Educational and Poster Session Abstracts
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
12:45 – 1:30 PM
Educational Session 1 (45 minute sessions)
Successfully Engaging Your County Leadership - The Story of Kickstart Cleveland County
Mark Peterson, Les Walz, Diane Clements
Petit Jean I
What if you were able to involve key leaders from across your county in a vital development
effort, in which Extension plays a key role? Do you see how it could raise visibility and support
funding of county offices? In February, 2015, Cleveland County launched a county-wide
development process called Kickstart Cleveland County, a grassroots organization dedicated to
improving and revitalizing Cleveland County. County Extension Agents Les Walz and Diane
Clement, and Mark Peterson, Professor of Community and Economic Development were
involved in the process. / Program activities included a Breakthrough Solutions branding
workshop, and bringing in architects and a UALR small business specialist to help identify new
opportunities in the county. Since Kickstart Cleveland County was formed in February 2015,
five new organizations have been formed in the county, activity has taken place all around the
county, and four new businesses have opened in downtown Rison, the first in 25 years. With
attendance from county leaders and legislators, the Kickstart Cleveland County Strategic
Blueprint and Action Plan was presented on November 19, featuring Cleveland County’s new
brand: “America’s Homestead – Real.Simple.Life.” Come and learn from their experience and
gain insights for engaging county leaders in your own county.
What's the difference between a "Look" a "Logo" and a conference "Graphic"?
Chris Meux
Rock Room
Are you afraid to use the word "Logo?" Have you been calling everything program art? Ever
wonder why there seems to be so many names for same thing? In this session we will discuss
the difference between "Logos" for your program, a "look" for your publications and a
"conference graphic" for your event. After this session, you can begin using the word logo again
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without fear. We'll discuss the process of how and when to request each and save plenty of
time for the burning "logo" questions you might have.
A Time to Lead – A Snapshot of Agricultural Leadership in the U.S. and how Arkansas
Extension Agents can put it to use!
Jackson Alexander, K. Jill Rucker, Donna L. Graham, Jefferson D. Miller & Jason K. Apple
Petit Jean II
Agricultural leadership was formed from a need in the agricultural industry, but holds roots in
agricultural and extension education. Furthermore, agricultural leadership’s relevancy comes
from two areas – a) agricultural leadership creates leaders through developing “human capital,”
and b) agricultural leadership promotes industry growth through political, policy, and public
influence. Recent research characterized perceptions of agricultural leadership programs in
colleges of agriculture, food, life, human, or environmental sciences at 1862 land-grant
institutions. Twenty-six programs were identified with a major, minor, graduate degree,
specialization, concentration, or certificate. However, in the context of 4-H Youth Development,
what does this mean to the county educator challenged with the task of training the leaders of
tomorrow? Join us for an explanation about the impact of agricultural leadership nationwide,
discover the steps that U of A is taking to promote this growing discipline, and learn how you
can use agricultural leadership through your own country programs.
No Bullies Allowed!
Pia Woods & Erica Williams
Governor’s Room
“Scared kids can never reach their potential as learners in school or as citizens of our
communities.”
(bullying.org) Most of us, at some point in life, have been the victim of a
bully. Perhaps we have been the bully. For many youth, being bullied is an everyday
occurrence – one that leaves them feeling small, defenseless, angry, hurt, and alone. This
session will include a poignant discussion of bullying and what 4-H can do to address this issue
through positive youth development programming. Participants will complete several handson activities and receive resources to assist with implementing bullying programs.
1:45 - 3:15 PM Educational Session 2 (90 minute sessions)
Freezer Friends
Katie Cullum, Shea Wilson, Dianna Bowen, JoAnn Vann & Debbie Baker
Governor’s Room
Freezer Friends is a new curriculum for expanding programming for healthy cooking and
increasing at home family meals. The goal of the program is to provide freezer ready dishes for
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families, assisting them in healthy meal planning, providing cost effective recipes, encouraging
family mealtimes, and equipping them with basic cooking principles and techniques as well as
food safety procedures. The vision for the Freezer Friends program is to reach active families
(who may not otherwise participate in an Extension program) with a practical way to fit healthy
home cooking into their otherwise hectic lifestyles. Freezer Friends can be offered as a series of
four sessions, as a stand-alone program, or as a new EHC project club. The initial four sessions
include an introduction to freezer meals; slow cooker freezer meals, mixes and marinades, and
“Not Just for Dinner” which includes breakfast recipes and those for other times of the day.
