From the Desk of the Director Fall 2022

by Marlin Bates
County Extension Director

Our role in community is twofold – one is to do what most of you will recognize as the outreach and engagement activities that are more publicly-visible, the other is to listen and understand the needs of our communities. While those roles certainly go together, the degree to which organizations’ efforts are grounded in validated need varies. Our structure uniquely demands this validation of effort.
It often comes as a surprise that there are 24 Extension Council Members who are elected in Douglas County to guide our work. Every year, 12 Douglas County residents are elected to a 2-year term to the Douglas County Extension Council. The state statute that established Extension Councils in Kansas is deliberate in ensuring that the voice of the community is abundant in guiding our work.
These 24 Extension Council Members represent interests across the thematic program areas established by state statute: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H and Youth Development, and Community Development. Together with our staff, volunteers, and other members of the public our goal is to ensure our efforts are not only grounded in need, but also appropriate, timely and proactive whenever possible.
The Nominating Committee of our Executive Board has been hard at work creating opportunities for Douglas County residents to learn more about the Extension Council and consider running for a seat. They arranged for an Extension Council presence at the Douglas County Fair where they met with numerous fairgoers and recently hosted an open house to bring to light the value of civic engagement. Both of these efforts were new for us – a testament to our innovation and willingness to go beyond traditional efforts to meet our mission.
Now is a great time to plug into the work of our Extension Council. Our Executive Board is in the final stages of establishing our first operational strategic plan. Alongside that effort, our Extension Council members are helping us create programmatic strategic plans for each of our thematic program areas. The goal of these efforts is to rejuvenate our approach to operational and program planning and to hold true to our commitment to ensure our work is rooted in community need.
If you have an interest in learning more about how you can engage with us – whether through formal or informal means – please reach out. I will be happy to have this discussion with you and I know that our staff and Extension Council members would, too.