Congratulations!
Keith Glewen received the Golden Ear Award from the Nebraska Corn Growers Association (NCGA). This award is given to an individual that has provided outstanding service to the corn industry. The award was presented by Carl Sousek, president of NCGA.
Matt Spangler has been named to The Cattle Business Weekly “2011 Class of Top 10 Industry Leaders Under the Age of 40". For the complete listing and bio on each of the individuals (which includes two other Nebraskans), go to http://www.cattlebusinessweekly.com/main.asp?SectionID=64&TM=59770.98
Congratulations to Keith and Matt!
District Lines
Extension administration has continued to look for ways to better balance the workloads of the District Directors. Most of you know that for some time we have been using administrative interns to help the District Directors with their workload. This fall we took a bolder step and asked the IANR Deans Council to more formally help the District Directors by supporting a request for some full and part-time administrative help for the districts. The Deans Council approved the request which included full-time Associate Directors for SEREC and WCREC, a part-time Associate Director for NEREC, and an administrative intern for PHREC. The Southeast District has completed the search process, and we are pleased to announce that Dr. David Varner is the new Associate Director for the Southeast District. Dave will formally begin his new responsibilities in February. A search will follow for his replacement to be located in Fremont.
For some of you that have been here a while, this will seem like a return to where we once were - and you are right. When I came to Nebraska, there were five Extension Districts and four of the five had a full-time Associate Director. As we reduced budgets, the Associate District Directors were slowly eliminated, but the work continued, and in fact, it has escalated.
We have also made a few adjustments in the district boundaries. Effective January 1, 2012, Webster, Adams, and Hall counties were moved into the West Central District. Also the decision was made that future maps will not show district lines. We are one system with the expectation that everyone is working across county and district lines. Our overall guiding philosophy is that the issue defines the geography and not the other way around. In today's world with statewide teams, the district boundaries have two purposes and those are to define an evaluation/reporting relationship for off campus faculty and staff and to identify the contacts between administration and county-based Extension Boards.
National Guard Agri-business Development Team (ADT-2) and Vaughn Hammond
Vaughn Hammond was home for the holidays. He has been working with the Nebraska's National Guard Agri-business Development Team (ADT-2) in Afghanistan since August as they work to reestablish some of the agricultural production Afghanistan was known for in the past. While home, Vaughn did an interview with Nebraska Public Radio which is very good. You can link to the site at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/netradio/news.newsmain/article/0/8528/1891542/Signature.Stories/The.view.from.Afghanistan’s.fields
Vaughn will return to Afghanistan this week and will be there until early April. Col. Lynn Heng who leads ADT-2 has communicated to me the importance of Vaughn's work with the Guard and Afghanistan. We are very proud of Vaughn and wish him continued safety as he carries out his Extension work in Afghanistan.
-- Elbert C. Dickey