Extension Council meets at fairgrounds

Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Tammy Roberts of the Bates County University of Missouri Extension Office listens as Extension council member Leslie Bartlett adds an idea for educational opportunities to the mind map developed during the council meeting held in the diner at the Vernon County fairgrounds Monday. Photo by Rusty Murry/Daily Mail

Nevada Daily Mail

The members of the University of Missouri Extension Council representing Vernon County met in the diner at the county fairgrounds on Monday to discuss trends in three of the offices five thematic areas.

About two dozen people showed up for a potluck dinner featuring fried fish, hush puppies and chicken cooked by Eddy Bond. After the meal the group heard some announcements and was introduced to Tammy Roberts of the extension office in Bates County. Roberts acted as facilitator during the meeting, explaining the goal of the meeting and the means to get there.

Roberts said it was up to the council to tell the extension office what programs the local office needed. The discussion concentrated on three areas. "What issues could the extension address in Vernon County as part of an environmental concern." The same question was posed regarding educational attainment and the county health system.

Council members were asked to identify and name areas within each thematic section where the extension office could help through a process called mind mapping. When an idea was brought into the discussion it could either stand alone or be incorporated into another segment. Financial literacy was one of several areas of education that was discussed as was the importance of teaching the value and dignity of work, regardless of the work.

The mind map, with ideas on posterboard, branched out in several directions before the group moved on to environmental concerns. Issues of tornados and flood preparedness were given a lot of consideration as well as the topic of water quality. Recycling, air quality, and wind and solar power was also mentioned.

Council members brought up several areas where the extension could be helpful in providing resources or educational opportunities in the areas of diet, diabetes, obesity, exercise and other areas. Teen drinking and shopping and cooking skills were also considered important.

Roberts told the group that some of their ideas were already being worked on by a team at MU in Columbia. "We have a lot of issues" here she said, and "you have hit issues that the Extension office can help with." Before the meeting closed each member received three colored dots to place beside the issues important to them. The dots could be placed on one idea or spread out. Roberts said the data from the mind mapping exercise would be analyzed and used to develop educational programs tailored to the area.

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