In This Issue: Business Leave Communique. Dean s Webinar. County Facebook. Pages Policy. of the Month Open. Enrollment. Happy Birthday...

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1 Monday Messenger September 15, 2014 In This Issue: Happy Birthday Welcome Business Leave Communique OSU Extension Regional Map and HR/Fiscal Contact Listing Updated RiV Not Online No Profile Dean s Webinar Centennial Celebrations in the Region Southeast Region Endowment NAE4HA Conference County Facebook Pages Policy of the Month Open Enrollment CES Annual Membership Drive Fall Fun at McDonald s Greenhouse Excellence Nomination Deadlines Important Dates and Deadlines Happy Birthday... September 17 - Jennie Ellis, Office Assistant, Belmont County September 19 Bruce Zimmer, 4H Educator/CED, Monroe County September 21 Jeff Fisher,, ANR Educator/CED, Pike County We Welcome... Carina Dickens, Program Assistant, EFNEP, Jackson County who started in the Southeast Region on September 8.

2 Business Leave... (From: Bev Kelbaugh) It is the recommendation of the Region Directors that employees who travel for business requiring overnight accommodations or out-of-state, submit a University Business Leave request at For educators, this leave request feeds to the Region Director (your immediate supervisor). This is a safeguard in the event of an accident. Per University Policy: Use the business leave request even if it doesn t involve reimbursement for travel expenses; The request will route to your supervisor for approval; Business leave doesn t deduct from your leave balances (sick, vacation, comp time, etc.), or load to a timesheet. With this clarification, please submit your University Business Leave requests on-line beginning with your next overnight travel. And remember, if you are traveling overnight with no additional expenses your reimbursement should not be made on the mileage log. The mileage log trips are for one day trips only. All overnight trips need to be submitted on the Travel Reimbursement Form and require pre-approval attached (if the T# was not received prior to the trip for PCard expenses). Communique... A new issue of the Communiqué is posted online at OSU Extension Regional Map and HR/Fiscal Contact Listings Updated... The OSU Extension regional map has been updated. A summary of the human resources and fiscal contacts for each region (as of August 1) can be found also at this list is for internal Extension use. RiV Not Online No Profile... (Source: Debby Lewis) Whenever you log in and cannot see the PROFILE tab in the menu, the system has changed you to a faculty proxy user. It happens to our A&P personnel most often. Again, your data is still there, so don t worry. Please RiV (riv@osu.edu) and ask them to restore your profile Please reactivate my RiV account. I have my own profile in the RiV system, but my account has been changed to a faculty proxy account. Someone on the RiV team must fix your profile; unfortunately no one else can do that for you. If it takes more than 24 hours, please let Debby know. The RiV team should notify you when it has been fixed. Dean s Webinar... Dean McPheron s monthly webinar is scheduled for this Friday, September 19 at 1 p.m. Please hold the date. More information will be sent this week about connecting to the webinar.

3 The Centennial Celebrations... in the region continue. The following photos are from the recent Noble County Fair. Representatives from each sponsor of the Farmer s Feature are pictured below: front row Jamie Riley, Lions; Donna Joy, Lions; Nancy Snook, OSU Ext. ; Kristen Corry, OSU Ext.; Tamara Reynolds, Farm Credit; back row Mike Lloyd, Comm. Foundation; Jason Feldner, Farm Bureau; Steven Wentworth, Farm Bureau; Josh Henderson, Farm Credit. The Farmer's Feature, an interactivee walking trail during this year s Noble County Fair would not have been a success without the support off the Noble County Community Foundation, Noble County Farm Bureau, Farm Credit, the Noble County Lions Club and collaboration between 4-H, FCS and AGNR with OSU Extension. Those who walked the 0.25-mile loop on the fairgrounds found 6 signs with agriculture and healthy living themes.. All participants received a plastic cup donated by Farm Credit and were entered into a drawing for a gas grill, donated byy Noble County Farm Bureau and a FitBit, donated by the Noble County Lions Club. The walking trail was made possible with grant money awarded by the Noble County Community Foundation.

4 Below, 4-H volunteers help Cloverbuds find answers to questions along the trail. Onee of six signs, part of the Farmer s Feature, an interactive walking trail around the Noble County Fairgrounds, teaches about water. 4-H volunteers helped Cloverbuds find the answers to questions about agriculture and healthy living. Learning about sources of protein at the Noble County Fair. Southeast Region Endowment... Another report from last year s Region Endowment Award recipient is below. A reminder, applications for these awards are to be submitted to Bev Kelbaugh at thee SE Region Office by October 31, Applicants must be employees of counties that comprise thee Southeast Region. ALL program and support stafff are eligible to apply for this award.

