I am frequently reminded that many people in Robeson County, even those who use our services frequently, still do not understand that the Robeson County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service is actually a branch or field office for North Carolina State University. Many people mistakenly think we are a part of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

As a field office for the university, the major responsibilities of my staff members are to provide information, informal education, and technical assistance to all citizens in Robeson County. Our agency is not a regulatory agency. We do not administer regulations from the state or federal government, nor do we enforce any of these regulations. We simply provide our assistance on very specific subjects, and we provide this assistance to anyone in the county who wants it and can use it.

My staff members and I are currently involved in the process of developing an updated Plan of Work. This is a very involved process, and if you visit our offices or talk to one of my staff members, you may hear the acronym "POW.".

For the past year, my staff members and I have been accumulating as much information as possible about the major issues that people in Robeson County are facing. Of course, we focus on those issues that Cooperative Extension has the resources and staff to help address.

There have been several strategic plans developed for the county by other agencies or groups during the past couple of years. The information in these plans is extremely important to us, and we use that information to help us focus on the issues we are capable of addressing.

The most valuable tool we have to determine the real issues that are affecting large numbers of people in the county is direct feedback from those people. There are 18 volunteers who serve on the Extension Advisory Council. This council includes local citizens of all races, genders, professions, ages, and interests. In fact, the makeup of this council pretty well represents the makeup of the county.

The Extension Advisory Council meets quarterly, and during their meetings, they frequently identify issues and needs within their communities. They help us prioritize those issues and needs, so we will have a better understanding of which ones are most important.

Each agent on my staff works with at least one specialized committee who is made up of anywhere from 8 to as many as 20 volunteers. Each of these volunteers have specific interests in the type of programs the agent is dealing with. Feedback from these volunteers helps the agent better understand the real issues faced by citizens with these interests, and as these issues are prioritized, the agent better understands those issues that are most important.

In all, we have over 250 volunteers serving on our Advisory Council and our various specialized committees. In addition to input from these volunteers, our staff members are interacting with people from across the county on a daily basis. Their questions, their comments, and their requests for specific information or assistance provides very valuable input about the major issues they face and what they really need from Cooperative Extension.

Now that we have gathered all this information from volunteers and from our clients, we feel comfortable as we develop our Plan of Work. We are confident that we can develop a plan that will guide us, so we can best help the citizens of this county.

As we develop this plan, the efforts of my staff members will focus on very specific program areas. These are program areas that specifically identify the needs of people in this county as well as people from across the state. But just as importantly, these are program areas that have tremendous support and resources at the university level and are program areas that our staff members have been trained to address.

Once our POW is developed, the efforts of various staff members will focus in one of five areas. The agricultural staff will focus on "Enhancing Agriculture, Forest, and Food Systems." They will place specific emphasis on crop, animal, vegetable, and ornamental production. Much of their efforts will be directed toward alternative income opportunities for farmers and landowners and special programs for limited-resource and part-time farmers.

The 4-H staff will focus on "Developing Responsible Youth" by strengthening community 4-H clubs around the county and involving more youth in developing life skills, social skills, citizenship, and self-esteem. Special emphasis will be placed on at-risk youth and preparing all youth to become productive adults.

The family and consumer science staff will focus on "Strengthening and Sustaining Families" with special emphasis on foods, food safety, nutrition, budget management, stress management, and developing life skills. Special emphasis will be placed on limited-resource audiences and on specific issues that affect large population groups within the county.

All of our staff will focus on "Conserving and Improving the Environment and Natural Resources" and on "Building Quality Communities." These are issues that are important to all of those we work with and issues that are addressed through a lot of the planned programming that we do.

If you have suggestions for us as how we can better serve the citizens of Robeson County, please feel free to give me a call at 671-3276. The more input we have the better job we can do for you.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 06/26/06