2016

EPSILON SIGMA PHI ANNUAL REPORT

The mission of Epsilon Sigma Phi is to foster the standards of excellence in the Extension System and to develop the Extension profession and professional.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2016 END OF YEAR REPORT – PATRICIA DAWSON, ESP NATIONAL PRESIDENT ….…...….…3 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE EOY REPORT….…………………..…..……….…...6 MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION COMMITTEE EOY REPORT ………………..…..8 MARKETING COMMITTEE EOY REPORT ………………………………………………….…………..12 RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE EOY REPORT ………..….……….14 SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANT & RECOGNITION COMMITTEE EOY REPORT .……………….………16 GLOBAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE EOY REPORT.…………………………………….………………19 PUBLIC ISSUES COMMITTEE EOY REPORT ..…………………………………………………….……22 JOURNAL OF EXTENSION REPORT ..…………………………………………………………...….……25 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S 2016 ANNUAL REPORT ..………………………………………….….……26 PRESIDENT’S 2017 ANNUAL PROGRAM OF WORK …….…………………………………………...28 2015 ESP NATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES, COEUR D’ALENE, ID .…………………….30 2015 ESP INTERNAL FINANCIAL REVIEW REPORT …..……………………………………………..34 2017 ESP ORGANIZATIONAL & DEVELOPMENT FUND PROPOSED BUDGETS .……………….35 ACTIONS TAKEN BY NATIONAL BOARD IN 2015-2016 ..…………………………………..….……..37 MEMBERSHIP SUMMARY AS OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 …………………………………………….42 2015-2016 MEMORIAL LISTING . ………………………………………………………………………….44

Patricia Dawson, National President Oregon / Gamma Chapter

As I reflect on this year and prepare for our national conference in New Jersey, I am pleased with all that has been accomplished thanks to the hard work of our membership and Board of Directors. Dialogue with you throughout the year via surveys, activities at the JCEP Leadership Conference and at the national meeting last year helped shape our 2016 journey. The goals and objectives for the past year were based on the 2016-2018 Strategic Plan which includes three primary goals:

1. Play a critical role in positively shaping tomorrow’s Extension System. 2. Foster excellence in the Extension professional through professional development and

leadership opportunities. 3. Cultivate a strong, relevant ESP organization.

These goals were met, and I believe you will be pleased with the “End of the Year” reports from our officers and committees which are shared within this document. Highlights of the 2016 program year include:

• Providing ongoing professional development experiences for the membership - an important priority. National committees offered a variety of webinars during the year including topics such as “Creating Inclusive Extension Spaces & Programming,” “Using Surveys to Develop Successful Fund Raising Strategies” and “Creating International Extension Programs.” We also worked with our JCEP sister associations to promote respective webinars resulting in additional professional development opportunities. Excellent attendance and follow-up evaluations indicate the need to provide educational webinars as an ongoing membership service as we move forward.

• The Development Fund continues to grow, in spite of dips in the stock market. The balance as of July 31, 2016, was $587,510. Hats off to our RDM Committee efforts this past year. Their 2016 Kickoff Challenge proved highly successful bringing in an all-time high of $26,750; over 33 new donors and 160 individual or organization contributors including 5 chapters/universities (Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.) Funding scholarships, grants and stipends for your professional development experiences and maintaining the fiscal integrity of our organization remain Board priorities.

• The Justin Morrill Scholarship was established providing up to four $450 scholarships to Extension professionals working at 1890 or 1994 land-grant institutions to attend the ESP National Conference.

2016 End of Year Report

National ESP President

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• Recognizing and honoring the accomplishments of our members remains important. Twenty-five chapters submitted 154 applications for consideration of national honors in 2016 – a 17% increase in submissions over the past year!

• The Board developed new reporting instruments and meeting management systems using Google Docs. We also adopted new board/committee meeting platforms using the Zoom format which resulted in considerable cost savings for the association.

• Technology is also impacting our member services. Executive Director Bob Ohlensehlen and Membership Recruitment & Retention Chair Peggy Compton worked to establish an online membership program which was pilot tested by several chapters with a high level of success. This new system brings many new features to the association resulting in enhanced abilities to communicate with chapter leadership and members.

• The Marketing Committee developed a webinar template for committees and chapters to use. This template will be showcased during all webinars in an effort to better expand ESP visibility. This committee also continued to fine tune the chapter Marketing Kits which were launched this year with great success.

• Over 200 members participated in the 2015 National ESP Conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, hosted by Theta Chapter. Post conference evaluations were exceptional. Concurrent Session PowerPoints & handouts, along with our Keynote Speakers’ presentations, are all posted on our website.

• 40 ESP members representing 24 chapters participated in the JCEP Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was noteworthy that 14 of the 21 breakout sessions were conducted by ESP members.

• An all-time high of 36 delegates participated in an outstanding PILD Conference, where Extension professionals and volunteers learned to “better tell our story” to elected officials. We were also reminded of the importance of “Innovation: The Story of Extension” as our speakers inspired all of us to consider how to move Extension forward into the future. ESP joined sister association NEAFCS during the conference to host Dr. Francis Lee, who presented “Government & Politics – historical/present day understanding of Congress.” We all learned a lot! In addition, six $600 scholarships were awarded to 1st timers attending the conference – Mary Ann Kizer, Arkansas; Johnny Barnes, Tennessee; Pattie Carroll, Wisconsin; Nozella Brown, Kansas; Meredith Berry, Missouri; and Carol Smathers, Ohio.

• Membership for 2016 shows a slight decrease which will be an important conversation as we move forward. Our current membership of 5,183 members includes 2,294 annual members and 2,889 life members.

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• Communication with membership and administrators is critical for our association. Maintaining the communication pipeline throughout the year was accomplished through articles in the ESP Connection newsletter, email blasts, and the website, in addition to phone calls and, of course, face-to-face at those available opportunities. This year each of the national committees submitted timely articles about their committee work. Marketing, membership, recognition, resource management and professional development were featured numerous times with timely topics.

• This is the third year using electronic voting. I am pleased to welcome Jennifer Grogan/Georgia as the incoming Southern Region Vice-President and Chair of the Public Issues Committee, Doug Jardine/Kansas as the incoming North Central Region Vice-President and Chair of the Membership Recruitment and Recruitment Committee and Mark Blevins/North Carolina as newly elected Second Vice-President from the Southern Region and Chair of the Resource Development and Management Committee. These individuals bring exceptional talents, enthusiasm and commitment to our association.

• It was with deep regret that we accepted the resignation of President-Elect Graham Cochran in August as he moved on to new career opportunities at Ohio State University. We are honored to welcome Kathleen Tweeten, North Dakota, to the Board as President-Elect. Noted for her strong leadership skills, Kathleen will fill the remaining two years of Graham’s term.

• It has been an honor to represent ESP across the nation this year including participation with the Joint Council of Extension Professionals Board of Directors. Along with Ann Berry and Graham Cochran, ESP was able to work with our sister associations to combine efforts in showcasing the wonderful accomplishments of Extension professionals. This has been a great opportunity to interact with other association members and our federal partners. Some of my duties on the JCEP Board this year were serving on the Fiscal Management Committee and the Marketing Team. I will be serving as the JCEP Secretary and continuing on the Fiscal Management Committee for 2017.

I want to thank all members who serve on the national committees, where much of our work actually takes place. And a special thank you to Bob Ohlensehlen, ESP Executive Director, and Jeana Kienzle, his assistant, who have been invaluable to our association. I also want to give a special thanks to our national past presidents who graciously shared their wisdom and guidance as the association continued to move forward in giant strides. Without a doubt, we can all be proud of our accomplishments during the 2016 year. It truly has been an honor to serve as your National President.

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2016 End of Year Report

Committee Reporting: Professional Development Committee Chair: Beth Raney Committee Members: Zona Medley, Wendy Whiteaker, Marie Blythe, Doug Jardine, Vicki Hayman, Kathleen Riggs, Phyllis Lewis, Mark Platten

Host Conference Representative: Jeannette Rea-Keywood Strategic Action Plan Goal 2: Foster excellence in the Extension professional through professional development and leadership opportunities. Objective 1: Provide on-going relevant professional development utilizing a variety of delivery methods in response to the needs of Extension professionals.

Action Step: National conference facilitation of evaluation, call for proposals, review of proposals, liaison with national chair/committee Accomplishments: The Professional Development committee reached out to other national ESP committees to jump-start webinars on topics of interest to our members. Suggested topics for ESP professional development include Lightning talks on how to apply for a committee, what each committee does, walk through the website, handbook sections, etc. Also suggestion to reach out to state ESP chapters who are doing webinars or professional development in their state and invite to share via webinar for a national audience. The call for proposals for the 2016 conference resulted in 35 concurrent session proposals, 10 poster proposals and 2 lightning talk proposals. 20 concurrent session proposals were accepted (57%) in addition to 4 concurrent sessions from national committees. 10 posters were accepted, and in addition 6 non-accepted concurrent sessions were given the opportunity to do a poster presentation. 2 lightning talks were accepted.

Committee

Professional Development

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Objective 2: Utilize technology for the delivery of professional development and leadership training.

