MU Extension Council discusses 4-H activities

A meeting of the MU Extension council was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chairman Brian Claspill on Monday. The September minutes were approved and finances were reviewed. David Black, county engagement specialist in agriculture-business, distributed and discussed with the council a handout listing the different classes of extension council funds in order to better understand how to read the budget reports.

“I’m just coming into this,” Black said, “and our expenses have gone up dramatically this year. I’m working to come up with some goals for the 3000 [education and services] funding class to try to cover some of those expenses.” There was brief discussion on putting funds into an interest bearing account instead of general checking account. “I think that’s a great idea for funds we aren’t using every year,” Black said. “That’s something that within the next few months we’ll talk about. I know we have some investment accounts that are not performing well in, in my opinion, so I think that maybe the council can look at those.”

Phyllis Sprenkle, who works with the 4-H alumni group, informed the council of activities of the group with the 100 year anniversary of 4-H in Vernon County. There is a display at the library through Oct. 17 which includes a timeline, old photos and much more. Next year the group is planning to honor families who have three or more generations involved in 4-H.

The upcoming council elections were discussed briefly and council members were encouraged to approach community members who might be interested in serving extension in that capacity for a two year term. Black told the council he would be more than happy to visit with prospects to give them a clear view of the role they would play within extension. The council will continue to pursue members and the topic was tabled until next month.

The new youth program staff model was also discussed. The change reclassifies youth program assistants and gradually decreases the percentage of wages that will be paid by the university over the next three years. When asked if he was comfortable with the budget over the next three years, Black answered that he is. “The ship is not sinking. Part of my job is to be the face of the university, but I am also an advocate for Vernon County. So while I’ll be trying to create partnerships, I’ll also be trying to get whatever we can from campus. Hopefully funding improves on the federal and state levels and some of these things bounce back.”

Black informed the council that a county engagement specialist has been hired for Cedar County who will also oversee Vernon County as the 4-H specialist. “A large part of the specialists role is volunteer management,” Black said, “and I am encouraged that the new hire was previously an athletic director. If you’ve been dealing with parents, athletes and everything else, you kind of have a feel. I will make sure you all get a chance to meet her.”

The council moved on to briefly discuss refreshments to be provided after the Christmas parade. They then discussed the short videos being posted the the MU Extension, Vernon County Facebook page and were encouraged to share those on their own Facebook timelines for more exposure.