Earlier this week we had an opportunity to host one of our first face-to-face events since early in 2020. Our Program Development Committee members in the Cottonwood District gathered to share ideas that will help our team members better serve our communities. Our local extension program is a partnership of K-State Research and Extension and residents of Ellis and Barton Counties. Residents can become active partners by serving as members of a program development committee, or PDC.

The four core areas served by our PDC’s include:

• Agriculture and Natural Resources

• Community Development

• Family and Consumer Sciences

• 4-H Youth Development

We opened our time together by sharing the results of a survey we had asked members to complete prior to the meeting. Survey questions were developed to help us determine how our participants prefer getting Extension educational information. E-mail ranked first but face-to-face meetings actually came in ahead of Zoom. Like many of you some days I have “Zoom fatigue.” Participants, young and old, prefer to meet in person whenever possible. 

Many factors influence how our program participants respond or participate. A busy mom may only have a few minutes at the end of the day when the kids are in bed, to check out information we post on the Cottonwood Facebook page. Or perhaps a farmer has short breaks during their day to respond to something on Twitter. Still others continue to enjoy the articles we send to the newsletter or the post each week. We also have a monthly electronic newsletter, The Cottonwood Connection, that is posted to our web site or sent directly to people who have shared their e-mail address with us.

Here in the Cottonwood Extension District we will continue to seek out the best way to share the research-based information you have come to expect and appreciate. We will continue to identify the needs and issues of agricultural producers, communities, families and youth. We are always looking for audiences in the district who are not being served and will develop a proactive plan to engage them.

Serving on a program development committee is an opportunity for individuals who have an interest in helping their local communities and who would like to develop their personal leadership skills. If you would like to serve on a PDC in the Cottonwood District, please contact me.

Donna Krug is the Family & Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. Contact her at 620-793-1910 or dkrug@ksu.edu.