5 Awards are selected for program support and professional development support (up to $500 per grant). The endowment guidelines and application for these grant funds are located on the SE Region website at (Other: SE Region Endowment Guidelines and Application). The endowment committee is comprised of personnel from the region, and they will serve as the review committee for grants submitted. Source: (Michelle Stumbo) There are more than H community clubs in an 11-county area of southern Ohio, which encompasses the 10 counties in the Ohio Valley EERA and neighboring Meigs County. While many of these are well-established, others are less than five years old and have relatively inexperienced organizational (head) advisors. All have advisors who are pressed for time and who are seeking easyto-use, high-quality, effective, hands-on educational activities for their club meetings that will strengthen the club, develop members communication and leadership skills, and, in general, make the best better. In 2012, a team of eight area Extension professionals received a grant from the Ohio 4-H Foundation to develop 100 kits, which were placed with local clubs, approximately 10 per county. These kits were well-received across the area, and the contents of the binders were shared with colleagues across the state and at two national conferences. Making the Best 4-H Clubs Better Version 2.0 has added lessons, resource materials, and copyready handouts to the original project. These lessons will be ready to use at meetings and will provide advisors with more high-quality, effective, hands-on educational activities to strengthen local clubs. The team has revised the original lessons to be used in the future and added 13 new lessons, including a teen leader teaching component. Funding was sought to provide binders and CDs with each lesson in an easy to use format to clubs in the 11 county area. Training will equip advisors with the skills and knowledge to use the resources effectively, making the best even better. Among the lessons that have been added, based in part on discussion from the seminar presented by the team at the Galaxy IV national professional conference, are: Teaching Teens to Teach Making Meetings Fun Club Constitution and By-Laws YOU are a 4-H Ambassador! Team Building Challenges Blue Ribbon Project Exhibits Practice + Prepare = Successful Project Interview Discover Yourself at Camp Project STEM (Science is Fun!) Distracted Driving Kills Cyberbullying Planning Field Trips and Outings Keeping Community Service Safe To date, four counties have distributed binders and provided training to club advisors on use of the curriculum, with more trainings planned for the fall months. Evaluations from advisors who have used the curriculum is in process and will continue as more use this resource. All printable materials are available online at

6 NAE4HA Deadline... (Source: Hannah Epley) NAE4HA Conference-State s Night Out Information When: Tuesday, October 28 in Minneapolis 6 PM Where: Market BBQ, marketbbq.com Cost: $34.85 per meal inclusive of tax tip and a nonalcoholic drink Menu choices (All meals come with cole slaw, fries and texas toast): one half slab of barbecued spareribs or barbecued half chicken and ribs or barbecued ribs and fried shrimp or barbecue chicken and fried shrimp. PAY: Send checks payable to JCEP" by September 26, 2014 (or earlier!). You can submit check (with name(s) of who is attending AND MENU CHOICE) to: Vinton County Extension, Attn: States Night Out, State Route 93N, McArthur, OH The amount to pay is below the per diem for Minneapolis (which is $35.50 for dinner), so you shouldn t need a receipt. If you do, let us know and we will figure out something County Facebook Pages... If you have a county Facebook page(s), please send your information to Lee Ann. She would like to join your group and keep up on the happenings (and they may appear in Monday Messenger ;) Send Lee Ann a note at johnson.82@osu.edu. Thanks! Policy of the Month... (Source: Jeff Dick) Guidelines Regarding Political Activity by Employees of the University University staff and faculty members are encouraged to fully and freely exercise their constitutional right to vote, as well as express their personal opinions regarding political candidates, issues, local, state and national programs, initiatives and referendums. However, as employees of a public institution there are restrictions on exercising these rights in a manner that suggests University endorsement of a cause or candidate. General guidelines on these restrictions are provided below. For the purposes of these guidelines, political activity means activities related to elections, campaigns for or against candidates, issues, amendments and levies. It should be noted that these guidelines relate solely to individual employee conduct and do not address the scope of University actions. Read the full text of the guidelines at the website for the Office of Legal Affairs. Contact Jan Alan Neiger Associate General Counsel, Office of Legal Affairs neiger.4@osu.edu or Open Enrollment October 27 - November 7... This year, Open Enrollment runs Monday (10/27)-Friday (11/7). This is your opportunity to enroll or change benefits elections for Watch your , home mailbox and be sure to check mybenefitsplan.osu.edu for updated plan information in the coming weeks. Remember to complete your Personal Health Assessment (PHA) by September 30 in order to receive the insurance premium reduction. If your spouse/same sex domestic partner (SSSDP) also completes the PHA before September 30, you are eligible for an additional premium discount.

