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Arkansas Association of
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| About Us | LeadAR Program |
Alumni (As of June 2008) |
By-Laws | Annual and Board Minutes | Dues Application (MS Word) | In touch | Home | |||
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Arkansas Association of
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| About Us | LeadAR Program |
Alumni (As of June 2008) |
By-Laws | Annual and Board Minutes | Dues Application (MS Word) | In touch | Home | |||
Note: Jo West-Taylor was re-elected president of the Arkansas LeadAR Alumni meeting on February 16, 2008.
Hello Everyone,
With the International Leadership Alumni Conference behind us we are now focusing on the future. A task force has been appointed to create a Five-Year Strategic Plan for the LeadAR program and is made of up of members of the Advisory Council, the Alumni Association, and key Extension personnel. The meeting will be held in July in Stuttgart. It would be great to have input from each of you at the meeting, so if you have anything you would like to recommend or suggest, please call one of our committee members or Dr. Joe before our meeting. The Alumni Association will be represented by Judy Duffel, Randy Frazier, Bruce Martin, Allen McVey, Derwood Brett, Peggy Bullock and me.
The Alumni Association needs you. Please pay your dues. The proceeds are used as grant funding for seminars and for scholarships and to support the LeadAR program. Our association meets annually to conduct business and to elect officers. If you are interested in becoming an officer, contact one of the members above or Dr. Joe. Thanks for electing me for another year as your president.
Respectfully,
Jo West-Taylor
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It has been a while since the last one of these. And the LeadAR program is doing well.
Class 13 National Study Tour
Class 13 recently completed their National Study Tour to Louisiana and Washington, D.C. The class had home stays with the Louisiana Ag Leadership Program alumni and some LSU Extension folks. Everyone in the class met some great people and learned about some things we don't have in Arkansas, like growing sugar cane and the seafood industry (oysters and shrimp). Some even got to go fishing! Unfortunately, they also got to see parts of New Orleans (the Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish) that are in much the same shape they were when the water receded after Katrina. The class heard many stories of suffering and heartache. But they also heard many stories of courage and hope and of communities pulling together to recover from unbelievable devastation.
The visit to Washington was successful as well. A major highlight was the presentation of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Four class members who have strong ties to the military (either served in the military or had close family in service) made the presentation: John Hoefl, Lois Boyd, Judy Ramer and Robert Boxley. It was a very emotional experience for us all in remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who served this country in war and peace and those currently in uniform.
We learned about many national issues by visiting or being visited by the Pew Environmental Group, the Environmental Energy and Study Institute, American Farm Bureau, USA Rice Federation, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Homeland Security, USTelecom, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Energy. We had productive meetings with Senators Lincoln and Pryor and our U.S. Representatives Berry, Snyder, Ross and Boozman.
Another highlight was a reception Class 13 had for the Arkansas congressional staffers. Over 40 staffers came to meet and greet our group. The class used this opportunity to hone their interpersonal and leadership skills and to connect with staffers that could be helpful in solving problems in their communities.
We visited the Embassy of India since that country was on the short list as a candidate for our international trip. This was fortunate, as it turned out, because India was just chosen by the LeadAR Advisory Council as the international destination for Class 13. We are looking forward to seeing the land of Ghandi, Mother Teresa, the Taj Mahal and the largest democracy in the world.
We shared a meal on different evenings with two other leadership groups that were also in town: Class 3 of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service Faculty Leadership Program (Director—Allisen Penn—LeadAR Class 8) and Class 30 of the Washington State AgForestry Leadership Program. These were fun events with lots of networking on both sides.
As you can imagine or remember, we were all exhausted when we got home but with a good feeling that we had a very productive trip and found many new connections and resources.
Class 13 Recent Seminars
The class has had great seminars in Harrison (Ag Law and Criminal Justice) in December, Nashville/Hope (Livestock and Poultry) in January, and Stuttgart (Row Crop Agriculture) in April. The LeadAR alumni did a great job finding the necessary sponsors to make these seminars successful. A round of applause to all of you who did so much to help Class 13!
Recruiting for Class 14
As you know, we are recruiting for Class 14 applicants. The deadline for pre-applications is July 1. Please encourage anyone you think would be a good candidate to visit our web site and fill out the pre-application form. (More about the web site below.) We currently have 11 that have completed their pre-application and 13 that are in the process. As you know, history tells us that several of these will drop out for various reasons. So please keep recruiting! I plan to try and visit all counties that have no alumni to see if I can stir up some interest in Sharp, Scott, Johnson, Little River, Lafayette and Calhoun counties. If you have suggestions for candidates in these counties, please let me know.