Action Step: List appropriate ESP webinars at Learn.extension.org to make Extension more aware of ESP and the professional development we’re providing. Accomplishments: Six webinars planned and held by national committees on topics of relevance to the membership were listed at Learn.extension.org to make ESP more visible to members and non-members, including sister JCEP associations. These webinars were offered by the ESP Resource Development and Management Committee, the Public Issues committee (“Diversity Awareness Webinar, Series of 3), the Global Relations committee (Creating International Extension Programs) and the Public Issues committee (Crafting Elevator Speeches).

Strategic Action Plan Goal 3: Cultivate a strong, relevant ESP organization. Objective 1: Provide efficient and effective communication with chapters and members.

Action Step: Communicate with ESP Membership by writing articles for inclusion in the ESP Connection on topics relative to professional development. Accomplishments: ESP members were encouraged to submit proposals for the national conference in Cape May by way of articles in the ESP Connection, email blasts, distribution of the RFP at the 2015 conference in Idaho and JCEP, and by regional vice president reminders to chapter leadership. Members of the Professional Development committee submitted articles for the ESP Connection and email blasts including a book review of Drive by Kathy Riggs, conference evaluation by Marie Blythe, and updates on the upcoming national conference from Jeannette Rea Keywood. Upcoming professional development webinars by ESP committees were included in the ESP Connection, as well including the Public Issues committee’s three-part series on Diversity and the Global Relations committee’s webinar on International Extension programming.

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2016 End of Year Report

Committee Reporting: Membership Recruitment and Retention Committee Chair: Peggy Compton Committee Members: Vivian Anderson, Judith Breland, Jennifer Grogan, Natasha Lucas,

Patricia Powley, Carrie Stark, Peter Wulfhorst Strategic Action Plan Goal 2: Foster excellence in the Extension professional through professional development and leadership opportunities.

Objective 1: Provide on-going relevant professional development utilizing a variety of delivery methods in response to the needs of Extension professionals.

Action Step 1: Cooperate with and support the Professional Development committee to make ESP a sought after membership opportunity Accomplishments: We appointed a liaison to keep our committee abreast of the work of the Professional Development Committee and potential opportunities to support each other’s work.

Action Step 2: Better connect life members with new ESP members in a mentoring relationship. Use Facebook and other means. Accomplishments: We discussed this potential mentoring relationship at our committee meetings and generated several ideas but did not implement a mentoring program. New ESP members and life members were connected during an interactive activity at the 2016 National Conference First Timers/Life Members Reception.

Objective 5: Provide chapter and member recognition programs that are sought out and valued by members and institutional administrators.

Action Step 1: Continue to update the ESP Handbook regarding information about the Achievement in Chapter Membership Award. Accomplishments: We reviewed the ESP Handbook for inconsistencies in the description and implementation of the Achievement in Chapter Membership recognition and offered updates and edits to the National Board for approval.

Action Step 2: Administer a membership recognition program to recognize excellence in membership recruitment and retention.

Committee

Membership Recruitment & Retention

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Accomplishments: The MRRC reviewed and refined the Achievement in Chapter Membership recognition, and also set a goal to increase participation through promotion of the recognition via email, Facebook, regional vice presidents and the newsletter. Twelve chapters completed the online application process (up from nine in 2015). The MRRC updated the recognition awards to include bronze, silver, gold or platinum designation for each chapter AND a $50 certificate to the top chapter in each region.

Objective 6: Respond to the needs of life-long learning for Life Members.

Action Step: Plan and host first-timers/life members’ event at national conference. Accomplishments: A subcommittee of the MRRC planned a fun and interactive activity for the First Timers/Life Members Reception. All members of the MRRC who attended the national conference served as hosts during the reception.

Strategic Action Plan Goal 3: Cultivate a strong, relevant ESP organization. Objective 1: Actively seek growth and diversity in ESP membership.

Action Step 1: Reach out to chapter presidents and membership chairs to encourage membership from 1890s and 1994 institutions. Accomplishments: We submitted an article for the ESP Connection newsletter highlighting ways to connect with 1890 and 1994 land-grant institutions. We also included practical suggestions for doing so in the Membership Recruitment and Retention Strategies 2016 document that was made available electronically and during the national conference.

Action Step 2: Review notes from Regional Breakfast at 2015 National Conference regarding ESP membership diversity. Accomplishments: The notes from the Regional Breakfast meetings (2015 National Conference) were reviewed and used as a basis for the August MRRC newsletter article. Action Step 3: Share life member recruitment and retention strategies with chapter membership chairs. Accomplishments: Included practical suggestions for life member recruitment and retention in the Recruitment and Retention Strategies 2016 document that was made available electronically and during the national conference. Action Step 4: Work closely with the National ESP Marketing Committee. Accomplishments: To better accomplish the goals of both the MRRC and the Marketing Committee, the two committees made a conscious effort to be closely aligned, including routine discussions and sharing of ideas, participation in each other’s committee meetings, and working together to offer the session “Building the Ideal ESP Chapter” at the 2016 JCEP Leadership Conference.

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Objective 3: Recruit and train effective leaders for national and chapter ESP roles to enhance and sustain organizational goals.

Action Step 1: Host a membership webinar for chapter leaders to cover membership and dues procedures. Accomplishments: Two webinars were hosted by the MRRC. The first was to inform chapters of the opportunity for them to use the online membership software for new/renewing members and collection of dues (more information below). Later, just in time for chapters’ 2017 membership campaign, the MRRC offered the webinar “Gearing up for your Chapter’s Membership Drive.” There were 17 participants, including membership committee chairpersons and other chapter leaders.

Objective 4: Be an organization that is seen as a leader in using new technologies in appropriate ways to enhance our mission. Action Step 1: Stay engaged in online membership software pilot and roll-out.

Accomplishments: During late 2015 and throughout 2016, the MRRC worked closely with the National ESP Office to determine an online option for membership applications/renewals and paying dues. After careful review and consideration of several membership management tools, “Wild Apricot” was chosen due to its features, costs, and fit for our organization. In 2016, seven chapters (HI, ID, IL, WI, MD, AL, NJ) participated in the pilot use of Wild Apricot. Assistance was offered to these chapters to help them navigate the new system. In May 2016, the MRRC hosted a webinar, “ESP Online Membership Opportunities.” There were 11 participants representing 9 chapters. Presenters were Bob Ohlensehlen, ESP Executive Director; Dan Marzu, WI; and Debbie Ross, MD. The webinar was recorded and is available for review at any time. Five additional chapters (IA, GA, KS, Washington DC, MN) will be using Wild Apricot for their 2017 membership needs. Action Step 2: Use National ESP website (or other means) to share membership materials with chapter membership chairs and/or other chapter leaders. Accomplishments: The MRRC completed an extensive review of membership documents and links on the website and provided feedback to the National Office on duplication, broken links and other needed updates and edits. Both MRRC webinars were recorded and made available for later viewing via links on the ESP website. Facebook was also used to share membership ideas.

Objective 5: Provide efficient and effective communication with chapters and members. Action Step 1: Have regular and consistent communication with chapter membership chairpersons (and/or other chapter leaders) including newsletter articles and emails. Accomplishments: A chapter membership chairs’ email list was developed and updated throughout the year and used to communicate pertinent information and ideas directly to the chapter membership chairs. Throughout the year members of the MRRC provided articles for the ESP Connection newsletter covering topics such as the benefits of annual and life membership, recruitment strategies, and ideas for bringing ESP to our 1890 and 1994 land-grant institutions. These articles were also shared with chapter leaders and members via Facebook and email.

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Action Step 2: Be visible at the National ESP Conference in 2016 with a poster, oral presentation or written materials. Accomplishments: For the 2015 National ESP Conference we created a poster that was easily mailed to chapters following the conference for use at their statewide Extension events. Several chapters took advantage of this membership/marketing resource. In 2016, the poster was again displayed at the national conference and available for chapters to use locally. ESP members who attended the conference poster session had the opportunity to spin the prize wheel to win fun ESP promotional items (or candy!)

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2016 End of Year Report

Committee Reporting: Marketing Committee Chair: Rusty Collins Committee Members: Barbara Bromely-Brody, Luann Boyer, Joanne Cavis,

Karol Dyson, Surine Greenway, Lora Lee Howard, Brandy Kay, Mary Keith, Jocelyn Koller, Michelle Parrott, Mary Carol Sheffield, Sandra Wick

Strategic Action Goal 3: Cultivate a strong and relevant ESP organization Objective 1: Diversity – actively seek growth and diversity in ESP Membership

Action Step 1: Attracting diverse members by marketing to all generations and ethnicities. Establish and/or update membership lists, new members, and new Extension employees eligible for ESP. Accomplishments: • The Marketing Committee has established “baseline” data from the national Public

Issues survey that was conducted in 2016 regarding ESP and Extension diversity. From this data, 70% of ESP chapters reported little, or very little racial diversity in their Extension program; and 82% of chapters reported little, or very little Ethnic Diversity in their Extension organization.

• The Committee has actively been working on membership lists this year and will focus on new or non-traditional Extension staff in 2017.

Action Step 2: Attracting members from state Extension leadership/administrators. Deliberately conduct marketing ESP at strategic national meetings or committees involving Extension leadership like JCEP, ECOP, NUEL, etc. Accomplishments: • The Marketing Committee submitted a supplemental budget request for 2017 to

send a representative to a primarily-administrative conference or meeting and to market ESP directly to the attendees. The committee will determine which meeting would be the best to attend in 2017.

