerging Issues”. The conference was full of educational opportunities for attendees to help Extension provide value and relevance for our local, state and federal partners. The emerging issues area was also emphasized because it is so important for Extension to understand the current issues and know our role in providing education to support positive changes. PILD also offers a great opportunity for Extension staff to visit our legislators on the national level. Some of the visits I attended highlighted the recent University of Minnesota Extension effort addressing rural stress in Minnesota.
Our organization continues to work towards providing value for our active and life members. We are listening to the needs of our membership and I would be happy to hear from anyone that has interests or concerns in relationship to ESP. Our committees are doing a great job and are working towards growing our membership. Thank you for your continued interest in ESP.
Dues Increase Proposal Requires By-laws Change
National has notified all chapters of a dues increase for next year (2020). A subcommittee (Nathan Winter, Kathy Brandt, Mary Caskey, Robin Trott & Sara Croymans) met late March to discuss the increase. The subcommittee brought forward the following recommendation which was approved at the May 3, 2019 Board meeting to put to a membership vote. Voting will be open July 15 - 26. Please watch for an email in the next few weeks with a link to vote on the proposed dues increase. Information on proposed dues increase:
Annual members:
currently dues are $70 ($40 to National & $30 to Pi Chapter). National has increased their portion to $55. Pi chapter proposes our Pi Chapter portion remain at $30 resulting in new proposed dues of $85 for Annual Members.
New members
: current dues are $70 ($45 to national & $25 for Pi Chapter). National has increased their portion to $55. Pi Chapter proposes increasing our portion to $30 resulting in a new proposed dues of $85 for New Members.
National Life members
: current dues have been a one time fee of $250 total ($200 to national (5x annual dues) & $50 to Pi Chapter). National has increased the National portion of Life Member Dues to $275. Pi Chapter proposes to reduce our portion to $25 (had been $50) for a round total of $300 dues for National Life Members.
MN LIfe members
-- This membership option is comparable to a MN Annual Member as they are paid annually. Currently, MN Life member dues have been $70 annually ($40 to national & $30 to Pi Chapter). National has increased their portion to $55. Pi chapter proposes our Pi Chapter porton remain at $30 resulting in new proposed dues of $85 for MN Life Members.
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ESP Pi Chapter Annual Meeting Scheduled
The Annual meeting of the ESP Pi Chapter will be held via technology on October 9 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.
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Nominating Committee
320-203-6057
We are currently seeking nominations for our 2019-20 Pi Chapter Executive Committee. Positions open are Vice-president and Member-at-Large (life member). Both are 2 year terms. The VP moves into the President role the second term. Both are open to life members. I would love to talk with you further about these opportunities. If I don’t hear from you, you may be hearing from me soon. Please consider these opportunities.
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Professional Improvement Committee Report
218-463-0296
The ESP Professional Improvement Committee has been offering Lunch & Learn conversations focused on the POWER OF COLLABORATION!
If you are interested in learning more about the June 12 Lunch & Learn,
Addressing Rural Stress Initiative by Emily Wilmes
, you can listen to the recording at this
LINK
.
Here are a few links for you from today's Lunch & Learn: Making it Home Program
- Link to the Recording (of today's session)
- Link to Survey (for your input, please)
Also, here are the links that were shared during the session.
MAKING IT HOME
Link to
Podcast
(featuring the Litchfield community)
EPSILON SIGMA PHI (National)
Join us for our final scheduled Lunch & Learn:
August 14 - MN's First Hispanic 4-H Club [
FLYER
]
Let our committee know if you have topic ideas or would like to present at a future lunch and learn.
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Retiree/Life Member Committee Report
612-625-6795
The summer edition of the Extension retiree e-newsletter is in preparation, with a distribution date of July 1. Each issue features a section on the “afterlife” as Extension retirees share their volunteering and activities.
The Dean’s annual summer retiree lunch is Thursday, July 18, Midland Hill Country Club, Roseville.
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Membership Committee Update
By Kathy Brandt, Membership Chair
Welcome to ESP Pi Chapter! Congratulations and Farewell, Brent Hales!
Brent Hales, Senior Associate Dean, joined ESP Pi Chapter this year. His name was inadvertently omitted in the previous newsletter. Our apology for that.
As was recently announced, Brent has taken the position of Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of Extension at Penn State University. His last day at the University of Minnesota Extension will be July 31. We wish him all the best in this new endeavor and will miss his involvement with University of Minnesota Extension. Congratulations, Brent!
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Membership Blitz Challenge Coming in September
The Membership Blitz Challenge last September proved to be very successful with eleven new members joining Pi Chapter! Plans are underway to do a similar challenge September 5 - 19, 2019. The details aren’t complete but will be soon.
Here’s what we know:
- All current annual and life members will be invited to recruit at least one Extension professional to join ESP Pi Chapter during the Blitz.
- Great prizes will be available to all annual and life members who recruit new members with dues paid prior to the fall event.
- The Scholarship Committee is once again offering a new member incentive of a $100 stipend to the first 15 new members to use for professional development.
Stay-tuned for the details.
The membership committee has great momentum and we’d love to have you join us, with your ideas and enthusiasm! Let Kathy Brandt know if you’re interested.
Let’s GROW with Epsilon Sigma Phi Pi Chapter!
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Scholarship Committee Report
- Since the last newsletter the Scholarship Committee has had only one scholarship request - and that was from Nathan Winter as he represented ESP PI Chapter at PILD.
- The ESP Scholarship Committee will once again, in working with Membership, offer a $100 scholarship incentive to any new member joining ESP. This scholarship must be used within one years time from joining and must meet the Scholarship guidelines for use.
- Since scholarships are awarded on the University fiscal year, requests for July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 are now being considered.
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Legislative Committee Report
612-625-6795
Wrap-up of 2019 Legislative Session:
May 20 was the constitutionally mandated end of the regular session. The
higher education omnibus bill
was the only budget bill completed in the regular legislative session, appropriating an additional $43.5 million to the University. In total, the University received approximately $65.3 million in additional funding from the state this year.
A special session to finalize the budget bills that remained was called. One casualty of the special session was the failure of the legislature to pass a general obligation bonding bill. As a result, the University’s 2019 capital request projects like Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR), Child Development Building Replacement, and A.B. Anderson Hall Renovation must wait another year for further action. See the attached chart to
view a comparison of the budget and capital proposals and outcomes
.
To help promote the University’s impact across the state during this legislative session, J.D. Burton, Chief Government Relations Officer for the University, asked Extension to reach out to as many of the Minnesota legislators as possible. The goal was to let legislators know about the great work being done by Extension in their district. We are proud to say that out of 201 legislators, Extension staff connected with 180 of them. Thanks to all who helped make this effort successful.
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Fundraising Committee Report
Donate Silent Auction Items to Support
Epsilon Sigma Phi Pi Scholarship Fund
Our ESP Silent Auction is back again!!!
Start thinking now about what you might donate for the auction
!
Everyone is welcome to donate for the auction!
Join the fun! You do not need to be a member to donate or bid!
Stay tuned for upcoming
ESP Silent Auction
details!
Proceeds from the silent auction support professional development scholarships for ESP Pi Chapter annual and life members.
Fundraising committee: Suzanne Driessen, Kelly Kunkel, Becky Hagen Jokela. Meetings were held in April and May. We will meet again in early August to finalize silent auction details and share plans with members.
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Global Relations Committee Report
SCAN YOUR ENVIRONMENT……
LOOK FOR GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES!
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has many
resources
and
grants
for you if you have the itch to seek out a
Global Opportunity, create a partnership and make a difference
. Below are links to guide you on your journey. Stay informed within the
ESP Global Relations blog
.
Grant Opportunities for Global Engagement
Developing Global Partnerships
International Partnership Videos
Advancing U.S. Agriculture through Global Engagement
This PDF is packed with GREAT information and tools.
- The NIFA-funded projects described in this doc are examples of how U.S. researchers and faculty through international collaborations and activities are achieving results to help promote U.S. agriculture, advance trade, serve U.S. food security and food safety needs, and address mutual interests in the global agricultural science community.