LeadAR Web Site
We have made significant changes to the LeadAR web site over the past 6 months. The easy-to-remember address is
www.uaex.edu/leadar. We have added lots of new comments from alumni about their LeadAR experiences, a place to recommend good candidates, an improved application site and process, links to other state leadership programs, a state map of the distribution of alumni, detailed pages on Class 13 including photos, home towns, occupations and goals and a calendar of seminars and locations. Check it out. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome!LeadAR Strategic Planning Session
One recommendation that came out of the LeadAR program review in 2006 was to develop a strategic plan for the next three to five years of the program. A selected group of Advisory Council, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, and AALA representatives will meet in the middle of July near Stuttgart to look ahead to find ways to strengthen the program and begin a major fundraising plan to endow the national and international study tours for classes to come. Dr. Karen Ballard (Class 11) will facilitate the process for us. We will share the results of the plan when it is completed.
Other States' Leadership Program Reviews
I was asked by JoAnn Stormer, director of the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program, to serve on a review team to evaluate the Wisconsin program in January. Like the program review done in 2006 for LeadAR, it was very interesting and certainly beneficial to me to see how another program was organized and what issues concerned them. And, yes, it is COLD in Wisconsin in January. Forty-mile-an-hour winds and five below zero with snow! Brrrrr!
I have since been asked by J. D.Dunbar, director of the Pennsylvania Rural Leadership Program (RULE) to sit on a similar team for their program review this month. Should be a lot warmer!
It is an honor to be asked to serve on these teams. It says something about the reputation and quality of the LeadAR program for others to think we could be helpful in reviewing their programs.
Other Seminars on the Horizon
Seminars for Class 13 coming up are: Education in Eureka Springs in June, Press and Public Policy in Little Rock in August and Economic Development in Newport in October. If you are in the neighborhood, let us know and stop by.
That's all for now, folks!! Until next time.
Joe Waldrum
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2008
June 5-7 Education Issues, Eureka Springs, AR
August 7-9 The Press & Public Policy, Little Rock, AR
October 9-11 Economic & Community Development Issues, Newport, AR
December 11-13 International Marketing & International Study Tour Orientation, Paragould/Jonesboro, AR
2009
February/March International Study Tour to India
April 18, 2009 Graduation (location to be determined and date may change)
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The meeting was held at the Cooperative Extension Education Building Wing in Little Rock. Guest speakers included Dr. Ivory Lyles, Associate Vice-President Agriculture- Extension; Mr. John Bel, President, Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation and our own Randy Frazier.
Dr. Lyles spoke about a variety of issues regarding the LeadAR Program and Extension and answered questions for the audience. Mr. Bel spoke on "The Art of the Ask," giving key training and education on fundraising. Mr. Frazier gave various short presentations on subjects such as "212, the Extra Degree." Lunch was provided, and gifts were provided to all attendees. We would like to thank Wayne Post and Innovative Concepts for providing the wonderful desserts. See the minutes of this meeting posted on the LeadAR web site
www.LeadAR.org under annual and board minutes. A list of the new board members and officers can be found on this web site under "About Us."|
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The budget for 2008-2009 fiscal year was approved at the February meeting. We ended last fiscal year of 2007-2008 with an account balance of $27,740. Most of this amount was due to the GREAT news that we made a profit of over $10,000 on the International Leadership Association Conference (ILAC). I want to especially thank all the alumni that provided donations and donors that covered most of the conference expenses. Included in this year's budget is the second part of our two-year commitment of $1,200 for scholarships toward tuition for Class 13 members' scholarships for those who requested assistance. We also committed $1,000 in support of a LeadAR Seminar. The budget additionally includes $1,600 to update our web site and funding to cover the reception at the first meeting of Class 14.
NOTE: This does not mean we do not need your $25 annual dues. Dues payments from the alumni this year have been the lowest in my memory. Please send your dues payment to Judy Duffel, 11019 Gettysburg Ct, Mabelvale, AR 72103. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
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We are completing an appeal to all alumni to encourage them to submit dues for this year. In addition, we need volunteers to make personal contacts to classmates to ask for membership dues, but more than that, commitment to help in future projects as needed.
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Plans are underway to work with the Extension IT Department to define and expand the features and member services offered through the AALA web site. Improvements will focus on two areas for now: improving the public web site content and adding a new "members only" page accessible by members with current dues status. We are currently defining new features that might be of value to our AALA members so we can cost them out and create a development schedule.
Web site features suggested to-date include the ability to do the following:
1. Update member contact info (address, phone, email, privacy preferences).
2. Make secure online payments for membership renewals and meetings.
3. Locate other AALA members (by name, city, county, class, company, etc.).
4. Add/update member topics of interest (affiliations, leadership interests, background info).
5. Contact the LeadAR Program office or an AALA Board member
If you have additional suggestions or desire to work on this committee, please email me. And bookmark our link at
www.LeadAR.org in your browser and check it often.Bruce Dabbs
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*Title adopted from CA Agricultural Leadership Foundation
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Arkansas Association of LeadAR Alumni PO Box 391 Little Rock, AR 72203 |
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