• The Marketing Committee submitted questions for the national ESP Public Issues survey and determined from responses that members like and use the stand-up banners and zip drives the most. Only 32% of chapters received a Marketing Kit at the 2015 Conference in Coeur D’Alene, and 24% have used it since. Most popular on the zip drive is the ESP PowerPoint presentation. Members also like the stick pens and luggage tags. The committee utilized this data to determine which marketing collateral to bring to the 2016 conference in Cape May, NJ.

Committee

Marketing

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Action Step 3: Enhance marketing to 1890s Institutions. Accomplishments: • The Marketing Committee has included 1890s outreach in its deliberate outreach

plan for new Extension employees and nontraditional Extension staff in 2017. Action Step 4: Incorporate technology as a tool and work with Technology Objective. Utilize webinars, social media, online training, Zoom and other available technology. Accomplishments: • The Marketing Committee developed a Webinar Template for all ESP-sponsored

webinars. This template is available on the National ESP website. The National ESP Board, as well as most of the national committees, now conduct meetings on Zoom and utilize a shared Google drive as efforts to enhance our use of technology.

Objective 3: Leadership – Recruit and train effective leaders for national and chapter ESP roles to enhance and sustain organizational goals.

Action Step 1: Link to state Extension leadership/networking through JCEP, ECOP, and the (4) Regional Extension Directors Meetings. Accomplishments: • The Marketing Committee submitted a supplemental budget request for 2017 to

send a representative to a primarily-administrative conference or meeting, and market ESP directly to the attendees. The committee will determine which meeting would be the best to attend in 2017.

Action Step 2: Identify key meetings and determine if we should be present to recruit and market ESP. Accomplishments: • Key meetings were scanned which included ECOP, NUEL (National Urban

Extension Leaders), JCEP and others.

Objective 4: Technology – Be an organization that is seen as a leader in using new technologies in appropriate ways to enhance our mission.

Action Step 1: Scan current social media activities to identify existing ways to connect marketing to technology – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Accomplishments: The Marketing Committee scanned social media and determined to focus all social activities this year on Facebook. Action Step 2: Focus on Facebook presence to strengthen current community through timely communication on a regular basis. Utilize the ESP Facebook Page that already exists to boost Facebook page dashboard statistics. Accomplishments: The Marketing Committee established a committee member as the Facebook Page Administrator for National ESP, Jocelyn Koller. She has posted various webinars and ESP events on the Facebook page. We are using general Facebook “Likes” as our baseline data to determine if interest grows over time. The National ESP Public Issues survey revealed that only 40% of state chapters maintain a Facebook page. The Marketing Committee will aim to have 100% of ESP chapters with a Facebook page by the end of 2017.

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2016 End of Year Report

Committee Reporting: Resource Development and Management Committee Chair: Graham Cochran & Cindy Barnett Committee Members: Ed Dwyer, Nancy Kershaw, Lyle Hansen,

Mark Stillwell, Margaret Viebrock, Deborah Thomason, Nate Arnett Additional Contributors: Duane Johnson, Doug Beech & David Ross

Strategic Action Plan Goal 2: Foster excellence in the Extension professional through professional development and leadership opportunities. Objective 1: Provide on-going relevant professional development utilizing a variety of delivery methods in response to the needs of Extension professionals.

Action Step 1: Plan and host a professional development webinar for ESP members on development/fundraising. (More depth than Development 101 in 2015). Accomplishments: Held committee-sponsored webinar taught by Catherine Adams from University of Missouri: Using Surveys to Develop Successful Fundraising Strategies, April 7, 2016 at 1 p.m. Eastern. 20 registered and 3 attended. Webinar was recorded and is available for viewing at: https://univmissouri.adobeconnect.com/_a777176616/mark_stillwell/

Strategic Action Plan: Goal 3: Cultivate a strong, relevant ESP organization. Objective 2: Continually refine and review ESP’s vision and how it is carried out.

Action Step 1: Review ESP Handbook sections related to RDM committee and provide recommendations for revisions. One specific policy review will be the travel policy per board request. Accomplishments: Completed review and revisions on Section H (RDM Committee Information); Section M and Travel Policy, and Policy-Financial/Investment/Development Policy. All revisions from RDM Committee were approved by the ESP Board at the July 2016 meeting. They will be incorporated into the updated handbook.

Objective 5: Provide efficient and effective communications with chapters and members.

Action Step 1: Share work of RDM Committee with membership through publishing at least one article in each ESP Connection newsletter.

Committee

Resource Development & Management

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Accomplishments: Articles related to RDM committee work, financial giving, and the auction were included in each ESP Connection.

Objective 6: Provide the financial resources to support the objectives of the organization.

Action Step 1: Develop budget for approval at 2016 National Meeting Accomplishments: The RDM Committee worked in May and June of 2016 on reviewing financials, input from committees and board members; and developing a 2017 budget. Budget was approved by the National Board in July 2016 to be presented at the 2016 National Council Meeting. Action Step 2: Regularly review ESP budget and ensure financial integrity. Action steps include:

• Regular review of monthly fiscal reports • Conduct internal fiscal review (deliver report at Mid-Year Board meeting in

March 15-16) • Review investment policy

Accomplishments: Current financial reports were reviewed regularly by RDM Committee members. Each member received monthly financial reports via email and these were discussed at committee meetings. Questions were brought to the National Board as they arose. A subcommittee of the RDM Committee completed an annual fiscal review in March 2016. Findings were delivered to the ESP Board at the 2016 Mid-Year Board meeting. Investment policy was not reviewed in 2016 – will plan for 2017 with financial advisor.

Action Step 3: Increase financial resources by building the ESP Development Fund

• Wrap up 2016 Kickoff Challenge • Plan, organize and implement an annual fund campaign (Ideas – Focus on

donors from the region hosting the annual conference; include messaging to life member/donors about options to give early, especially if Charitable IRA Rollover is passed).

Accomplishments: Our committee work this year included completing a record-breaking 2015-2016 Annual Development Fund Campaign. The 2016 KICKOFF CHALLENGE raised $26,750 total; 160 individuals/chapters/organizations gave; 5 donations were from chapters/Universities. Our 2016-17 goal is 150 ESP members or chapters and 20 new donors contributing $20,000.

Action Step 4: Facilitate stewardship with donors

• Include donor recognition at annual conference in booklet • Include donor recognition in ESP Connection articles • Consider including committee members in letter to donors – not just focused on

bigger donors – intended to build the base of donors (March for 2016 campaign focus)

• Target personal updates to those donors close to next key level Accomplishments: Recognition was provided through the Key program in ESP newsletters and at the ESP conference.

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2016 End of Year Report

Committee Reporting: Scholarships, Grants & Recognition Committee Chair: Daniel F. Culbert Committee Members: Mary Beth Albright, Cindy Meadows, Cheryl Poppell,

Travis West, Rhea Bentley, Laurie Chandler, Grace Wittman, Kirstin Jensen; Ex-officio member: Julie Karavan

Strategic Action Plan Goal 2: Foster excellence in the Extension Professional through professional development and leadership opportunities Objective 4: Provide grants and scholarships to enhance professional leadership and development for chapters and members.

Accomplishments: Professional Development Grants are available to members or chapters to conduct innovative educational programs that can be reproduced by other ESP members. This year only two completed applications were submitted and approved: • Lora Lee Howard for the Alpha Kappa (KY) Chapter project, “Using Data to

Communicate your Success Story” • Mark Stewart for the Alpha Tau Chapter (MO) project, “Enhancing MU Extension’s

digital presence for enhanced eLearning” Scholarships A total of 15 ESP scholarships were awarded through ESP National this year. This enabled members to attend various professional development programs. The committee was able to add a new scholarship program. Despite our marketing efforts, several of these benefits were “left on the table” due to a lack of applications. • The Redinger Administrator Leader Scholarship had two applications: Awards were

made to Jacki Paone of the Zeta Chapter (CO) and Debra Griffee of the Alpha Omicron Chapter (PA)

• Seven PILD Scholarship applications were reviewed and six PILD scholarships were awarded to the following individuals: Mary Ann Kizer, Alpha Iota Chapter (AR); Johnny Barnes, Omega Chapter (TN); Pattie Carroll, Alpha Sigma Chapter (WI); Nozella Brown, Alpha Rho Chapter (KS); Meridith J. Berry, Alpha Tau Chapter (MO); and Carol Smathers, Alpha Eta Chapter (OH).

• Angus Scholarships—Five applications for this professional development support were received. Awards were made to: Pamela Jacobs, Alpha Nu Chapter (IL); Mark Platten, Zeta Chapter (CO), Martha Gregory, Alpha Omicron Chapter (PA) and Nellie Lammers, Alpha Tau Chapter (MO)

Committee

Scholarships, Grants & Recognition

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Objective 5: Provide chapter and member recognition programs that are sought out and valued by members and institutional administrators.

