Extension Today

Much is written about the importance of employee recognition. Recognition is a great motivator and has a positive impact on morale, productivity and the culture of an organization. Recognition, especially on a national scale, brings greater visibility and credibility. Awards can inspire others to achieve excellence.

Each year, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Alabama A&M University submits its annual list of awardees to Extension Today, the official newsletter of the Association of Extension Administrators. This year, we proudly share this list of individuals who received special recognition and grant awards from October 2022 to September 2023. Employees are honored for their exceptional service or received grant or scholarship funds to expand outreach efforts.

• Destinee Simmons, a chemistry major and Alabama Extension volunteer, won first place in the poster contest. She won for her presentation on the Occurrence of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Product Contamination in Southern Alabama Waters in partnership with Alabama Extension’s SerPIE program.
• Agribition Center Assistant Manager Donna Gilbert received the 2023 Outstanding Earth Team Volunteer Award from the local USDA National Resource Conservation Service.
• Marcus Garner, an urban home grounds regional agent, is the recipient of a 2023 Great American Gardeners Award. Garner received the Emerging Horticultural Professional Award from the American Horticultural Society. He is the first awardee in this category from a historically black college and university.
• Assistant Director Kimberly Sinclair-Holmes was chosen as a 2023 fellow of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Executive Leadership Institute.
• Terence Martin completed the Second Cohort for the Environmental Justice Academy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
• Roosevelt Robinson was selected as the 2023 Alabama PLT Educator of the Year by the Alabama Project Learning Tree.

Alcorn’s 1890 4-H Program Leaders/Youth Specialist Manola C. Erby was awarded the Alcorn State University National Alumni Association Matthew Thomas Most Outstanding Service Award for her service to Alcorn State University, the community and the state of Mississippi.

Her passion is working with limited-resource children, youths and families in Southwest Mississippi, providing them with knowledge and skills that empower them to improve their quality of life. She is energetic and uses her knowledge energy to motivate and serve others.

Erby began her professional career with the Alcorn Cooperative Extension Program in September 1984. She received her Bachelor of Sciences in Home Economics Education from Alcorn State University in 1981 and a Master of Sciences from Iowa State University in 1983.

In a major boost for rural development, Central State University’s Extension Service (CSUE) was awarded a $5,000 grant from the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD). The grant supports establishing a Resilient Communities program in line with the FY 2022-23 U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Plan of Work.

This funding aims to bolster the CSUE CED team's efforts in presenting the Hometown Collaborative Initiative (HCI) curriculum, a proven program developed by Purdue University's Extension Service. Designed to empower smaller communities with a population under 25,000, HCI is a phased, long-term initiative to create sustainable communities by emphasizing local assets.

HCI participants will receive:

• Training and technical assistance from Extension experts.
• Guidance from trained community coaches.
• Access to comprehensive local data.
• Access to specialized programs addressing community needs in leadership, economics and placemaking.
• Eligibility to receive seed funding for community projects.

Participating communities undergo three key phases: laying the foundation, identifying building blocks and establishing a pathway. These steps ensure that diverse local individuals come together, utilize in-depth community data and work toward launching and implementing the HCI. According to Eric Smith, the end goal is that participants will craft initiatives that either develop new community leaders, bolster local businesses or enhance public spaces and tourism.

For more information on this promising collaboration, email esmith@centralstate.edu or atwitty@centralstate.edu. Additional details on the funding can be found on NCRCRD's official website at purdue.edu.

Delaware State University (DSU), through its Cooperative Extension program, is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Northeast Climate Hub.

This consortium of public and private sector entities and land-grant institutions helps provide science-based knowledge and practical information to farmers and land managers concerning climate impacts. It is through DSU’s connection with the Climate Hub and relationship with Cornell University that Drs. Rose Ogutu, DSU Extension horticulture specialist, and Gulnihal Ozbay, associate dean for Extension and applied research, received funding for climate-smart technology as part of a grant led by the University of Minnesota.