7 Chi Epsilon Sigma Annual Membership Drive... It is time once again for the annual CES membership drive. Chi Epsilon Sigma is Extension s professional organization for support staff. Membership is open to all support staff that have at least a 45 percent appointmentt with Extension. Annual CES membership dues have been raised by the Board from $15 to $25. The reason behind this decision is, in addition to the CES awards currently available to membership (which the dues support), CES is planning to offer an Annual Professional Development opportunity open to both CES members (at little or no cost) and Extension Staff. Extension administrationn reaffirms that dues may be paid from county/department budgets with unit director approval. The preferred method of payment is by OSU Chartfield. You may pay with a personal check as well. To encourage staff to join that may not be able to because of budget constraints; six membership scholarships will be available. You can requestt an application by checking the appropriate box on the membership form. Membership information and the application can be found at The 2014 CES Annual Meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 9, at the Ohio Union in partnership with the OSU Extension Annual Conference. The theme of this year s OSU Extension Annual Conference is The Next 1000 Years. Mark your calendars and plan to attend. A $100 scholarship will be awarded to a CES member to assist withh expenses to attend the Annual Meeting and Conference. Criteria will be based on restricted financial funding, and an application will be sent if you check the box on the membership form. Now is the time to consider membership in CES the Extension support staff professional organization. Experience the many benefits of the CES membership. Fall Fun at McDonald s Greenhouse... A message from some great 4-H advisors in Muskingum County - My husband and I are 4-H alum, advisors and now 4-H parents. We have hosted many children at our farm for the past nine years for a corn maze and pumpkin patch in Muskingum County. Our corn maze theme this year is Ohio 4-H celebrating the 100th year of Extension at the request of Mark Mechling, Muskingum County ag educator. We are having a 4-H Weekend on September 27 & 28 where any 4-H member has free admission with a payingg adult. Anyway, we think this is really exciting, and a great opportunity for youth to get a chance too come to our farm and learn by doing. We are working to get the word out. Please see the materials attached.

8 Excellence Nominationn Deadlines... Excellence in 4-H Award Nomination, Due October 20 Once again it is time to make nominations for the Excellencee in 4-H Award. This award honors superior accomplishments by an Extension Educator in developing dynamic, innovative, broad-based 4-H educational programs. The $1,000 award, funded through the Charles W. Lifer Excellence in 4-H Fund, is dedicated to the recognition of outstanding professionals who serve as examples in setting standards of excellencee in ten major areas of the County 4-H program.

9 A peer may nominate any Ohio State University Extension Educator who provides leadership to 4-H programs. Nomination forms are due to Lisa Jinks by October 20, Please nominate one or more individuals, whom you think are deserving of this recognition Excellence in 4-H Nomination Form Excellence in 4-H List of Award Winners Excellence in 4-H Award Excellence in Community Development Nominations, Due by November 1 It is time to submit nominations for the OSU Extension Excellence in Community Development Award. This $1,000 cash award recognizes a CD Extension professional for significant programmatic strengths, major contributions and innovative approaches achieved over the course of their Extension career. Submission deadline for nominations is November 1. Last year s winner was David Civittolo. The award will be presented at this year s OSU Extension Annual Conference and Research Colloquium. The application packet, which includes complete information regarding the call for nominations and the nomination form, can be found here. Please direct any questions to Greg Davis (davis.1081@osu.edu). Important Dates and Deadlines... SEPTEMBER: NEAFCS, Lexington, Kentucky Farm Science Review 16 Vice President s Farm Science Review County Director Assessment Center (Extension HR) OCTOBER: 6-9 National ESP Conference, Indianapolis, IN 8 Flu Shots available at the Endeavor Center, Piketon 8 Buckeye Hills EERA All Program Meeting, Southeast Region Office 15 - County Extension Director F2F Meeting, by Athens County Extension Office 20 Ohio JCEP Meeting 21 - Welcome Festival (Extension HR) 22 Just the Basics Social Media Workshop, Columbus, seger.23@osu.edu 24 Content and Strategy Social Media Workshop, Columbus, seger.23@osu.edu NAE4HA, Minneapolis, Minnesota 28 State Extension Advisory & OARDC Committee Meeting, 4-H Center 29 Live Health Live Well In-service, barlage.7@osu.edu or treber.1@osu.edu NOVEMBER: Action Leadership Retreat (Extension HR) FCS All Programs Conference, Ohio Union DECEMBER: 4-5 OSU Income Tax School, Ross Service Center, Chillicothe 9 11 Extension Annual Conference/Extension Colloquium OSU Income Tax School, OU, Zanesville 15 Ag Issues, several sites around the state including the SE Region Office 17 Buckeye Hills EERA 4-H Meeting, F2F, SE Region Office

10 19 Buckeye Hills ANR Meeting, F2F, tentative at EARS? As always, there are a multitude of training and professional development opportunities for Extension personnel. Please check with program areas for specific opportunities and visit The OSU Leadership Center also offers other opportunities at Many links to Events are also listed on our webpage at If any of the above links do not work or if you have questions about the dates or deadlines, please contact Lee Ann at johnson.82@osu.edu Schedule (week of September 15, 2014) Bev ( cell) M Belle Valley T FSR (VP Luncheon) W NEAFCS Conference T NEAFCS Conference F Travel and Virtual