Action Step: Provide ESP Connection newsletter articles Accomplishments: The committee members provided a limited number of articles for the ESP Connection newsletters - 2016 PILD Conference a Great Success! (photo) (April/May); What is a Stipend (Feb/ March); March-ing Towards Recognition (Dec/Jan); Chandler Reports the Benefits of the PILD Conference (Oct/Nov)

Strategic Action Plan Goal 3: Cultivate a strong, relevant ESP organization

Objective 1: Actively seek growth and diversity in ESP Membership Action Step: Develop proposal to continue Special Scholarship for 1890 institution members. Accomplishments: The committee recommended that last year’s special 1890 Scholarship be modified and made available to both 1890 and 1994 land-grant institutions: two Justin Morrill Scholarships were funded and awarded for this year, and will be continued in future years. Selected from five applicants as the inaugural recipients of this scholarship were Dr. Larry A. Connatser of Virginia State University and Keith Perkins of University of Arkansas Pine Bluff (and Alpha Iota Chapter member, AR).

Objective 2: Continually refine and review ESP’s vision and how it is carried out

Action Step 1: Revise ESP National Handbook – Section D. Post revisions on website Accomplishments: SGR Committee has reviewed and updated the ESP Handbook section, Scholarships, Grants and Recognition (Section D). Board approval and posting on the website is pending. Action Step 2: Update online SGR documents to reflect Handbook and current practices. Accomplishments: Pending, above. Action Step 3: Committee to meet to review applications and recommend recipients of Scholarships, Grants, and Friend of Extension nominees. Accomplishments: Grants & Scholarships awarded are outlined above. The committee reviewed 14 applications for Friends of Extension, and recommended to the Board three individuals for recognition at the 2016 ESP National Conference: Terry England, Elected Representative, GA; Cliff and Judy Bracher, Extension Volunteer/Lay Leader, OR; Ann Turkos, Extension Volunteer/Lay Leader, MD. Action Step 4: Committee to contact chapters in region to encourage more applications for national recognition nominees.

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Accomplishments: Chair was invited to give overview of SGR programs to North Central Regional Leadership Conference Call.

Regional VPs prepared periodic emails for chapter leadership. Dates of upcoming deadlines and links to further information were regularly shared between and among the 4 RVPs.

More than 100 emails were made to respond to personal questions about SGR programs.

Objective 5: Provide efficient and effective communication with chapters and members. Action Step 1: Provide notice of upcoming application deadlines to chapter presidents and/or awards chairs. Accomplishments: Members of the committee encouraged applications for chapter and national awards programs. Twenty-five chapters submitted 154 applications in 2016, a 17% increase over last year! Commendations go to New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania (NE); Michigan and Ohio (NC); and Georgia (S) for submitting the highest number of categories in their regions, and kudos to Oregon (W) for submitting applications in 11 of 12 award categories! Except for one category (NE - International Service Award), ALL regions had at least one winner in all of our award categories! It is noted that the Board accepted the Committee’s recommendation that persons applying for the Ruby Award that are not selected will automatically be reconsidered for Ruby recognition in the year following their initial application.

Action Step 2: Committee to meet to review applications and recommend recipients of Scholarships, Grants, and Friend of Extension nominees. Accomplishments: Thanks to the members of the SGR committee that met 4 times and worked hard behind the scenes during the year to review applications and make recommendations to the ESP Board.

Chair followed-up with Friend of Extension nominators to insure applications were complete and asked recognition recipients to designate persons accepting their awards if not attending National Conference.

Action Step 3: Committee to contact chapters in region to encourage more applications for national recognition nominees. Accomplishments: The SGR Committee hosted a November webinar for 17 interested members about the benefits available and the application process for ESP scholarships, grants and recognition programs.

Committee members Rhea Bentley and Cheryl Poppell will lead a Concurrent Session, “Don’t Leave it on the Table,” on these member benefits at the 2016 conference and make presentation notes available after the Cape May conference.

The committee assisted Elizabeth Claypoole with a “Jeopardy” discussion of member benefits at the February JCEP Leadership Conference in Las Vegas. Persons with correct answers were awarded with coveted “Patricia Bucks!”

Committee member Travis West (OH) continued to make available the 2015 conference poster: “Receiving Value from your Membership.”

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2016 End of Year Report

Committee Reporting: Global Relations Committee Chair: Elizabeth A. Claypoole Committee Members: Joel Brumley, Lillian Larwood, Norma Samuel, Nancy Kadwill,

Leonard Anderson, Mary Ann Kizer, Mohamad Kahn and Barbara Brown

Strategic Action Plan Goal 2: Foster excellence in the Extension professional through professional development and leadership opportunities. Objective 1: Provide on-going relevant professional development utilizing a variety of delivery methods in response to the needs of Extension professionals.

Action Step 1: Continue to encourage application for national committee membership by:

• Continuing to remind other Extension professional associations [e.g. NEAFCS, NAE4-HA, etc.] and inviting their members to join ESP and to contribute to Global Extension activities.

• Continuing to have ESP Global Relations Committee members contact Extension colleagues involved in international work to join ESP and become involved in the Global Relations Committee, which will help build membership.

• Send out/post committee minutes to the ESP website/Facebook page • Write articles for ESP Connection.

Accomplishments: Articles were written by committee members Barbara Brown, Nancy Kadwill and Normal Samuels. Committee minutes provided to national.

Action Step 2: Provide state global relations chairs with the National Plan of Work. Identified state global relations chairs can be invited to:

• Summarize their members’ international activities • Write articles for the state and national organization • Encourage membership to write articles and contribute to the Community of

Practice (COP) • Encourage members to apply for awards, scholarships, and/or mini-grants

related to international programming. Accomplishments: Was not able to reach out to individual state committee chairs - tough to match up with these folks. Focused on regional VP reaching out to state presidents. Will need to work on this action step next year, especially reaching out to general membership for participation.

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Objective 2: Utilize technology for the delivery of professional development and leadership training. Committee Annual Goal: Provide and enhance professional development opportunities for members. Objective 1: Continue to promote alternative methods and technologies for delivery of professional development and leadership development. Annual Goal: Increase awareness of international opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. This also includes developing a better understanding of, and interaction with, various cultures within our own communities and areas we serve.

Action Step 1: Sharing international training opportunities across all of Cooperative Extension by conducting and listing webinars about engaging in International Extension projects, etc. on http://learn.extension.org. (Expand knowledge and participation about/in AIAEE – good for scholarship and professional development.) Accomplishments: Wanted to coordinate this with website updates and that hasn’t been finalized yet. Will work on next year.

Action Step 2: Having webinar sharing on international resources or guest speakers who have done international travel. Accomplishments: Webinar scheduled for Sept 19 in collaboration with Professional Development Committee.

Action Step 3: Conduct concurrent sessions and exhibit posters on Global Relations at annual ESP meeting by: • Encouraging proposal submissions for annual conference. Suggested topics might

include: a. Education on the logistics of planning and/or conducting Global Relations

programming; b. Sharing various global opportunities/experiences of Extension professionals,

including financing the projects and meeting the deliverables requirements. • Discussing global relations and how it’s been defined in our own local areas through

international businesses, current clientele, or refugee/immigration issues. Accomplishments: On hold for 2016 due to webinar. Will do another webinar in coming year, plus more articles in the ESP Connection. Will hold off on presentation at national meeting. Will have standing display at national meeting about committee and international opportunities.

Action Step 4: Continue to explore committee involvement with the new Community of Practice (COP) on global issues. Accomplishments: Discussed at committee meeting, but not sure what to do other than continue to share ideas and activities with general membership.

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Action Step 5: Explore doing an international service project, such as sending PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), especially protective clothing, to Northwest Ghana for pesticide applicators, who have adapted this technology for their crop production practices. Accomplishments: Still in process. Waiting to hear back from Ghana for specific needs. Will keep this on our radar through the year. Did reconnect with International Office at USDA and representative will participate in conference calls.

Strategic Action Plan Goal 3: Cultivate a strong, relevant ESP organization. Objective 5: Provide efficient and effective communication with chapters and members. Committee Annual Goal: Increase contact to enhance awareness of Global Relations committee activities.

Action Step 1: Contact all ESP chapters in respective regions to identify global relations chairs:

• To encourage chapters to establish a global relations committee where none exists.

• To contact existing global chairs to establish a relationship, solicit articles, enhance and expand the global network and sharing of resources, and create new global resources.

• To establish on-going contact with state chapter global relations chairs throughout the year.

Accomplishments: Chapter global relations chairs not identifiable.

Action Item 2: Increase awareness of international Extension opportunities by: • Continuing to solicit relevant stories for ESP newsletters and online articles.

Articles should include how the experience is relevant to Extension programming and communicate the value to the county, the state and the institution.

• Creating a calendar for article submission. • Determine what has happened and may have to do with eXtension site. Building

on the “global network” map project, to allow members to see where international work is currently being done or completed so interested members can interact.

• Supporting continuation of Community of Practice (CoP) for Global Networking, inviting other JCEP organizations to participate and getting more people to participate.

Accomplishments: Collaboration with eXtension and webinars going well.

Action Item 3: Recognize national committee members with a letter to each respective member’s state director. Accomplishments: In process.

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2016 End of Year Report

Committee Reporting: Public Issues Committee Chair: Ann Berry Committee Members: Karen Reddersen, Mandel Smith, Pennie Crinion,

David Crawford, Debra Bolton, Paul Lachapelle, Mike Knutz, Mandy Marable Additional Contributor: Carol Smathers

Strategic Action Plan Goal 1: Play a critical role in positively shaping tomorrow’s Extension System. Objective 1: Foster dialogue that creates opportunities for critical thinking about the future of the Extension System.