For the month of September, DSU Cooperative Extension celebrates the efforts of Ogutu and Ozbay concerning DSU’s involvement in the AI-Climate Institute initiative.

Florida A&M University Cooperative Extension plays a vital role in the university’s land-grant mission. Not only are we the university’s front door to the community and have a role in improving the quality of life for Florida’s citizens and beyond, but FAMU Cooperative Extension also contributes to scholarship and R&D acquisition, as well as position and influence of Extension faculty at state, regional and national levels.

FAMU Cooperative Extension takes this opportunity to recognize our Extension professionals’ impactful work and accomplishments, from awards to leadership assignments to grantsmanship.

GRANTMANSHIP: FAMU Extension agents secured more than $5 million in extramural funding to support and enhance existing Extension programs, including beginning farmers, climate-smart agriculture, health, emergency and digital access education.

SCHOLARSHIP: FAMU Extension agents produce more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and creative works annually.

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP: Kimberly Davis, Extension agent, serves as 1890 representative and chair of the Professional Development Committee for the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN). Vonda Richardson, Extension director, has been elected to serve on the Board of Agricultural Assembly/Policy Board of Directors representing the 1890 institutions and as chair-elect for the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy.

Several Fort Valley State University (FVSU) Extension professionals recently earned awards for their work.

The Association of Extension Administrators (AEA) awarded Woodie Hughes Jr., assistant Extension administrator state 4-H program leader, and Dr. Cedric Ogden, assistant professor/Extension engineer specialist, at the 2023 Southern Region Program Leadership Network (SR-PLN), AEA and Association of Southern Region Extension Directors (ASRED) joint meeting in August. Hughes received the Excellence in Extension Award for programming in 4-H. Ogden received the Excellence in Extension Award for programming in community resource development.

In addition, FVSU’s Agricultural Communications Department received awards from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences at its 2023 conference in June. ACE members Russell Boone Jr., ChaNaè Bradley and Latasha Ford earned five awards for publications, writing and technology education.

Furthermore, FVSU’s Family and Consumer Sciences Extension educators received awards at the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) State Conference in May.

Rolanda Willingham earned the FVSU EFNEP Coordinator Award. Alicia Montgomery earned the Wildcat Award for embodying the “Wildcat Spirit” in teamwork and cooperation with others. She also received the Big Bang Theory Award for demonstrating exceptional use of the WebNeers reporting system. Sabrena Johnson was recognized for 16 years of commitment and dedication to FVSU’s EFNEP.

Kentucky State University’s Kaitlynn Gootee recently received the Rising Star Award for Excellence in Environmental Education from the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education.

The Rising Star Award recognizes individuals who are new to the environmental education field in Kentucky but are already making an impact. As an Extension environmental education assistant, Gootee offers both educator training and student lessons, and she is with Kentucky State University’s Environmental Education and Research Center, 300 acres of reforested habitat in Henry County, Kentucky.

"Kaitlynn’s outstanding dedication and contributions to the environmental education field have made her a true Rising Star,” said Ashley Hoffman, executive director of KAEE. “In her relatively short time as an educator, she has already left a remarkable impact through her work at the Environmental Education and Research Center. We are thrilled to recognize her with this award, celebrating her passion and commitment to environmental education in Kentucky.”

Traditionally, Cooperative Extension and outreach programs utilize direct education to teach positive health behaviors. However, direct instruction does not account for factors outside an individual’s control that influence their health choices.

In 2014, the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) developed a framework that underscores the connection between healthy environmental settings and the ability to make healthy choices.

