Granville County
State ESP County Performance Award

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I. Staff Cooperation: Please list evidence of a total Extension program concept for your county. Indicate ways or give examples of how staff members support each other in program efforts.
1. Annual Farm-City Week Celebration - The staff is a team in coordinating programming, exhibits, the annual report, decorating, securing speakers, etc., each year for the county Farm-City Week. The Agriculture & 4-H and Youth staff coordinate the Kick-Off and the Family and Consumer Sciences & support staff coordinate the appreciation banquet and report-to-the-people. BUT the staff comes together as a team and as one body to successfully plan this event each year.
2. Local Housing Authority Day Camp - This week-long camp with limited resource campers and adult volunteers is a 4-H led but TOTAL staff venture. Each summer the staff works with the Housing Authority Executive Director and adult volunteers from the Housing Authority, to plan and implement day camp. Family and Consumer Sciences, agriculture and typical 4-H camp activities and projects are conducted during the week. A multi-media production is the highlight of the week, orchestrated by one of the staff members.
3. County Arts & Crafts Bazaar - This 2-day event is a partnership between the Extension and Community Association and the Extension Center. Extension staff coordinate the layout, the scheduling of volunteers and the security for this annual event. The ECA members volunteer as hosts/hostesses for the 2 days and funds collected are designated to their educational scholarship fund. This 2-day event is just one team effort of the staff's support of a volunteer-led event.
4. 4-H Environmental Field Day, Four County Livestock Show & Sale, State Fair, etc. - These events grow in success and popularity because of the shared leadership of staff members, volunteers and supporters. Staff serve as instructors, water persons, time keepers, clean up crew, etc.
5. Specialty Crops School, Agriculture Tours, Annual Production Meetings - The total staff assists with program set-up, program design, handles registrations, etc. to insure successful agriculture programming. This holds true for Family and Consumer Sciences programming as well, especially when subject matter expertise is needed of other staff members.
Additionally, the staff engages in quarterly retreats for the sole purposes of team building, getting to know each other better on a more personal level and to just unwind and have fun. The staff also celebrates every staff member's birthday, including the custodian, and births of staff's childen and grandchildren, graduation of staff and staff members' children. One of the most special times we share as a "professional family" and team is Christmas. We vary from playing Secret Santa to exchaning gifts, to having lunch together, to decorating our facility, to having a special dinner evening together.
II. Resource Utilization: State evidence how your staff uses the resources of the University for training and program support. Identify ways the staff uses community resources to the extent needed to do an outstanding job.
University resources via specialists, program materials and training and extensive partnering with local supporters have enabled the staff to excel in volunteer recruitment and program successes. Some of the evidence of resource utilization include computer technology, web information transfer, use of exhibits, utilization of youth in county government civic government intern program, and extensive partnering with local businesses, cooperating agencies and county government.
III. Program Impact: List evidence that your programs are resulting in significant changes in the lives and actions of your clientele.
1. Housing Authority families and their children experience "camp" only abecause of Cooperative Extension programming and partnerships. One child is the first in her family to attend college and she credits her 4-H exposures as being key in her desire to go to college.
2. JCPC grant program coordinator has "blended" several court referred youth into the county 4-H program. One youth even spearheaded the organization of a 4-H community service club and the first and only teen ECA club in the state!
3. Because of leadership development opportunities, the county ECA recruited 30 new members during 2003. Many new members are county and state elected officials.
4. Agriculture producers have identified new sources of agriculture income, moms are embracing better nutrition habits and breastfeeding and limited resource homemakers are living healthier and extending their financial food resources.