- NIFA Grant programs -AFRI grant – Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program, Animal Health grant – Animal Health and Disease Research program, BRAG grant - Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants competitive grants program, 1890 grant – 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant competitive grants program, Evans-Allen grant - Evans-Allen capacity grant program, Hatch grant – Hatch Act of 1887, Hatch Multistate grant - Hatch Act of 1887 (Multistate Research Fund), HSI grant - Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education competitive grants program, NLGCA grant - Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture competitive grants program
- Three Steps for Applicants to think about when including international collaborations or activities in their proposals
AFRI International Partnerships
NIFA Federal Assistance Policy Guide 2018
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NEW Member - Regina McGoff
Regina McGoff has been the business development coordinator for U of M Extension’s Center for Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources since November 2015. She works with over 35 program teams on the business side of their educational programs, which involves strategic and business planning, impact evaluation, financial sustainability, and team capacity building. She previously worked at Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education where she oversaw program development and implementation, managed a $3 million self-funded budget, and managed personnel in 6 countries. She has a B.S. in Economics from the University of Minnesota and an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas. Regina excitedly wrote “I just received a $600 scholarship to go to the Qualtrics conference, so that was a great benefit already of joining!”
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Retiree Highlight
Neil Broadwater shares: Last fall, my family traveled to Australia for two weeks. My wife Joan, my son Jim (lives in Studio City, CA), my daughter Sarah (lives in St. Louis Park, MN) and I flew into Sydney, rented a car, visited a few days there including the Opera House, walking across Sydney bridge and touring. We also visited the nation's capitol, Canberra. After leaving Canberra we headed southwest to meet a farm family that my wife and I stayed with back in February, 1987. This came about when I served as the agricultural resource educator for Gerald Wagner's U of MN month long tour to Australia, New Zealand when we stayed with farm families for 3 days in each country. The couple took us into the wild where we saw kangaroos hopping through the woods and koalas in trees. The farm couple came to the US in 1997 and stayed with us for a week. We have been corresponding every Christmas since 1987 and we have become long distance friends with their whole family. This friendship over these many years would never have been possible without the opportunity given me that year from the U of MN Office of Special Programs located in Coffey Hall. We enjoyed seeing them once again, visiting their dairy farm, discussing mutual world wide dairy and agriculture issues, and touring the bakery they also own in their local town. Our last fall's family tour ended up with a drive to Melbourne, touring the city, feeding kangaroos and petting Koalas at a wildlife park, and going to Phillip Island to see the penguins, We flew home from Melbourne. Flight time was about 15 hours to Los Angeles. This trip with our son and daughter will be one we will forever remember and they loved every minute of it. Joan and I wanted to take time to have this memorable experience with our children as long as our health was still excellent. We never know if we will ever have this opportunity for all of us to get away together again to go to another country, so we worked hard for months in planning to make sure we could do so. We are so glad we did.
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Member Tidbits
Kay Louis shared: Jeanne Markell, Karen Lilley, Claudia Parliament, Kay Louis, Dave Hanson and Jan Hogan-Schiltgen participated in the March
University of MN Retires Association (UMRA)
event. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea presented "Providing Justice to MN". The UMRA has over 600 members of former University of Minnesota staff and is open to all retires.They have excellent programs and meet during the school year over lunch at the Campus Club in the Minneapolis Student Center. If you are interested in learning about the association, contact one of the March attendees and they can invite you to one of the lunches.
Each spring a group of retired and current family consumer science type educators meet in Marshall. Pictured is the group that met recently.
Front row: Nancy Frosaker, Marie Henriksen*, Rosi Heins*
Back row: Shirley Anderson Porisch*, Connie Schwartau, Cindy Petersen*, Mary Ann Bannerman, Marian Anderson*, Marilyn Kelley, Sara Croymans*, Trish Olson
* = Annual or Life ESP members
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Subscribe to the ESP Pi Chapter Blog
Stay connected with ESP Pi Chapter by subscribing to the
ESP Pi Chapter blog
. Subscribing will allow you to receive email notifications of any additions to the blog page. The process is simple! Simply go to the ESP Pi Chapter blog @
https://blog-esp.extension.umn.edu/
and click on the ‘subscribe’ button at the top. You will be prompted to provide your email to subscribe and indicate you are not a robot. Once your subscription is submitted you will receive an email which will require one click to activate your subscription. Easy peasy!
Contribute to the ESP Pi Chapter Newsletter
To contribute news, resources or member tidbits to be featured in future newsletters please send information to Sara Croymans, ESP Pi Chapter VP @
croym001@umn.edu
.
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Nathan Winter| ESP Pi Chapter President |302.583.2257 | wint0146@umn.edu |
http://blog-esp.extension.umn.edu/
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