Action Steps: • Committee will keep abreast of legislative matters and public issues that are of

interest to ESP members and keep membership informed of these matters. • Email alerts to all Extension associations will be distributed as needed on any

emerging legislative or public issues. • Committee will help plan/promote/facilitate Dialogue with Administrators session

during national meeting. Accomplishments: An issue impacting all of Extension is the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act ruling regarding overtime that goes into effect in December. The committee felt this was important enough to have the information about this ruling from NIFA posted on the ESP website and shared with all membership via email blast. The committee has offered to assist with the Dialogue with Administrators at the annual meeting.

Objective 2: Build capacity for addressing emerging issues.

Action Step: Develop educational opportunities to build member capacity. Contribute to planning, promoting, implementing and evaluation of the national Public Issues Leadership Development Conference (PILD). Accomplishments: Ann Berry served on the PILD Planning Committee, assisting with planning, implementing and evaluation of the conference. Ann worked with Debby Mathews, NEAFCS president, to plan a joint session during PILD for ESP and NEAFCS members. Dr. Frances Lee with the University of Maryland gave an interesting historical and present day view of understanding Congress and its members. Her PowerPoint presentation can be found on the website. Karen Reddersen is on the PILD Planning Committee for the 2017 conference and has been actively involved with that committee.

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Objective 3: Build advocacy capacity and recognize excellence in support/advocacy that ultimately advances the Extension System. Action Step: Conduct Elevator Speech training and contest at National meeting.

Accomplishments: A webinar will be held in late September to train members in crafting Elevator Speeches. This webinar will be open to all membership even if they will not be in attendance at the national conference. For those individuals attending the national conference, they will have the opportunity to video their speeches and compete in the Elevator Speech contest. Cash prizes will again be awarded to the first, second and third place entries. Promotion for the webinar training was done through an email blast to membership, posting on the eXtension learn site, and posting on the ESP Facebook page. Flyers promoting the contest will be included in the packets of conference registrants.

Strategic Action Plan Goal 2: Foster excellence in the Extension professional through professional development and leadership opportunities. Objective 3: Promote collaborative efforts with JCEP partners to encourage multi-state and multi-disciplinary professional development for all Extension professionals.

Action Step 1: Committee will help build membership advocacy capacity and capacity for addressing emerging public issues. Accomplishments: The committee promoted the PILD conference and the session ESP co-sponsored with NEAFCS at PILD helped to build membership capacity. Newsletter articles concerning advocacy and addressing public issues were written and published in the ESP Connection. The committee will conduct a concurrent session during the 2016 National Conference entitled “Inclusive Extension: Public Issue #1.” This session will discuss the changing demographics of our country and individual states and share ways to foster an inclusive Extension environment.

Action Step 2: Committee will have regular conference calls to address emerging issues and will communicate via news articles, webinars, factsheets, issue briefs with National Board and chapter membership about relevant public issues and legislative issues. Accomplishments: The committee met via Zoom once a month and communicated through numerous emails and phone calls throughout the year. Twelve articles were contributed to the ESP Connection by members Karen Reddersen, Paul Lachapelle, Debra Bolton, Mandel Smith, Pennie Crinion, David Crawford and Ann Berry. Five webinars were conducted. Fact sheets supporting the diversity webinars were posted on the committee pages of the website. Issue briefs were not created this year. Action Step 3: At least one webinar will be promoted to membership/all Extension on the topic of diversity and inclusion in Extension.

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Accomplishments: A series of four webinars was conducted on diversity and inclusion in Extension. Attendance at each webinar averaged 30 participants. A listserve of interested individuals was created in keeping apprised of LGBT issues as they relate to Extension. Titles of the webinars:

• Know Yourself, Understand Others, Improve Your Relationships • Health and Well-being Among Rural LGBT Persons-A New North Central

Development Committee • Working with Extension Agents on LGBTQ Issues • Creating Inclusive Extension Spaces and Programming

Action Step 4: Regular articles will be published in the ESP Connection newsletter to address public issues and legislative issues Accomplishments: The committee members submitted at least one article for each edition of the newsletter. A total of 12 news articles were published in the ESP Connection. Topics included communicating with legislators, addressing public issues in your states, promoting and highlighting PILD, and knowing yourself and understanding others (diversity). Articles promoting the webinars and crafting elevator speeches were also submitted.

Action Step 5: Public issues Committee will have two face-to-face meetings during the National Conference in Cape May, NJ. Accomplishments: The 2016 committee will meet on Monday during the 2016 National Conference and the 2017 committee members will meet on Wednesday during conference.

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2016 JOURNAL OF EXTENSION REPORT

Stephen Brown, University of Alaska Fairbanks representing ESP

The Journal of Extension (JOE) is the flagship journal for all Extension professionals and one of which we can be very proud. JOE remains a very rigorous journal and has an acceptance rate of only 28%. While that seems like a scary statistic, a close examination of authors reveals that the majority are county-based Extension educators writing about their own research, bright ideas or successful endeavors. Despite its low acceptance rate, JOE has one of the easiest processes for submitting an article. JOE was one of the first peer reviewed journals to appear exclusively on the web and to only accept paper submissions electronically. I know authors who conceived an idea, wrote and submitted it - all before lunch! Even if a paper is initially rejected, authors usually receive copious advice on how to resubmit successfully. A unique feature of JOE is its emphasis on readability. Authors are encouraged to write in first-person and avoid jargon that increases the “fog index.” JOE is not intended to be an in-depth exploration of a topic, but to encourage the broad scholarship of all Extension professionals. Just as ESP is the umbrella professional organization for all of Extension, so JOE serves all aspects of our profession. One thing is certain, nothing can do more to build your resume or curriculum vitae than getting published in the Journal of Extension. Pretty much any successful Extension professional is doing work worthy of publication in JOE. Finally, JOE serves one other very important duty for all of Extension. It is home to the National Job Bank that lists available Extension positions across the country. Even though Extension across the country is experiencing belt tightening, it is encouraging to see that most states continue to fill empty positions by advertising on the JOE National Job Bank.

Journal of Extension

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2016 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S ANNUAL REPORT Presented to the National Council

Cape May, NJ As I prepared to write my annual report for 2016, it gave me an opportunity to reflect on what I did over the past year and to evaluate what I had done that were accomplishments or what I had done that were simply the tasks that needed to be done to help sustain this great organization. As I am preparing this (my seventh) annual report I have decided to take a little different approach by simply highlighting some of the things I have observed that I believe have made us a better organization and some that we really need to rethink. I hope it has value to you, our valued members. We have had some real positive things that happened this past year. Our conference last fall in Coeur d’ Alene was the second highest in attendance in the past several years. The Theta Chapter and the ESP Professional Development Committee put together an excellent program for all who attended. This year we began the implementation of an online membership system. The online system allows members to access their personal ESP membership information and to pay their membership dues online using a check or a credit card. We send the chapter’s portion of the dues back to the chapter after we collect the dues. The National Board agreed to give this system a two-year test. After the completion of the 2017 membership campaign the Board will make the decision on how to proceed. We currently have about 1,200 members on the system, which is about 25% of all of our total membership. We hope that this system will make the chapter membership chair’s job a bit easier, and that the system will encourage members to pay dues and be an active part of our professional development offerings. The ESP portion of the JCEP Leadership Conference continues to be an important event that can help build stronger chapters. There are two ESP sessions during the two-day conference that provide an opportunity to develop our ESP chapter leaders. It also gives time to discuss successes and challenges that are shared between chapters to gain from each other’s experiences. We are now using Zoom for our committee and Board meetings; the change saved us over $1,200 per year, as well as improving the meeting experience for participants. The change has allowed us to have improved communication and has helped in conducting more meaningful meetings by being able to share documents during the meeting. The opportunity to see the other participants has helped committee members to be able to become more familiar with other members of the committee. Cost cutting measures such as this have allowed us to continue to improve our service to membership and to hold the line on our budget.

Annual Report

Executive Director’s

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The email system that we use to communicate with members has recently had a facelift that has hopefully given our email blasts a new look that is more appealing and eye catching. We receive a report that tells the disposition of the emails that we send out to members. The most report we received for the most recent mailings for last month show that we sent 22,549 emails of which 21,818 were accepted, but only 5,000 were viewed. There were 310 members that engaged in the newsletter by doing some type of activity while viewing. There were 725 that bounced back. The bounced emails are ones that are particularly disturbing. We continue to occasionally receive comments from members, particularly life members, saying that they have heard nothing from us for quite some time. Some systems identify our emails as spam or route them to the junk folder. If it is a university system someone at the local chapter level needs to work with the IT department to remedy the situation. The increased interest by committees and their efforts to increase the number of webinars has really enhanced our ability to provide professional development for our members. It is proving to be a great piece of technology that enhances not only our committees and their ability to work together, but has also provided additional professional development opportunities for our membership. There were a few frustrations along the way this year and over the past few years. It is difficult for me to understand why we are continuing to see our membership slowly slip lower and lower. In the past eight years we have lost 868 annual members and 686 life members. Certainly we lost a number of the annual members due to the economy during 2008-2010, but in the past 8 years there have only been two years with growth in membership. Another fact that is disappointing is that we have many chapters that have not had members participate in our activities such as the JCEP Leadership Conference or our annual conferences. We often have chapters with members present at the national conference but do not participate in our National Council business meeting due to failure to register their delegates to participate. In conclusion, all of you members have your Extension job that is your primary responsibility; hopefully ESP can help fill your toolbox with the knowledge and tools to make doing your daily jobs easier and more successful. To all chapter officers - remember if your members and potential members understand the importance and purpose of the ESP chapter in your state, recruiting and retaining membership will be much easier. Respectfully Submitted,

Bob Ohlensehlen Epsilon Sigma Phi National Executive Director

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Annual Program of Work

2017

Prepared By: Kathleen Tweeten, 2017 ESP National President The 2016-2018 ESP National Strategic Plan with its three primary goals and fourteen objectives (below) lays the foundation for the work of the national organization and committees. Growth in membership, resources, quality professional programming and the expansion of partners will enable Epsilon Sigma Phi to continue to be a relevant organization as it creates added value for its members and partners. The following challenges will help guide the 2017 Strategic Plans of Work for the organization and committees.