These sessions teach the basics and get them started after which an ongoing Facebook group
offers additional tips, techniques, and recipes for use at home. There is also the option of
organizing an EHC project club to meet regularly to prepare and exchange meals.
Impromptu Networking for Wise Crowds That Could Include a Celebrity Interview: A
Workshop on Liberating Structures for Better Facilitation
Amanda Philyaw-Perez & Kristin Higgins
Petit Jean I
Cooperative Extension professionals have a long history of facilitating meetings, working in
committees, and providing education and outreach programs on a wide range of issues. Some
issues may be controversial, complicated or just down-right boring. Some public issues
deliberation often creates strife among community residents with different groups struggling to
come to consensus on how to tackle local problems. Cooperative Extension professionals pride
themselves on their “toolbox” of methods for helping communities overcome such challenges.
The method of Liberating Structures is one tool for hosting inclusive events that generate ideas
from everyone rather than the vocal minority. In Arkansas, Extension specialists in the Public
Policy Center led local residents of impaired watersheds to set priorities for addressing water
quality management. This is often a difficult task to achieve between a broad base of
stakeholders that includes agricultural producers, land owners, conservationist and agency
personnel. Arkansas Extension specialists used this method to get residents of local watersheds
to see how they share common interests rather than opposing perspectives on local issues with
water quality. Workshop participants will learn about the philosophy behind Liberating
Structures and will participate in a series of hands-on activities including impromptu
networking, wise crowds, 1-2-4-All, a celebrity interview, and more.
4-H Grab & Go Activity Ideas
Diane Mashburn, Maleigha Cook, Anna Goff, Cynthia Rorie, Sarah Whitaker & Erica Williams
Rock Room
Not sure what kind of activity to do with your 4-Hers? Did a school just call and they would love
for you to come this afternoon and do a program for them? Maybe you just need a few new
“grab and go” activities to add to your toolbox. During this session, you will have a chance to try
out a number of quick activities you can then take home and do with your 4-H youth. Activities
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will include: -Manners (character education) - Students will learn what respect is and how to
gain and give respect. Each student will make “respectacles” to help them remember to respect
other people. -Bubble Art- An "activity in a bag" that you can grab in a pinch, or hand off to a
club leader. It's inexpensive to assemble, takes up very little space, is easy to conduct, and
engages youth of all ages. -Pine Cone Bird Feeders- Everybody loves Pine Cone bird feeders but
the messiness involved does not always make them the top choice. You will discover a new
twist on an old favorite to make it truly educational, less messy and appropriate even for
peanut free campuses. -Fun, hands-on STEM activities for youth -And more!
From Fact Sheets to Film: Creating Two-Minute Videos
Julie Robinson
Petit Jean II
This hands-on session will take you through the process of capturing, editing, and producing
videos to reach your target audience. You will be guided through the process of creating a video
product that can be used on social media and web pages to expand the effective
communication of program impact and/or deliver Extension educational content. Please bring
your smart phone or tablet and any fact sheets you would like assistance in turning into video
content.
Thursday March 17, 2016
9:00 – 9:45 AM
Educational Session 3 (45 minute sessions)
Estate Planning Seminars for Rural Arkansans
Laura Hendrix, Carla Vaught, Sherry Beaty, Jean Ince, Kim Hughes, Susan Brittian, Janet
Cantrell & Terrie James
Rock Room
Lack of knowledge about the importance of planning to protect the assets can lead to financial
loss or financial insecurity of family members. Additionally, the issues of taxes and property
transfer can be complicated for landowners. Successful estate planning seminars have resulted
in strong attendance and evaluations show that the participants take action. Discover
successful techniques for hosting estate planning seminars for your county residents.
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Impacts – Beyond the PDF
Diane Mashburn
Petit Jean I
Impact reports can take a form beyond the prescribed PDF form required of each county.
Conveying impacts in other forms can be a great tool in promoting your program, securing
funding, and recruiting members and volunteers. This session will help you take your own
impact data and find new ways to tell your story to various stakeholder groups.
Get Up! Get Moving! Have Fun!
Mary Beth Anderson, Learning Zone Express
Governor’s Room
In this session, learn fun, hands-on tools to increase physical activity. Come away with activities
that you enjoy and that fit your lifestyle; five-minute, brain-break activities; and mobile
technology apps. Americans consume 31% more calories today than they did 40 years ago. To
make matters worse, Americans don’t balance this “energy in” (calories) with “energy out”
(physical activity). The result of increased calories and decreased activity: Two-thirds of adults
and nearly one-third of children struggle with being overweight and obese. What to do? Most
are comfortable tackling this issue through nutrition education and teaching about MyPlate.
Many are less comfortable teaching physical activity. This interactive session will provide you
with innovative, practical, hands-on tools and activities to help others increase physical activity,
even if you aren’t a coach or fitness professional.
You will come away from this session being able to:
 List the physical and mental health benefits of being physically active
 Identify activities that you enjoy and that fit your lifestyle
 Describe fun and creative activities to get up to one hour of physical activity each day
 Implement five-minute, brain-break physical activities to be active at school or work
 Use mobile technology (apps) for creative ways to get up and get moving
Bridging STEM and Nutrition Education: Potato Clocks
Heather Reed & Hope Bragg
Petit Jean II
With changing educational mandates, it is often hard to get a teacher to let you have a space in
their already packed day to teach about healthy eating, nutrition, and having a balanced meal.
In order to make MyPlate education programs more appealing to the science classes in our
local schools, Desha County Extension agents teamed up to present Nutrition Education with a
science experiment, allowing the youth in our schools to see how energy comes from food, and
how mixing food (having a balanced meal) can create more energy. What started out as one
classroom participating in the “science” program led to other classes requesting us to lead
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future programs on hands-on nutrition education. This poster demonstrates how building a
simple potato clock can help youth to visualize how they get energy from the foods that they
eat.
10:00 – 11:30 AM Educational Session 4 (90 minute sessions)
Communication Style - More than Words
Teresa Henson & Keith Cleek
Petit Jean I
In this hands-on session participants will learn the different verbal and nonverbal
communication styles. Identify their style and learn how to adapt in order to deliver effective
extension programming.
Leadership and Recreation on a Shoestring Budget
Cheryl Newberry
Governor’s Room
4-H is about not about hoarding but all about begging, borrowing, or stealing from each other
to expand our library of resources! With tight budgets and limited resources, anything we can
find that is low or no cost to use is always a plus, too! Come and experience some fun activities
from three great resource books: Playing with a Full Deck by Michelle Cummings; Find
Something To Do! by Jim Cain; and Big Book of Low-Cost Training Games by Jim Cain and Mary
Scannel. Most educators can afford to purchase a few books to add to their library and this
small investment will provide hours of material to train volunteers, teen leaders, for club
programs or recreation activities, and much more. This fast-paced workshop will be full of
activities to teach a variety of life skills including leadership, teamwork, communication,
problem-solving, decision-making and more. They also require very few or no props or
equipment and will be good additions to your toolbox. Come ready to play, learn and share!
Managing Conflict
Stacey McCullough
Petit Jean II
Conflict is inevitable, but it can be managed. Participants in this workshop will learn about the
Thomas-Kilmann Model of Conflict Management Styles to better understand five behaviors
people tend to exhibit when faced with conflict. Then, participants will use the “Blank Slate”
Technique to role play an issue they are having with someone else and receive feedback from
participant observers. Finally, participants will use the No Fault Formula to practice a five-step
process to explore data, beliefs and assumptions, feelings, needs, and a plan of action to work
through conflict.
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No More Stamps! Digitize your Newsletter and Realize Actual Impact
Amy Cole
Rock Room
This session is for e-newsletter newbies as well as veteran writers. We will go in depth as to the
best practices for writing IMPACTFUL newsletters. How do you create a call to action? WHO is
reading your newsletter? What makes them click? We will also see what NOT to do with enewsletter writing and show examples of the good, bad and ugly of digital news. Grow your
readership and learn about list segmentation as well as honing your message to save yourself and your readers - time. Participants should bring a lap top for hands-on experience editing an
e-newsletter.
1:30 – 2:15 Educational Session 5 (45 minute sessions)
Working with Paraprofessionals and Temporary Staff…Your Role (Part 1)
Keith Cleek, Teresa Henson & Jason Ring
Petit Jean I
Hesitant to hire a program assistant or work only when needed? Already supervise someone
and have some questions about how to effectively manage their and your time? If you
supervise a Youth or Adult Extension Paraprofessional or WOWN this session will provide
insight to best management practices.
Helping You Make Financial Progress: Getting Organized, Build Your Plan, Own Your Future
Susan Screeton, Fidelity Investments
Governor’s Room
This seminar will help participants learn how to thrive and make financial progress. The session
will focus on three key strategies: getting organized, building your plan, and owning your
future.
How to Fight Fraud
Lou Tobian & Warren Searls, AARP
Petit Jean II
This workshop session will accomplish two goals: 1) share tactics used by successful con artists,
and 2) provide a low-tech method for sharing that information with groups. AARP's Fraud
Watch Network has gained insight from con artists to learn how they succeed in stealing our
money. In line with the belief that forewarned is forearmed, AARP Arkansas staff and
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volunteers are training its own speakers bureau and instructing others how to share fraud
prevention tips with community groups and clubs.
A Snake, a Stick & a Carrot: How a Negativity Bias Affects Our Happiness
Rebecca Vercher, Arkansas Employee Assistance Program
Rock Room
What is our negativity bias and how does it affect our happiness? This session will explore that
question as well as the question, “What can we do about it?” Understanding this bias and its
by-product anxiety, can help participants begin to improve the way they think about their own
happiness and success as well as the happiness and success of those they interact with. Today’s
anxiety comes in many forms, particularly when we experience uncertainty. Understanding this
uncertainty and modern day anxiety is an important part of the solution to finding balance and
happiness. The practice of mindfulness will also be explored as part of the solution to
improving balance in our lives.
2:30 – 3:15 PM Educational Session 6 (45 minute sessions)
Working with Paraprofessionals and Temporary Staff…Best Practices (Part 2)
Keith Cleek, Teresa Henson & Jason Ring
Petit Jean I
Hesitant to hire a program assistant or work only when needed? Already supervise someone
and have some questions about how to effectively manage their and your time? If you
supervise a Youth or Adult Extension Paraprofessional or WOWN this session will provide
insight to best management practices.
Turning Off! - FCS Programming & Screen Free Week
Amy Monk
Rock Room
Screen-Free Week has proven to be the single most effective, popular, well-rounded FCS
program in the elementary schools of Montgomery County. This session will give FCS and 4-H
agents the tools to encourage families to turn off televisions, computers, and video games and
turn on the world around them. Screen-Free Week is a chance for children to read, play, think,
create, be more physically active and to spend more time with friends and family. Participants
will learn how to build partnerships with civic organizations and area businesses to bring FCS
programs and prize incentives to kids during Screen-Free Week. Educational program ideas to
include citizenship, consumer education, physical activity, and healthy snacking. On average,
preschool children spend over 4 ½ hours a day consuming screen media, while older children
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spend over 7 hours a day including multitasking. Excessive screen time is linked to childhood
obesity, poor school performance, and problems with attention span. FCS programming
delivered during a Screen-Free Week campaign can really make a difference. An evaluation tool
for the week is included in this presentation. From a teacher’s perspective, “Screen Free Week
is a great way to encourage physical activity and limit passive activities. I heard a lot of
comments (from students) about being responsible and helpful to others.” Screen-Free Week is
coordinated by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a national advocacy
organization devoted to reducing the impact of commercialism on children.
4-H Hunting Skills Discipline: More than just for Shooting Sports
Valerie Turner
Governor’s Room
An introduction to the newest Arkansas 4-H Shooting Sports Discipline and what it has to offer
our 4-H youth. The Hunting Skills Discipline may be a part of the 4-H Shooting Sports but it has
lots to offer without ever shooting a gun. This discipline could be a way to start a new club,
build leadership, educate on natural environments and wildlife management, and so much
more.
Measuring Volunteer Impact (and how to get more)
Noah Washburn & Lisa Washburn
Petit Jean II
Effectively engaging volunteers can help ensure your county Extension program is successful.
Volunteers make up part of Extension’s target audience and also help educators reach target
audiences. Volunteers can enhance programming in 4-H, Agriculture, and Family & Consumer
Sciences. So how do educators report impact of volunteers’ work when they may not have be
present for the program? What about the “behind the scenes” work of Extension volunteers?
This session will provide ideas for measuring the impact of volunteers on your county program
and how impacts can be quantified to demonstrate return on investment.
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Friday, March 18, 2016
9:00 – 9:45 AM Educational Session 7 (45 minute sessions)
Strengthen Social Health Muscles with Yoga Games
Lauren Copeland, Jessica Vincent
Governor’s Room
A person's ability to have healthy relationships and social interactions has an important effect
on overall health. In this session, participants will learn how yoga can improve social health by
playing 4-H Yoga for Kids games that can be implemented in a variety of settings.
