John Lawrence’s message from Oct. 15, 2018

I wrapped up my VP visits last week. After 20 regions, 60 meetings, 1,200 people and 4,000 miles, I don’t know if I made a larger impression on the stakeholders, staff and councils, or on the seat of my pickup. However, the visits have certainly made an impression on me. I am extremely proud of our organization and our people. The stakeholders at the table reflect the respect that ISU Extension and Outreach holds locally. The staff and councils care deeply about their communities and the people they serve, as well as their connection to Iowa State.

Now the real work begins. Did you know?

• The leadership team will begin digesting and summarizing all the information that was gathered during the visits.
• We anticipate having a statewide report and regional reports completed around the end of the year.
• The next steps will be identifying and prioritizing the issues that we can address, so we can develop and implement a plan to create a strong Iowa.

Goodbye … and welcome

A comment I heard many times during my visits around the state was that we often don’t know when colleagues retire or resign or when new folks join our team. So we’re going to fix that. From now on, around mid-month, I will include a list of people who have recently left or joined ISU Extension and Outreach – in the counties, in the field and on campus. In September, we said good bye to the following individuals:

• Connie Brommel, Warren County office assistant
• Joann Bartusek, Cerro Gordo County office manager/bookkeeper
• Camilla Marshek, Johnson County youth coordinator
• Janet Neppl, Dickinson County office assistant
• Becky Oelkers, Cerro Gordo County office assistant/4-H support
• Joe Sellers, field specialist III, ANR
• Greg Brenneman, field specialist IV, ANR
• Nathan Crane, regional director, County Services

We welcome the following new staff:

• Ashtin Harris, Mahaska County office assistant
• JeanDarrell Waybill, Hamilton County youth coordinator
• Pamela Kollasch, Kossuth County office assistant
• Don-Marie Myers, Webster County PROSPER family coach
• Laura Webb, Cedar County office assistant
• Katrina Sauter, Scott County youth program assistant
• Kaysee Phelps, Henry County program coordinator
• Grant Theesfeld, Sac County Clover Kids program coordinator
• Ronald Nelson, communications specialist I, Professional Development

More notes

• As Iowans deal with the aftermath of recent storms and heavy rain, you can direct them to our Disaster Recovery – Flooding resources and Finding Answers Now, which addresses the human side of disasters.
• You can still register for the next “Creating Accessible Digital Documents” workshop, Oct. 19 in the Extension 4-H Building on campus in Ames.

— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach