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UNL Extension faculty and staff win annual awards

Nebraska

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association recently presented annual awards to a number of Extension faculty and staff.

Awards were presented at the two organizations' annual fall conference in Grand Island this month.

UNL Extension awards:

Distinguished Managerial Professional

Kerry Elsen, Extension associate, Kimball, Banner and Cheyenne counties, teaches and coordinates programs for 4-H youth. Through a grant, she has been able to provide a 4-H Robotics Lending Library for youth in the three counties. She also has developed an art project education program, organizes and conducts three farm safety day events for youth and hosts numerous other educational workshops for youth.

Excellence in Team Programming

The Geospatial and Robotics Technologies for the 21st Century (GEAR-Tech-21) team was honored for its program to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) achievement and interest using robotics and geospatial technologies. The widely available and existing technology the program uses, such as the LEGO NXT Mindstorm robotics kit, handheld Global Positioning System receivers and geographical information systems software like GoogleEarth and ArcMap, make it possible for youth ages 10 to 15 to explore and practice STEM concepts through the integration of these technologies. The program, which receives grant funding from the National Science Foundation, is an intensive two-year program that begins with a 40-hour summer camp experience. Over the last four years, more than 600 youth have participated in the program from around the north central region states.

Extension team members include: Viacheslav Adamchuk, Kathleen Morgan, Megan Patent-Nygren, Tracy Pracheil, Katelyn Larson, Gwen Nugent, Neal Grandgenett and Bradley Barker.

Distinguished Educator

Deb Schroeder, Extension educator, Cuming County, leads the Control Diabetes for Life program. The program began at eight sites in 2001 and expanded to a statewide program in 2006. Since the program was created, three new two-hour programs have been developed each year. These programs reached 3,970 people diagnosed with diabetes, their family members and professional food service staff in 30 communities across the state. The program also is video streamed and available on the front page of every county UNL Extension website in Nebraska.

Jessye Goertz leads programming on childhood obesity. The 18-year veteran of UNL Extension teaches clientele in a variety of age groups through programs such as Small Steps to Health and Wealth, The New You and Nutrition Mission. She is the co-author of Nutrition Mission, a nutrition education program for fifth graders that is taught to more than 700 children each year in nine counties. She also serves as an action team leader for the Food, Nutrition and Food Safety Spire.

Extension New Employee

Sandra Barrera, Extension assistant with the Nutrition Education Program (NEP), has formed collaborations and has made UNL Extension visible to the Hispanic population in Hall County. She has established 15 new working partnerships in the Grand Island area and is skilled in making those important connections in the community. On average, she works with more than 200 limited-resource families and 300 seniors each year. In the past year she has had more than 100 adult NEP graduates.

Tamra Jackson, plant pathology specialist, based at UNL, has developed an Extension education program focused on diseases and nematodes damaging corn and sorghum. She has authored eight NebGuides, one UNL Extension Circular, 10 conference proceedings and 35 Crop Watch newsletter articles. She also has submitted or published three referred journal articles, 12 professional society meeting abstracts and two technical reports. She has developed a strong statewide applied research program to support her Extension education program and has received external funding as a primary investigator or co-PI of nearly $1 million since 2005.

Awards from NCEA, the professional organization for UNL Extension, were:

Outstanding Media

Lisa Jasa, editor of Crop Watch, was honored for newsletter that provides a medium for many UNL Extension educators and specialists to deliver high-quality, timely information in a visually interesting format. She works with multiple authors and produces the newsletter on a regular schedule. It has more than 2,800 subscribers to its e-mail notification service. The Crop Watch website is at http://cropwatch.unl.edu.

Outstanding Service to NCEA

Timothy Lemmons has worked with IANR's Communications and Information Technology unit to change the NCEA website to a new system, where the software is updated regularly and support is available. Lemmons now can easily update the website and is the "go-to" person who uploads documents and makes changes easily. As the website grows, it will serve as a means of communicating professional development opportunities, collaborative national efforts and state initiatives.

Meritorious Service by an Individual

Sen. Lavon Heidemann of the Nebraska Legislature has been instrumental in communicating the importance of UNL Extension. He set up a meeting with Ben Steffens, Nebraska Association of County Extension Boards Director and Executive Committee member, and University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken to discuss the value of Extension. He also wrote into Legislative Bill 315 that, "It is the intent of the legislature that the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Cooperative Extension Program are treated fairly in the University of Nebraska 2009-2011 biennial budget setting process."

Meritorious Service by a Group

The Nebraska Bar Association Volunteer Attorney Program/Nebraska Supreme Court was honored for its work with the UNL Extension court-mandated guardianship program. Since 2004, 3,100 court appointed guardians and conservators have benefited from the legal expertise provided by the Nebraska Supreme Court, professionals and attorneys who volunteer through the Nebraska State Bar Association Volunteer Attorney Program. Attorneys throughout Nebraska are a valuable resource during the Guardianship Training classes, facilitated by Extension educators. Volunteer attorneys have saved guardians and conservators thousands of dollars by answering basic legal questions as well as specific one-on-one questions.

UNL Extension is in the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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