Creating Collaborations That Grow Healthier Communities through Extension
Jennifer Conner, Lauren Morris, Valerie Turner, Mary Ann Kizer, & Debbie DeRossitte
Petit Jean I
Arkansas ranks among the worst for obesity and chronic disease with the highest national adult obesity
rate at 35.9%. In response, the state established the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention (ArCOP)
to increase physical activity and healthy eating. In 2015, the University of Arkansas Cooperative
Extension Service (UACES) partnered with ArCOP’s Growing Healthy Communities (GHC) local coalition
efforts to implement innovative strategies to address obesity in Chicot, Craighead, Jefferson, and
Monroe counties where obesity rates exceed 40%. These counties were primed for change in their
culture of health; through UACES/GHC collaboration, coalition groups are expanding and enhancing
health-focused programs such as Walk Across Arkansas, Extension Wellness Ambassadors, Extension Get
Fit, Faithful Families Eating Smart and Moving More and Yoga for Kids to result in community-wide, indepth impact. Local groups are also innovatively incorporating new programs and tools such as
MarketMaker, EBT/SNAP promotion and acceptance, SNAP-Ed programs, and liveability/walkability
workshops to create or enhance sustainable community assets such as community gardens, walking
trails, farmers markets, worksite environments, and policy/resolution development. Counties are at
various stages of their health improvement efforts, so by design, proven programs and interventions can
be piloted before expanding across the state.
4-H Classroom Clubs - "One Agent's Experiential Learning Process"
Pia Woods & Erica Williams
Petit Jean II
Decreasing club membership and an almost non-existent adult volunteer base forced reevaluation of the delivery approach for county 4-H Youth Development Programming. Several
years of trial and error have afforded "hands-on" experiences with 4-H classroom/school clubs.
This "share session" will provide insight and resources for participants who are considering this
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method of 4-H programming. We'll discuss what has worked and what hasn't, the advantages
and disadvantages of this approach, and the potential 4-H program success that lies within
classrooms in counties across the state.
Poster Presentations
Inter-professional Teamwork in the Cooperative Extension Service
Addie Wilson
The purpose of this proposal is to explore the benefits of inter-professional teamwork within
the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. The Arkansas Cooperative Extension service is
designed to have an agricultural agent and a family and consumer sciences agent in each
county. The combination of expertise and skill sets from these two agents working
collaboratively could provide a more comprehensive educational program for clientele.
Zoom to Meet with Your Clients
Mary Poling & Amy Monk
Want to increase your meeting attendance at monthly leader meetings and/or committee
meetings? Decrease your clients’ driving time and time away from work and family--meet with
them wherever they are using Zoom. The ease of connection and use, audio quality, screen
sharing capability, video quality make Zoom meetings the next step to meet with and train your
clients.
Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center (APAC) - BIG $
Kim Magee, Bobby Hall, & Amanda Philyaw-Perez
We will have a poster that will be self-explanatory as far as the information provided. However,
the primary focus of our poster display will also have some kind of game format as we have
done in the past to make it interactive and fun for participants during the poster session time.
So...informative, educational & informative is our goal. The information will be about Arkansas
Procurement Assistance Center and how we help businesses gain government contracts and
bring in $ to the local economy.
Successfully Engaging Your County Leadership
Diane Clement, Mark Peterson, Les Walz
The Story of Kickstart Cleveland County
In February 2015, Cleveland County launched a
county-wide development process called Kickstart Cleveland County, a grassroots organization
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dedicated to improving and revitalizing Cleveland County. County Extension Agents Les Walz
and Diane Clement, and Mark Peterson, Professor of Community and Economic Development
were involved in the process. / Program activities included a Breakthrough Solutions branding
workshop and bringing in architects and a UALR small business specialist to help identify new
opportunities in the county. Five new organizations have been formed in the county generating
renewed interest in revitalization and establishing new businesses. / With attendance from
county leaders and legislators, the Kickstart Cleveland County Strategic Blueprint and Action
Plan was presented November 19, 2015 featuring Cleveland County’s new brand: “America’s
Homestead –Real. Simple. Life” Come and learn from their experience and gain insights for
engaging county leaders in your county.
Keeping YOU in Arkansas 4-H YOUth Development
Lauren Cannon
I just completed my Master’s research and would like to share my findings on a poster or
infographic. This study focused on factors affecting teen involvement in Arkansas 4-H
programming. The number of senior 4-H members has continued to decrease in the state over
the past three years, which mimics a trend nationwide. This study determined the factors
affecting enrollment of senior 4-H members and the ways that programming can be changed to
maintain their interest. Youth are making more independent decisions about joining groups
and parents do not have the same influence as shown in previous studies. Senior 4-H youth
would like to see more state and national activities available to them and indicated there were
few limitations to their participation in the 4-H program. Recommendations include providing
more leadership at the county and district levels, as well as making an effort to form In-School
clubs in order to increase senior membership and retention.
