Watauga County
State ESP County Performance Award 2002

Staff Cooperation:

The NC Cooperative Extension must constantly work on promoting Extension and the many learning opportunities that help North Carolina's people attain economic prosperity, become better stewards of the environment and enhance their quality of life. In accomplishing this mission of NC Cooperative Extension, the Watauga County Extension Staff strives to work as a team. They are constantly doing joint projects and cooperating in every way.

EXTENSION NEWS. An excellent example of their teamwork and cooperation is with their EXTENSION NEWS. This quarterly newspaper is a vehicle that extends to the Watauga County citizens an education on NC Cooperative Extension. During the course of one year, the EXTENSION NEWS includes Extension's mission, the areas of learning opportunities, our funding partners, our dynamic long-range planning process, how we fulfill our mission to continually adapt our programs to meet the current needs of the community, our Advisory Leadership System, our Extension Reporting System (ERS), and our Report to the People. It also includes a picture of the staff with names, titles and responsibilities. In addition, each edition includes a calendar of events and articles from each agent in their area of expertise-Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment; Community & Rural Development; Family & Consumer Education; and 4-H & Youth Development.

FARM CITY BANQUET. Another example of teamwork and involving the community is the Annual Farm City Recognition Banquet which is held the first Thursday of November with an attendance of approximately 300. Over 40 citizens and communities are recognized. It involves all members of the staff, members of the Advisory Council, townspeople, farmers and rural citizens, members of the Chamber of Commerce, and Appalachian State University. The mission of Farm City is to strengthen the understanding of the farm city connections that provide our food, fiber and shelter.

ENVIRONMENTAL FIELD DAY. This educational field day for every 5th grader in the Watauga County school system is held at the Valle Crucis Park in the September. Four agents from Extension work with Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Soil Conservation Service as well as teachers.

STAFF MEETINGS. The Watauga County staff takes turns to facilitate the Staff meetings which are held monthly.

II. Resource Utilization:

The Watauga County Cooperative Extension staff uses the resources of the University for training and program support in many ways. A few examples follow. The Family and Consumer Education Agent is presently using program support in the area of Partners in Wellness; Out for Lunch; Worksite Wellness, educational programs for childcare workers, and materials in food safety and preservation. The 4-H and Youth agent utilizes the 4-H materials. She has also received funding for a "Snow Day" Program, Super Summer Programs, and Chef School which was conducted with the help of the FCS agent.

The staff also utilizes other NCSU resources such as the Solar Center as Watauga County has been recognized as a member of the Million Solar Roofs Initiative and has received several grants through the Solar Center to carry out numerous workshops. This year, a $4,000 grant was received from the Solar Center. An additional $8,360 was received from NC Cooperative Extension, Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA).

In addition, the Agriculture Foundation has been the fiscal agent for the High Country AMIGOS which was initiated by the people in the community with the assistance of Extension. The first $50,000 from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation was placed with the Agriculture Foundation. The High Country AMIGOS now has their own 501 © (3).

III. Program Impact:

The CHOOSE & CUT Christmas Tree in Watauga County has been most successful. The Watauga Nurserymen's Association prints 50,000 brochures to help bring people to Watauga County. Over 10,000 trees are sold on the Choose and Cut farms, which means that some 8,000 individuals and families come to the mountains to buy a tree. Most people pay between $35-45 for a tree. They also shop, buy gas, stay in hotels, rental cabins, bed and breakfast accommodations; they eat at local restaurants and enjoy other activities unique to Watauga County. The Choose and Cut Season is a season within itself to benefit the entire region. The economic impact is GREAT!

The EXTENSION NEWS is a quarterly newsletter which is mailed four times a year to the regular mailing list, and the Summer Edition is an insert in the Mountain Times, a FREE newspaper, which reaches approximately 19,000 Watauga County citizens in the summer.

The Renewable Resources Extension Act funding provided resources to design, install and to publicly display a solar water system that effectively provides 80-100 % of the heated water for the Hospitality House (the local home for the homeless). This has been installed with the help of one of the clients who happened to have had some training in plumbing.