The Capacity Building Grant supports initiatives through Policy, Systems and Environmental (PSE) work within communities to increase access to nutritious food and physical activity opportunities. Funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has enabled a new collaboration between the Langston University Family & Consumer Science (FCS) of the LU Sherman Lewis School of Agriculture & Applied Sciences (LU-SL/SAAS) and The Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) of Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The Youth Volunteer Corps is an international organization providing youth opportunities to serve their communities. Langston University FCS Extension staff traveled to Muskogee, Oklahoma, to discuss how to create a PSE change with YVC this past summer. In October, Langston University CEOP will partner with YVC during their national summit to build 100 garden beds at community sites throughout the North Tulsa, Oklahoma, area. In addition to regular garden beds, YVC will build 10 accessible beds for the Community Pride Garden to provide access to older adults with mobility issues. LU-CEOP will deliver $500 mini-grants to start their community gardens, provide technical support and offer nutrition education.

Lincoln University Cooperative Extension (LUCE) is actively addressing critical needs in Missouri through collaborative partnerships and strategic extramural funding.

Dedicated faculty and staff at LUCE have secured more than $2 million in grants during this fiscal year to improve the lives of people living in Missouri. These initiatives span diverse areas, including agriculture, community well-being and health literacy.

A sampling of these projects includes Dr. Homero Salinas Gonzalez pioneering a social media platform to support small ruminant farmers, while Dr. Nadia Navarrete-Tindall is spearheading an Urban Agriculture Learning Hub and promoting native ferns as specialty crops. Dr. Mohan Acharya is empowering small farmers in silvopasture production.

Additionally, a project led by Dr. Touria Eaton focuses on marketing strategies for small farmers and expanding the reach of the horticulture program. These are just a few of the many projects LUCE is currently working on, all of which underscore Cooperative Extension’s commitment to driving positive change and enhancing the quality of life in underserved communities in Missouri.

Shewana McSwain, coordinator of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-ED) and interim coordinator for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), both in Cooperative Extension at North Carolina A&T State University, won the Association of Extension Administrators (AEA) Excellence in Extension Award in the Family and Consumer Sciences category at the Southern Region Program Leaders Network Conference.

McSwain was presented with an award and a $500 check at the conference, held Aug. 21-24 in Orlando, Florida. In her roles with Extension at A&T, McSwain works to provide nutritional programs for limited-resource families, including Try Healthy, Kids In the Kitchen, LIFT (Lifelong Improvements Through Fitness Together), Teen Cuisine and Speedway to Healthy, working to make sure that program policies and guidelines are followed.

She also connects the programs to current research, oversees curriculum and staff development, communicates program value and successes, secures program resources and practices good stewardship of federally allocated program funds. McSwain collaborates with Extension professionals and experts in other states and with regional and local personnel to train EFNEP and SNAP-ED educators. She says the best part of her job is seeing and hearing success stories from families who complete Extension programs.

Dr. Rukeia Draw-Hood, 4-H Youth Development Program leader, is the recipient of two awards: The NUEL Team Award and Prairie View A&M University College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Extension Leadership Award.

Hosted by the 1890 Regional 4-H Program Leaders Committee, The Social Justice Summits are a successful collaboration model that promotes multi-state cooperation, anticipates emerging issues and strengthens programming throughout the region. It is an ongoing multi-state joint programming effort funded by grants that arose solely from a common, emerging need.

The 1890 Regional 4-H Program Leaders Committee partnered with The Hope Initiative, a small community-based organization with support from the NFL Alumni Association, a large national network to host a series of virtual Social Justice Summits in the fall of 2021 for youths and families associated with eight 1890 institutions.

The first summit was hosted by Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Alabama A&M University Extension. The second Summit was hosted by Alcorn Extension Program, Southern University Agricultural & Research Center and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Extension. The third summit was hosted by Langston and Lincoln Universities. The Social Justice Summits enriched youths and strengthened communities through civic engagement.

South Carolina small and minority farmers will soon have a bird’s eye view of their farmland with the help of a new precision technology grant awarded to SC State 1890 Research & Extension.

The $500,000 three-year grant will train small and minority farmers on how to incorporate digital technology, such as drones, to collect data and improve their farm practices and operations.

“Drones and precision technology are the driving force in agriculture today,” said Dr. Edoe Agbodjan, associate administrator for 1890 Extension. “Drones and digital technology are powerful tools that farmers can use to improve their efficiency, productivity and profitability. The grant award will provide the [1890 ag] agents to receive the proper drone pilot training and gain knowledge on how to use digital technology to properly collect data on a farm.”

Awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture, the precision technology grant will focus on small-scale, area-mapping drone technology, with hopes to integrate and introduce large-scale drones (pesticide and crop spraying and seeding fields) in the future.

For more information about the precision technology grant award, contact Dr. Joshua Idassi, state program leader for sustainable agriculture, natural resources and environment, at jidassi@scsu.edu.

A coalition of organizations in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi will use a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote improved and equitable health and economic outcomes in the Mississippi Delta regions of those states.

The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement is the recipient of the planning grant entitled "NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing Equitable Access to Food and Health Technologies in the Delta." ACHI will lead the tri-state effort, partnering with the Southern University Ag Center and the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership, the Mississippi-based Delta Health Alliance, Mississippi-based HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) and the Louisiana Public Health Institute.

“The Mississippi Delta region faces many longstanding challenges, including inadequate food availability, high rates of chronic disease and limited health care access,” said Dr. De’Shoin A. York, vice chancellor for Extension and outreach at the SU Ag Center. “This is a transformational investment in the region, and we hope this first joint effort of partners in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi will lead to solutions that will improve health and economic outcomes for these communities."

At Tennessee State University’s annual Extension Agent Showcase on Sept. 6, 2023, Dannie Bradford was named Outstanding Extension Agent. Bradford is the TSU Extension agent II and county director in Marion County, Tennessee.

As a young county director, Bradford encourages staff in the county office to develop creative and innovative programming, which has led Marion County’s staff to create some of the most innovative and creative programming in their region. Bradford supports this programming by developing relationships with stakeholders and volunteers to help enhance her community through Extension work.

Bradford strives for creative program delivery when reaching her county audiences. She has added large animal veterinary science as a project offering for 4-H youths, as well as creating the Heritage Skills Day Camp to reach youths in diverse ways. Additionally, she encourages minority youth participation by having minority volunteers spread the word when promoting community events and activities.

TSU holds the annual Agent Showcase in September as an event preceding the Small Farms Expo that brings Tennesseans from across the state to Nashville to develop small farmers.

The College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences (CAENS) received funding to assist small and limited-resource cattle farmers in the Black Belt. The funds are from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the amount of $349,986 for the next three years. This project aims to establish three demonstration sites across the state’s Black Belt to demonstrate to producers the benefits of preconditioning beef caves and cluster marketing. The specific goals are to demonstrate how to reduce the cost of production, enhance the immune system, minimize stress, produce an adequate lot/group of calves to attract buyers and improve the sustainability of their operations.

The Tuskegee Cooperative Extension agents and producers will receive experiential learning opportunities on the practices associated with value-added beef calf production. Multiple training sessions will be conducted at each location, and the calves will be marketed twice throughout the project period. The proposed collaborative project will aid in achieving USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) strategic goals to ensure Sustainable/Rural Communities for the 21st Century (Expanded Opportunities for Small Businesses and Small Farms).

The overall objective is to improve the value of weaned beef calves marketed by small, socially and economically disadvantaged beef producers utilizing a unique marketing strategy. If you have any questions or know anyone who may need assistance, contact Dr. Frank Abrahamsen, research/Extension assistant professor, at (334) 724-4884 or fabrahamsen@tuskegee.edu.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s (UAPB) 4-H program was among a collaboration of nine universities awarded the Innovation Award recently at the National Urban Extension Leaders association conference, according to Teki K. Hunt, director of 4-H Youth Development programs at UAPB. The universities received the award for the development and implementation of Social Justice Summits.

“The goal of the summits is to provide a safe space for students and professionals to identify, define and discuss social justice issues in their community,” Hunt said. “It involves a successful collaboration model that promotes multi-state cooperation, anticipates emerging issues and strengthens programming throughout the region.”

