Last week, Extension agents throughout the great state of Florida gathered in Fort Myers, Florida for the Extension Professional Associations of Florida (EPAF) Annual Conference. Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Julianne Dinkel and myself had the opportunity to attend and represent Jefferson County at this conference. This conference is one of the most important Extension events of the year because it provides Extension professionals from throughout the state with the opportunity to come together to network, form collaborations, meet new faculty, broaden our knowledge and so much more!
One of the biggest benefits of attending this conference is the idea sharing that happens. One way this happens is through the interactive abstract and poster sessions. These sessions allow agents the opportunity to share what they are doing in their counties. This year, Julianne presented an abstract titled “Camp Real Life: Building Skills through Hands on Learning”. Camp Real life is a summer day camp geared for youth ages 13 - 18 that focuses on learning real life skills they will need as adults through hands on ‘funshops’ and a real life simulation.
Julianne and I were also able to share a poster with our colleagues about our newest 4-H camp: Field to Fork. This was also a summer day camp that was developed to increase youth awareness of agriculture production and for youth to build skills to grow, prepare, cook and grill their own food. We were able to share with our colleagues some of our successes with the program, things we would change and our outcomes.
In addition to idea sharing, Extension agents are recognized for the work they do throughout their communities. This year, Julianne Dinkel, myself and John Lilly (4-H Agent) were recognized by the Florida Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (FEAFCS) and awarded the Dean Don Felker Financial Management Award for Camp Real Life. We were also recognized for this award on a National level as the Southern Regional winner.
Julianne was the recipient two FEAFCAS Communications Awards for her work – Best Educational Publication and Best Team Newsletter. I was also awarded a Communication Award from the Florida Association of County Agriculture Agents (FACAA) for Best Published Photo and Caption and will be moving on as a National Finalist.
We enjoyed our week sharing ideas and learning from other agents in Florida and we are excited to bring these new ideas back to Jefferson County. Julianne, John and I are extremely proud to represent Jefferson County as Extension Agents and we look forward to continuing to help our community!
Upcoming Extension events:
The Big Bend Pesticide Series Training: 8:45 a.m. from Sept. 16 to 19. The Backyard Gardening Series:
6 p.m. on Sept. 19 and 26. Both events will be held at the Jefferson County Extension Office at 2729 W. Washington Hwy.
Call (850) 342-0187 for more information or to register.
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