1. Demonstrate that ESP is the principal Extension organization in leadership excellence.

2. Grow ESP membership by 2%. 3. Increase annual giving to the ESP foundation by 2%. 4. Advance relations with ESP chapters, partners and Extension administration. 5. Develop and deliver quality products and programs.

2016- 2018 National Epsilon Sigma Phi Strategic Plan Goal 1: Play a critical role in positively shaping tomorrow’s Extension System

● Objective 1: Foster dialogue that creates opportunities for critical thinking about the future of the Extension system.

● Objective 2: Build capacity for addressing emerging issues. ● Objective 3: Build advocacy capacity and recognize excellence in support/advocacy

that ultimately advances the Extension System. Goal 2: Foster excellence in the Extension professional through professional development and leadership opportunities

● Objective 1: Provide on-going relevant professional development utilizing a variety of delivery methods in response to the needs of Extension professionals.

● Objective 2: Utilize technology for the delivery of professional development and leadership training.

● Objective 3: Promote collaborative efforts with JCEP partners to encourage multi-state and multi-disciplinary professional development for all Extension professionals.

● Objective 4: Provide grants and scholarships to enhance professional leadership and development for chapters and members.

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● Objective 5: Provide chapter and member recognition programs that are sought out and valued by members and institutional administrators.

● Objective 6: Respond to the needs of life-long learning for life members. Goal 3: Cultivate a strong, relevant ESP organization

● Objective 1: Actively seek growth and diversity in ESP membership. ● Objective 2: Continually refine and review ESP’s vision and how it is carried out. ● Objective 3: Recruit and train effective leaders for national and chapter ESP

roles to enhance and sustain organizational goals. ● Objective 4: Be an organization that is seen as a leader in using new

technologies in appropriate ways to enhance our mission. ● Objective 5: Provide efficient and effective communication with chapters and

members. ● Objective 6: Provide the financial resources to support the objectives of the

organization.

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2015

National Council Meeting Coeur d’Alene Resort, Idaho

October 7, 2015

ESP President Ann Berry called the 2015 National Council Meeting to Order at 9:00am on October 7, 2015. Past President Jeffrey Myers was appointed Parliamentarian for the National Council Meeting by President Ann Berry. Regional Vice Presidents Dan Culbert and Peggy Compton were appointed to review the minutes. ESP Executive Director Bob Ohlensehlen was asked to provide proof of notice to the National Council Delegates and to the Chapter Presidents. He reported that the notice was sent to all of the registered delegates on September 5, 2015. Executive Director Bob Ohlensehlen called the roll of voting delegates, there were 49 delegates present. There were two additional delegates that joined the meeting after the roll call was taken bringing the total to 51. The list of delegates is attached to the minutes. It was moved by Jeannette Rea Keywood to dispense with the reading of 2014 National Council Minutes as all delegates had received those 30 days prior to the meeting. The motion was seconded by Bonnie Zioa and the motion passed. Mike Knutz moved to accept the minutes of the 2014 Council Meeting as provided to the delegates. The motion was seconded by Mary Leuci and the motion passed. President Ann Berry introduced the newly elected regional Vice Presidents, Bethany Raney, Northeast Vice President; and Rusty Collins, Western Region Vice President. Elizabeth Claypoole was introduced as the new 2nd Vice President who will go through the rotation becoming ESP National President in 2017. Ann Berry gave the National President’s report which highlighted the activities of the national president for the past year including the preparation of a new three year strategic plan. That will be approved during the National Council Meeting. Ann also reported on her JCEP activities which included providing the leadership for the development of the new JCEP Strategic Plan. Ann’s full annual report can be found on the Epsilon Sigma Phi website under the Reports Tab.

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Executive Director Report, Bob Ohlensehlen reported from the National ESP Office. Bob reported on the activities of the national office during the past year, highlighting the work on the upgrading of the ESP website. Bob also addressed the potential of moving to an electronic system for managing the membership and collecting dues. He discussed the possibility of getting a pilot program working this year to see how we might make the move to electronic membership management. The full executive director report can be found on the website under the Reports Tab on the ESP website. National Committee Reports (full committee reports can be found on the ESP Website under the Reports Tab)

The Global Relations Committee report was given by Elaine Long Bailey who reported on the fact that there is Extension work on the COP for global Extension work. There is an internationalizing Extension site on Facebook. Reports on projects and opportunity. The humanitarian project which helps people to use technology safely. There will be a project in Ghana to increase the safety equipment available for those who are applying pesticides. The Chapter Relations Committee report was given by Graham Cochran. Graham explained that the Chapter Relations Committee is important as they work to help support the chapters. The committee members were helpful in recruiting members for the 2016 National Committee appointments. The Marketing Committee Report was given by Jeff Myers. Jeff stated the Marketing Committee started as an adhoc committee several years ago and now it is one of the standing committees. He shared that he was a member of that original adhoc committee. The committee was very involved in modernizing the logo and templates as well as other documents that we now have and which are available to the chapters. The marketing committee worked on determining additional items for the National Office to have on hand and which could be included in a marketing kit. Sample kits were prepared and were picked up by the chapters during the poster session. Jeff thanked Bob and Jeana for putting the kits together and organizing the materials. Member Recruitment & Retention Committee report was given by Peggy Compton. Peggy stated that six of the eight committee members were new at the beginning of the year; they have come together and have done an excellent job this past year. The committee used Facebook to increase communication while at the conference. There was a drawing from 32 names of people who liked the MRRC poster on Facebook. During the year the committee sponsored two webinars. The first webinar was on communications, the second was on how to increase membership. Peggy reported on the membership numbers for the year. New Life Memberships were down; the number of annual members were up by 15 and there were 290 new members, which points out that retention is important.

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The Professional Development Committee report was given by Patricia Dawson. She reported on the number of RFPs that had been received which were part of the blind review for this year’s concurrent sessions. The committee has prepared a RFP for next year’s topics which will include a lightning session. The committee is proposing to have some webinars to help provide Professional Development to other members who were not able to attend. The Public Issues Committee report was given by Donna Gillespie. She thanked the committee for all of their work this past year. Donna also talked about attending the PILD Conference. The committee held a concurrent session at this year’s national conference and again sponsored the elevator speech contest. The Scholarships, Grants and Recognition Committee report was given by Dan Culbert. Dan reported on the work the SGR Committee had done throughout the year. He reported on the method used by the committee to review the recognition and scholarship, grant applications. Dan offered to assist members who need help, to fill out applications. There will be twelve scholarships available this next year. The McKinney Scholarship funds have been exhausted so that scholarship will no longer be available. The final winner came from Indiana which was Mike McKinney’s home state. Dan reviewed the numbers of members that had submitted applications for recognition, scholarships and grants during the 2015 year. Dan reported that the committee had a poster in the poster session that described the programs available through the committee which was put together by Travis West. Resource Development & Management Committee report was given by Graham Cochran who reported on the activities of the committee. The committee initiated the procedure of performing annual fiscal review by the committee members and a less frequent external review by an accountant. This change will increase the knowledge of the committee regarding ESP’s finances and reduce cost for the organization. The 2016 Kickoff Challenge campaign was developed by the committee to continue to build on the development fund. After the conference the committee will contact the chapters to encourage them to work on the Challenge to raise more funds for the Development Fund so we will be able to increase the amount of money we can return to the membership.

2016 JCEP Leadership Conference Report/PILD Update Ann Berry reported on the JCEP Leadership Conference meeting coming up February 2016 in Las Vegas. The PILD Conference will be in Washington DC in April. Ann reported on presentation opportunities during the conferences.

JCEP Blue Ribbon Committee Update was given by Rusty Collins ESP’s representative on the committee. Rusty reported on the survey that was sent out with over 1,300 responses. The feedback had been received by the committee was very interesting and quite valuable as JCEP moves forward in a different direction than the Galaxy Conferences held in past years.

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The committee is currently working on how to implement a program that will address the concerns and issues that were raised. Journal of Extension Report was submitted by Stephen Brown who is ESP’s representative to the Journal of Extension Board. The biggest item was the successful replacement of the editor for the JOE to replace Dr. Laura Hoelsher who has been the editor for several years and will be retiring soon. Unfinished Business - Ann Berry called for unfinished business; there was none. New Business 2016-2018 Strategic Plan Jane Gault served as the chair of the committee. Jane was not able to attend the meeting. In her absence, Patricia Dawson presented the plan that was developed by the board with input that was received at 2014 ESP National Conference, the 2015 JCEP Leadership Conference and input that was received in the survey sent to members early in January 2015. Patricia outlined the process and presented the final document. The strategic plan was approved by a voice vote of support. 2016 Plan of Work Patricia Dawson reviewed the upcoming year’s President POW. She expressed concern about the 5,000 members that were not at the conference. She also expressed concern about those chapters that have a decline in membership. She expressed that she feels that technology will be an important part of means we use to increase our interaction and service to the membership. Financial Report and 2016 Annual Budget Graham Cochran reported that the organization is healthy from a financial perspective. The organization has two pots of money - the organizational fund and the development fund. Graham reported on the amount of funds; $360,000 in the organizational fund and there is about $560,000 in the development fund. Graham reviewed the budget for the organizational and development fund. Debbie Ross moved to approve the budget. The motion was seconded and it passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 am. Respectfully Submitted,

ESP Executive Director

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April 16, 2015

2016 Internal Financial Review Date: March 14, 2016 To: Patricia Dawson, ESP President From: ESP Fiscal Review Subcommittee (Graham Cochran, Mark Stillwell, and David Ross) Re: ESP Internal Financial Review Completed March, 2016 Three members of the ESP Resource Development and Management Committee (Graham Cochran, Mark Stillwell, and David Ross) served on the 2015 Fiscal Review Subcommittee. The group reviewed financial records from 2015 and met on March 9, 2016, to complete the task. Bob Ohlensehlen from the National Office joined us to answer questions. The committee followed the ESP Internal Financial Review Procedures approved in 2015 and outlined here:

1. Secure all financial records (cancelled checks, bank statements, receipts, monthly reports (P&L statement; balance sheet; check register; reconciled report) for the review period.

2. Randomly review checks for appropriate signatures. 3. Randomly match documentation (e.g., receipts) to checks. Record check numbers

reviewed. 4. Determine if all expenditures were approved in the annual budget or otherwise authorized 5. Randomly check to see if expenditures in records are found on the bank statement. 6. List expenditures reviewed. 7. Review numerical sequence of cancelled and unused checks. Note any missing checks. 8. Check to see if books have been reconciled to bank statements on a regular basis. 9. If certificates of deposit are owned, verify that they are still on deposit with the bank. If no

longer on deposit, trace proceeds to deposit in checking account. 10. Compare expenditures to budget. Determine if level of activity appears reasonable. 11. List any checks that are outstanding and date of issue. 12. Review committee members sign report.

All financial records were made available online for committee member review. Members randomly selected and reviewed 18 transactions from 2015 for both the organizational and development funds, finding records were in order for item #2-5 above. Specific expenditures reviewed are listed in the attached individual committee member notes. Bank statements had been reconciled regularly. Expenditures reviewed appeared reasonable in relation to ESP Annual Budget. We also noted that the ESP President’s signature was on transactions involving payment to O&H Associates. Any missing checks in sequence noted were found as voided. Committee members had a few questions for Bob that he was able to address, helping committee members better understand how funds flow through accounts. In summary, the committee followed the above procedures and everything appeared to be in order. Income, expenditures and transfers are well documented. Financial activity appears reasonable in relation to the ESP budget. Bob and Jeana are doing a nice job with the ESP financial records.

Committee

Resource Development & Management

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2017 Epsilon Sigma Phi Proposed Operational Budget

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2017 Epsilon Sigma Phi Proposed Development Fund Budget

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Running List of Motions of the Business Transacted by the ESP National Board

September 03, 2015 – September 1, 2016

Resolution 2015-09-03-01 - Graham Cochran moved that the minutes from the August Board Conference Call Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Dan Culbert and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-09-03-02 - Patricia Dawson moved that we move forward with implementing the new online membership program. Elaine Long Bailey seconded the motion and it passed. Resolution 2015-09-03-03 - Jeff Myers moved that the financial reports be approved and filed for audit. The motion was seconded by Dan Culbert and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-10-03-01 - Dan Culbert moved that the minutes of the September meeting be approved. Peggy Compton seconded the motion and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-10-03-02 - Jeff Myers made the motion to approve the financial report and file it for audit. Patricia Dawson seconded it and the motion passed.

Resolution 2015-10-03-03 - Graham Cochran moved to allow Linda Sapp from Florida who was one of the 1890’s scholarship winners who is unable to attend to use her scholarship to attend next year’s conference in New Jersey. Dan Culbert seconded the motion and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-11-05-01 - Dan Culbert moved that the minutes from the Pre Conference Board Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Rusty Collins and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-11-05-02 - Rusty Collins moved that the minutes from the Council Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Beth Raney and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-11-05-03 - Dan Culbert moved that the minutes from the Post Conference Board Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Collins and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-12-03-01 - Peggy Compton moved that the minutes from the Board Conference Call Meeting be approved as amended. The motion was seconded by Dan Culbert and the motion passed. Resolution 2015-12-03-02 - Elizabeth Claypoole moved to pay the Theta Chapter their share of the conference proceeds contingent on the verification of the income numbers that they include the fees. The motion was seconded by Graham Cochran and the motion passed.

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Resolution 2015-12-03-03 - Dan Culbert moved that the October and November financials be approved and filed for audit. Elizabeth Claypoole seconded the motion and it passed. Resolution 2016-01-07-01- Dan Culbert moved that the agenda be adopted. The motion was seconded by Ann Berry and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-01-07-02 - Ann Berry moved that the minutes as amended from the December 3rd Board Conference Call Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Rusty Collins and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-01-07-03 - The SGR Committee recommends approval of a Professional Development Grant to the Alpha Kappa Chapter Project “Using Data to Communicate your Success Story.” The motion passed. Resolution 2016-01-07-04 - The SGR committee recommends approval of PILD Scholarships for Mary Ann Kizer, Alpha Iota Chapter (AR); Johnny Barnes, Omega Chapter (TN); Pattie Carroll, Alpha Sigma Chapter (WI); Nozella Brown, Alpha Rho Chapter (KS); Meridith J. Berry, Alpha Tau Chapter (MO); and Carol Smathers, Alpha Eta Chapter (OH). The motion passed. Resolution 2016-02-04-01 - Dan Culbert moved that the minutes from the January 7th Board Conference Call Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Graham Cochran and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-02-04-02 - Graham Cochran moved that we get the two-day internet for the ESP meeting session at the JCEP Leadership Conference. The motion was seconded by Rusty Collins and it passed. Resolution 2016-02-04-03 - Rusty Collins moved that the financial report be approved and filed for audit. Beth Raney seconded the motion and the motion passed with one abstention. Resolution 2016-02-04-04 - Dan Culbert moved that we deny the project funding (Professional Development Grant) due to major changes in the scope and project team from the originally approved proposal. The motion was seconded by Beth Claypoole and it passed. Resolution 2016-03-22-01 - Dan Culbert moved to approve the minutes of the February Conference Call minutes. The motion was seconded by Ann Berry seconded and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-03-22-02 - Graham Cochran submitted the report of the financial review committee. Graham Cochran moved that the Fiscal Review Report be accepted. The motion passed. Resolution 2016-03-22-03 - Graham Cochran moved to accept the Kansas bid for 2018 with the date to be approved later. Rusty Collins seconded the motion and the motion passed.

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Resolution 2016-03-22-04 - Graham Cochran moved to accept Ed Tech Team as ESP’s recipient of the JCEP Creative Excellence Award. Dan Culbert seconded the motion and it passed. Resolution 2016-04-07-01- Ann Berry moved that the financial report be accepted and filed for audit. The motion was seconded by Graham Cochran and it passed. Resolution 2016-04-07-02 - Graham Cochran moved that we accept the dates that were proposed for the 2018 National Conference in Manhattan, Kansas were September 30, 2018–October 3, 2018. The motion was seconded and passed. Resolution 2016-04-07-03 - Graham moved that the Board approve the selection of concurrent sessions and poster sessions that were recommendation for presentation at the 2016 conference by the committee. Elizabeth Claypoole seconded the motion and it passed. Resolution 2016-04-07-04 - Graham Cochran moved that the committee recommendation of Pamela Jacobs, IL, and Mark Platten CO to receive the Angus Scholarship be approved the motion passed. Resolution 2016-04-07-05 - Peggy Compton moved to accept the committee recommendation of Terry England, Elected Representative, GA; Cliff and Judy Bracher, Extension Volunteer/Lay Leader, OR; Ann Turkos, Extension Volunteer/Lay Leader, MD as the 2016 recipients of the Friend of Extension Award. The motion was passed. Resolution 2016-04-07-06 - Graham Cochran moved to accept the recommendation of the committee to add the 2015 Ruby Award applications to those submitted in 2016 for consideration for the 2016 Ruby Award, updates to the 2015 applications will be due by April 15th. The motion passed. Resolution 2016-05-05-01 - Dan Culbert moved that the minutes from the Mid-Year Board Meeting as amended be approved. The motion was seconded by Ann Berry and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-05-05-02 - Dan Culbert moved that the minutes as amended from the April Board Conference Call Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Ann Berry and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-05-05-03 - Beth Claypoole moved to approve the financial report and file for audit. Ann Berry seconded the motion and it passed. Resolution 2016-05-05-04 - Dan Culbert moved that deadlines for receiving final applications for the 2016 Professional Development Grants, Angus Scholarships, and Redinger Scholarships be set for July 1, 2016. It was seconded by Beth Raney and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-06-02-01 - Graham Cochran moved to approve the May meeting minutes. Peggy Compton seconded the motion and the motion passed.