A 2020 survey found that teens were feeling angry, overwhelmed and stressed about social unrest in the U.S., she said. Eighty-three percent of the teens acknowledged that systemic racism is an issue with nearly half of Black and Hispanic teens saying they worry they could be treated differently because of their race.

“The 1890 4-H Region Program Leaders Committee partnered with The Hope Initiative with support from the National Football League Alumni Association to host a series of three virtual Social Justice Summits,” Hunt said. “The first summit was hosted by UAPB, Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program and Alabama A&M University Extension.”

Post-summit surveys showed that:

• Students’ understanding of social justice concepts was increased.
• They would like to work with others to build their own capacity to solve community problems.
• Their level of comfort in having dialogue-to-change conversations had increased.
• They would like to organize and host a community service project in their hometown to address social justice issues.
• They intend to engage in activities that will promote social justice.

UMES Extension’s Nutrition and Health Program, led by Dr. Virginie Zoumenou, is the recipient of recent international awards for its impact on the high food insecurity community that it serves. The program was honored with the Nutrition Education Program Impact Award from the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior and the Excellence in Creative Solutions for Food and Nutrition Security Award for the United States regional network by the NNEdPro Global Institute, both awarded in July 2023.

The award-winning work is based on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Well Connected Communities-Healthy Street Healthy Me initiative, a 10-year community engagement project launched in 2017. Zoumenou, professor of dietetics and nutrition at UMES, and her team of Extension specialists, along with university and community partners, established mini-orchards on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland.

“The idea is to provide outreach activities and support for community members to learn about backyard fruit cultivation and sustainability while addressing food insecurity,” Zoumenou said. “The project has proven that in a small area, a substantial amount of fresh, local fruit can be produced. Empowering the community may lead to more positive and sustainable health behavior changes and move all involved toward achieving health equity among all groups of people.”

Virginia Cooperative Extension's Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP), housed under Virginia State University College of Agriculture, secured close to $4 million in grants and sub-awards to tackle food insecurity. The initiative will connect urban farmers with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) representatives and resources.

The USDA FSA awarded SFOP two distinct grants:

1. A sum of approximately $3.25 million was allocated for the development of a National Urban Agricultural Program under the umbrella of the National Urban Innovative Community-Based Grant. This four-year venture, set to launch in July 2023, intends to equip urban growers with the expertise needed to make the most of FSA's services.
2. In a collaborative effort, VSU-SFOP, Cornell University’s Small Farm Center (CU-SFC) and the USDA Farm Service Agency are initiating a National Urban Farmer Program, laying down evidence-backed best practices for states to shape their regional urban farmer programs.

SFOP's director, William Crutchfield, shed light on the transformative potential of this initiative for urban farmers.

"This is a tremendous step forward to help urban farmers. They can now receive an FSA farm number, which enables them to apply for FSA loans, buy crop insurance, accept EBT cards and more,” Crutchfield said.

Virginia Cooperative Extension extends the resources of Virginia's two land-grant universities, Virginia State University and Virginia Tech, to solve problems facing Virginians every day.

West Virginia State University (WVSU) Extension’s Community and Economic Development (CED) department has recently received two grants to support its education and entrepreneurship programs.

A $20,000 Dominion Energy grant will be used to pilot an education training program that addresses the shortage of prepared individuals entering college and the workforce. The project provides accessible and affordable training to those seeking to join or advance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees or careers, focusing on energy sector opportunities.

In addition, a $10,000 State Farm grant will support the expansion of their Opening Soon Inc. Entrepreneurial Program, a multidimensional business and product development project for entrepreneurs, start-ups and micro-enterprises in Kanawha County. Through workshops, peer meetings and technical assistance, the program provides education and guidance in launching participants’ business ideas into a viable product or service.

“We are grateful for the support of Dominion Energy and State Farm and are eager to see the impact these programs will have on our community,” said Kaysha Jackson, director of the WVSU Economic Development Center. “We believe that by investing in education and entrepreneurship, we can help create a brighter and more prosperous future for everyone."