Strengthening Teen Leadership through Multi-County Programs
Sara Beth Johnson & Shea Wilson
In an effort to strengthen leadership skills for 4-H youth, a multi-county teen leadership
program was implemented. Leadership skills are an integral part of a well-rounded young
adult. 4-H provides many opportunities throughout the year for youth to serve in leadership
roles and help younger youth. Teen leaders are often part of county, district and state 4-H
activities and are called upon to teach workshops at 4-H events such as camps, Teen Leader
Conference, and 4-H enrichment programs. Research has shown that youth serving in
leadership roles gain experience in conflict management, decision making, team work, and gain
confidence. The proper training for these youth is a vital component to their success as a
leader. Extensive training was provided in the areas of leadership, citizenship, and healthy
living. Benefits of multi-county programs are two-fold. For agents, this method lightens the load
of program planning and evaluation; provides more options for program facilities, and is more
cost-effective. For youth, it allows them additional opportunities to work with new peers, learn
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from each other, and form relationships beyond the county level. Through collaborative efforts,
twenty youth are now active teen leaders in their respective programs.
Reaching a common goal: A functioning partnership between 4-H and the Arkansas
Archeological Society
Hope Bragg
In 1902, 4-H was formed as a means to train farmers in proper agricultural methods. It was
realized that youth were more receptive to learning and trying new methods of farming, and
that through this training of children, parents would pick up sound agricultural practices from
their children. The concept of experiential learning has been with 4-H over the years, as the
programs evolved to cover subjects outside of traditional agriculture, including everything from
Aeronautics and Robotics to Forestry and Wildlife management. In southeast Arkansas this has
come to include archeology as a 4-H program, with youth holding active roles in recent
scientific studies. From the Field to Report, a 3 day camp held at the Hollywood Plantation in
Winchester, Arkansas focused on introducing youth in Southeast Arkansas to the entire process
of archeological research while completing service and developing leadership skills. The
experience of these youth have translated into them becoming new advocates for recording
and documenting archeological sites and has encouraged the youth to explore sciences that
they may not have considered prior to the camp.
Getting to know the Livestock Skillathon Contest: Updates and Resources for 2016
Chelsey Ahrens
In order to be more in line with the National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest, revisions to the
2016 state Livestock Skillathon Contest have been made. This poster outlines the recent
revisions to the state contest while also providing new resources for agents to utilize when
training teams.
A policy change to leverage federal dollars in support of chronic disease management
Serena Fuller, Keith Cleek, Teresa Henson & Holley Tucker
UACES EFNEP provides peer-delivered nutrition education in community settings. A challenge
for educators’ is identifying eligible participants and for program administrators, lack of
biometric data that support behavior change outcomes. The CDC funded ADH’s WISEWOMAN
program sought to extend healthcare services to eligible women. The extension is created by
providing payment to community-based, non-traditional providers for the provision of services
that are more likely to have lasting health effects. The rationale to support non-traditional
providers lies in addressing commonplace barriers of healthcare delivery including location and
trust challenges. By enacting a policy in the form of a MOU Arkansas WISEWOMAN and EFNEP
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formed a partnership that linked the two programs. WISEWOMAN staff assessed participants’
readiness to change, health needs, and accessibility challenges. Eligible individuals enrolled in
EFNEP by peer educators and participated in a research-based curriculum. After completion
participants were referred back to clinicians for follow-up and de-identified biometric outcome
data was shared. The work is now complete with the following results: two participants finished
the curriculum and the program terminated early due to lack of eligible participants. However,
if participant eligibility was modified this model may be adapted across states and programs to
fill in partnership gaps.
Food Safety from Industry to Families
Terrie James
Providing safe healthy food at home and when eating out takes training individuals on the
principles of safe food handling at multiple levels. Arkansas Extension has taken on this
challenge with multiple programs to address this issue.
Arkansas 4-H Mentoring Program
Noah Washburn
The Arkansas 4-H Mentoring program is supported by the Department of Justice, Office of
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention. The objectives of this program are to provide direct
mentoring service to improve academic performance, enhance social competencies, and
strengthen family bonds in underserved youth populations. Our goal with this program is to
align mentoring opportunities using the 4-H Program structure, which includes 4-H club
meetings, educational activities, and a monthly family involvement event.
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