IEPYE NEWS Illinois Extension Professionals for Youth Education October 2001 IEPYE 2001-02 IEPYE Leadership Team Officers Diane Baker, President Bill Million, President-Elect Lisa Woessner, Vice President Lori Quinn, Secretary Fran Streitmatter, Treasurer Cathy Graham, Past President Regional Directors Cheryl Geitner, Northwest Katie Wagner, Northeast Stacy Dorethy, West Central Kim Goodrich, East Central Melinda States, Southern Committee Chairs Peggy Hampton, Diversity Cathy Deppe, Member Recognition Lisa Woessner, Membership Natalie Eichhorst, News & Views Dave McMurtry, Policies & Resolution Deanna Franklin, Professional Improvement Chris Hill, Programs Tina Veal, Public Relations Cathy Graham, Advisory Related Committees Fran Streitmatter, IL 4-H Foundation Cathy Graham, Field Staff Advisory Diane Baker, IJCEP Judy Taylor, IJCEP Cathy Graham, IJCEP Bill Million & Lori Quinn, State 4-H Advisory Greetings from the New IEPYE President by Diane Baker, IEPYE President The Fall IEPYE meeting was an exciting time to come together as youth development colleagues from across the state. After a long summer of camps, fairs, and assorted activities for youth, it was refreshing to gather with coworkers. It was especially exciting to see the number of new staff who participated in the meeting. Unfortunately, as I write this newsletter article, our nation is not experiencing those feelings of “refreshment and excitement.” With the recent tragic attacks on the East Coast, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to be Americans. We know that fellow IEPYE members were closely touched by the events on September 11, 2001. We undoubtedly had colleagues from across the nation who were also closely touched. When we gathered at our Fall IEPYE meeting, we talked about the mission and vision of our organization. For many, one of the most important reasons that they belong to IEPYE is the support and camaraderie of fellow members. At this time, perhaps more than in many years, let us remember the support and friendship that we can extend (and accept) from our fellow IEPYE members. Change is certain. It is certain for our country, it is certain for our personal lives … and it is certain for our association. Let us embrace that opportunity for change and look forward to a great year ahead!! NAE4-HA News State's Night Out for the 2001 NAE4-HA Conference will be held at Jack's Steakhouse N Saloon (in a private dining room) in Bismarck, on Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. Everyone attending NAE4HA is encouraged to attend. This year’s menu includes: Assorted Appetizers (cheese stix, wing dings, breaded cauliflower and onion rings) Salad Fresh Baked Bread with Strawberry Butter Choice of one of the following: 10 oz. Sirloin Steak, 10 oz. Prime Rib, Breaded Shrimp or Grilled Chicken Breast Choice of potato or vegetable Dessert: Vanilla Cheese Cake with Strawberry Topping Congratulations to our Newly Elected Board of Directors An accurate count is needed for this special event. Please contact Sandra Lignell, State’s Night Out Coordinator, if you plan to attend and if you will have a guest. Dr. Campion is providing the State's Night Out dinner. 2001 Upcoming Meetings North Central Regional Breakfast theme is “Helping Hands.” Please bring mittens, gloves, hats or scarves with you to Bismarck. These will be used as our breakfast table centerpieces and then donated to local charities. NAE4-HA 10/21-25 As is tradition, a State Meeting is planned for Sunday evening. Time and location coming soon or check the message board! October 2001 – IEPYE News IEPYE Membership One lucky member of IEPYE had their membership dues refunded as part of a recruitment incentive. As part a new IEPYE display at Annual Conference, members were encouraged to renew his or her membership or join IEPYE before the end of the conference to be eligible for a drawing for a free membership. If you have not received your membership material, please contact your IEPYE Regional Director. Just a reminder – IEPYE state dues are $25 per year Illinois Extension Represented at PILD Conference by Diane Baker, IEPYE President This spring, members of the four Extension associations descended upon Washington D.C. for the Public Issues Leadership Development Conference. This conference, sponsored by the Joint Council of Extension Professionals, is a great opportunity for professional development, networking, and visiting Capitol Hill. During the week this year, we had workshops on diversity, marketing, public policy and ethics. There were also some very intriguing simulations of life as a congressman and the federal budget. One afternoon was devoted to visits in Washington D.C. where topics such as food safety, water resources and waste management, and youth, families and violence were addressed. One entire day was open for Congressional Visits on Capitol Hill. This was a great opportunity for us to visit with our Senators and Representatives. During the conference there was also time allocated for networking with NAE4-HA colleagues from across the nation. Our National board presented a workshop based on the book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” It’s a very fascinating book and is a relatively easy read. It’s a great book to get you thinking about your own personal leadership style and tendencies. While Illinois