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Resolution 2016-06-02-02 - Graham Cochran moved to accept the financials and file them for audit. The motion was passed. Resolution-2016-07-07-01 - Peggy Compton moved that the minutes from the June Board Conference Call Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Rusty Collins and the motion passed. Resolution-2016-07-07-02 - Rusty Collins moved that the financials that were submitted be received and filed for audit. The motion was seconded by Dan Culbert and the motion passed. Resolution-2016-07-07-03 - Dan Culbert moved that the changes to the section of the handbook on the National Conference be approved. The motion was seconded by Peggy Compton and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-07-07-04 - Dan Culbert moved to accept the 2017 committee member list as submitted with the exception of Doug Jardine being listed on the Professional Development Committee. Rusty Collins seconded the motion and it passed. Resolution-2016-07-07-05 - Graham Cochran moved that the recommended changes to the RDM section of the handbook be adopted. The motion passed. Resolution-2016-07-07-06 - Graham Cochran moved that the travel policy Section M of the handbook be removed and will be located in the policies only and the remaining changes be approved. The motion passed. Resolution-2016-07-07-07 - Graham Cochran moved that the Policies for Investment and Spending changes recommended by the committee be approved. The motion passed. Resolution-2016-07-07-08 - Graham Cochran moved the budget that was prepared by the RDM Committee, reviewed by the Board and then finalized by the committee, be approved. The motion passed. Resolution 2016-08-04-01 - Rusty Collins moved that the minutes from the July Board Conference Call Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Dan Culbert and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-08-04-02 - Dan Culbert moved to accept the financials that were submitted and file them for audit. The motion was seconded by Beth Claypoole and the motion passed.

Resolution 2016-08-04-03 - Graham moved to accept the changes to the handbook as presented by the SGR Committee. The motion was seconded by Rusty Collins and the motion passed.

Resolution 2016-08-04-04 - Elizabeth Claypoole moved that the Board would ask Nate Arnett to serve as the Chair of the RDM committee in light of the resignation of Graham. Peggy Compton seconded the motion and the motion passed.

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Resolution 2016-09-01-01 - Rusty Collins moved that the minutes from the August Board Conference Call Meeting be approved. The motion was seconded by Ann Berry and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-09-01-02 - Ann Berry moved that Bob’s travel be covered for his trip to Colorado to do a chapter visit in November of 2016. The motion was seconded by Dan Culbert and the motion passed. Resolution 2016-09-01-03 - Ann Berry presented the ESP Handbook recommendations for the Public Issues Committee section of the committee for the changes for approval. The motion passed.

Resolution 2016-09-01-04 - Dan Culbert moved that the following change be made to the section of the By-Laws. Section 2. NATIONAL COMMITTEES. National committee appointments are for a two year term. A member may apply for a second two year term to a respective committee. National committees shall report to the National ESP Board and make recommendations for National ESP Board and National ESP Council action. Ann Berry seconded the motion and it passed.

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2016 ESP Membership – September 1, 2016

Renewed Annual

New Annual

Total Annual Change in

Life Membership All Members

Chapter 2016 2016 2016 2015 Members 2015 2016 2016 2016

Total Total Total Total 2015-2016 Total Life New Life Total Life Total Alabama 14 3 17 18 -1 75 2 77 94

Alaska 6 0 6 6 0 22 0 21 27

Arkansas 37 1 38 39 -1 33 2 35 73

Colorado 57 16 73 64 9 37 0 35 108

Delaware 0 0 0 20 0 9 0 8 8

Florida 102 4 106 107 -1 111 0 101 207

Georgia 112 21 133 112 21 137 1 138 271

Hawaii 9 0 9 11 -2 25 0 25 34

Idaho 35 0 35 39 -4 19 0 19 54

Illinois 38 5 43 44 -1 96 0 96 139

Indiana 90 10 100 104 -4 114 2 116 216

Iowa 52 4 56 63 -7 84 0 52 108

Kansas 85 10 95 92 3 92 1 92 187

Kentucky 99 13 112 120 -8 148 1 132 244

Louisiana 20 3 23 30 -7 39 1 40 63

Maryland 37 3 40 39 1 51 2 53 93

Michigan 49 10 59 51 8 113 1 114 173

Minnesota 34 4 38 38 0 150 3 153 191

Mississippi 34 2 36 33 3 70 0 67 103

Missouri 60 9 69 76 -7 66 0 66 135

Montana 41 6 47 43 4 38 1 39 86

Nebraska 17 0 17 28 -11 27 0 25 42

New Jersey 29 2 31 36 -5 22 1 23 54

New Mexico 32 7 39 34 5 35 1 36 75

New York 17 2 19 27 -8 57 0 54 73

North Carolina 64 13 77 68 9 202 0 191 268

North Dakota 25 1 26 27 -1 54 3 57 83

Ohio 258 48 306 291 15 135 0 135 441

Oklahoma 52 4 56 54 2 57 2 59 115

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Renewed Annual

New Annual

Total Annual Change in

Life Membership All Members

Chapter 2016 2016 2016 2015 Members 2015 2016 2016 2016

Total Total Total Total 2015-2016 Total Life New Life Total Life Total Oregon 47 6 53 58 -5 51 5 56 109

Pennsylvania 26 4 30 31 -1 73 0 73 103

South Carolina 23 7 30 24 6 83 1 84 114

South Dakota 0 0 0 0 0 47 0 47 45

Tennessee 95 4 99 119 -20 51 0 48 147

Texas 77 18 95 80 15 124 0 105 200

Utah 39 6 45 45 0 14 0 14 59

Virginia 56 5 61 66 -5 128 1 129 190

Washington 1 0 1 1 0 45 0 45 46

West Virginia 23 4 27 23 4 43 0 42 69

Wisconsin 119 9 128 150 -22 146 0 146 274

Wyoming 12 6 18 15 3 9 0 8 26

At-Large 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1

ES/USDA 3 0 3 21 -18 32 0 32 35 `

TOTALS 2026 270 2296 2329 -31 2965 31 2889 5185 2015 Totals 2058 290 2348 2329 19 3077 32 2983 5331

2014 Totals 2068 261 2329

-45 3242 40 3197 5526

2013 Totals 2046 315 2361 37 3204 37 3241 5602

2012 Totals 2087 236 2324 -27 3234 50 3267 5591

2011 Totals 2142 209 2351 -492 2142 32 3440 5791

2010 Totals 2616 227 2843 -319 3538 49 3538 6381

2009 Totals 2900 262 3162 -171 3535 40 3575 6697

2008 Totals 3083 250 3333 3551 52 3603 6884

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2016 EPSILON SIGMA PHI MEMORIAL LISTING Alabama Jeannette M. Argo Ann Barr Addre Bryant Carl Dennis George McMillan Mildred Payne Inez Petty Nannie S. Rhodes Elizabeth Stewart Elna Tanner Elizabeth Thomas Colorado Jacque Miller Florida Alice B. Ayers Georgia Newton J. Hogg Idaho Rod Taylor Illinois J. Curt Eisenmayer James McCurdy William F. Whiteside Indiana Herbert C. Krauch Iowa Eugene W. Mathern Philip P. Hufferd Norma L. Morgan E. Eugene Neven John W. Patterson Helen I. Perkins Kansas John H. Barnes Edward P. “Ed” Call Philip Finley Juanita Payne Glenn M. Busset Cecil L. Eyestone

Kentucky Dr. Walter Walla Jones R. Davie Patricia De Coursey Margie Wilson Jack M. Friar A.S. Williams Stephen Q. Allen Everette Mackey Frances H. Benge J.W. Kidwell David Sparrow Quentin R. Terry A.W. Rowland Estil Noffsing Tom Stephenson Robert M. Huffman Harold Vaught Louisiana Ruth F. Thompson-Carville Maryland Constance Pergerson Eleanor Young Patricia Tengel Minnesota Jerrold Tesmer Montana Allene M. Pierce New Jersey Gail Alexander Mary Jane Willis Dianne Lennon North Dakota Banks H. Sieber Oklahoma J.D. Edmonson Anna L. Rouk Frances R. Henderson Jay Hesser Ray A. Parker Keith McClemore Margaret E. Fitch

Oregon Harold M. Black Alberta Johnston Pennsylvania Murray W. Risk Mae B. Hostetter Jerry H. Reyburn R. Blaine Schlosser Josephine M. Kotch Rhode Island William Wallace Tennessee Jesse Francis Texas Vivian Pittman Tommy Tatum Jimmie Lou Wainscott Eddie P. Washington Delbert O. Black Don D. Decker Toy Smith Eunice Rainwater Washington Felix Entenmann West Virginia Annette S. Boggs Wisconsin Lois Christenson James A. Everts

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