sends representatives of the four associations each year, the PILD Conference is open to any Extension professional. I highly recommend this conference as a part of your long-range plan. and dues for IEPYE and NAE4-HA are $76 for one year. Regional Directors for IEPYE are: Northwest – Cheryl Geitner, Northeast – Katy Wagner, East Central – Kim Goodrich, West Central – Stacey Dorethy, and Southern – Melinda States. The lucky winner was: Carroll Rodgers, Youth Development Educator from Clay County. IEPYE Programs Committee Report by Chris Hill, Programs Committee Chair The IEPYE programs committee met by telenet on September 6th and reviewed its purpose and that of the national committee. The charge of the national committee is to communicate the work of its eight task forces and share the most upto-date information with its members. The programs committee discussed possible goals for the upcoming year and set the date for its next meeting on 11/07/01 at 2:30 pm code # 7764, which is after the annual NAE4-HA Conference in Bismarck. If there are IEPYE members interested in joining the programs committee contact Chris Hill by email or at 618-252-8391. New Web Site JCEP has launched its new web site that will contain information about regional leadership workshops, PILD, the Galaxy conference and other pertinent information. Check it out at: http://www.jcep.org 2 _______________________________________________________________________________________ October 2001 – IEPYE News “Balancing Your Life – 4-H Style…The Teleconference” Summary of comments from panelists and others from a teleconference held at the UWExtension in 2000 Submitted by Katie Wagner You don’t owe explanations to anyone for taking professional time, you are a professional. Let go of trying to please everyone and being everything to everyone. Create your own focus and use it to manage your time. Take control of the situation when approached off-hours (in a store, on the street) about work. Let them know you don’t have the information and that they can get it by contact you at the office. You don’t have to be a “super worker,” mediocrity is not a bad thing! Realize that nothing is life or death, most times it can wait until tomorrow! Do something unrelated to work. Use all of your vacation days. Put humor into your work. Consciously plan who you are and what you want to do. Follow the 12 hour rule. Don’t return to work until at least 12 hours have passed. (If a meeting runs until 10pm, don’t return to work until 10am) You don’t always have to be there! Keep a time card. Delegate! Can someone make calls for you; plan an event? Does the activity/event need to be in the schedule? If so, find new ways to make it fun and better. Work smarter, not harder. Involve volunteers in strategic and long-range planning to give them ownership of the program. Work hard to gain trust from the people you work with, they will support your need for personal time. You might choose to involve your family in 4-H and the things you do with your work. If you do this, you will want to decide how they should participate in award competitions, etc. Take time off to be involved in your family’s activities, kid’s school events, etc. Perfection is not an option, stop striving for it. Follow the rule, “work stays at the office and family issues stay at home.” Don’t let the sun set on your anger. Have only one calendar for personal and professional. Schedule time off well in advance and stick with it. Don’t show your calendar to others. Make sure your family commitments are on the calendar and stick to them. Don’t count on the organization to lighten your workload, you need to do it yourself. Use flexibility, work when you want to work. For example, you might go in early to get done early. Take a long lunch hour and exercise. Take the long view. Can you really continue over the long haul at the pace you are going? Make work fun, find ways to incorporate your interests and expertise. No one ever complains from their death bed about not spending enough time at the office. Spend time with pets, it lowers your blood pressure. Double the estimate of how long you think it will take to do something. Schedule several meetings on the same night and stagger them. “Kill two birds with one stone.” Don’t schedule night meetings on days you are out of town at another meeting. Look ahead and schedule nights off. Get involved in something you like, try the arts. Ask yourself, do I have an educational role here? I not, should you be there? Two books are suggested: The Inventurers: Excursions in Life and Career Renewal by Janet Hagberg and Richard Leider Creating Your Future-Personal Strategic Planning for Professionals by George L. Morrisey Take advantage of windows of opportunity in your schedule to get time off. Work on trusting volunteers to take over programs! Respect volunteers’ need for family/personal time and they will respect yours. Things do go on without us. Manage your time. Don’t get tied up in knots! Screen calls at home. 3 _______________________________________________________________________________________ October 2001 – IEPYE News IEPYE Fall Meeting Highlights The IEPYE Fall Meeting was held August 30 in Bloomington. IEPYE members before and during the Fall Meeting. 4 _______________________________________________________________________________________