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2006 - 2007 Year in Review
Since officially organizing in January 1998, the Iowa Association of County Extension Councils (IACEC) has proven to be a strong voice for extension councils across the state. A board of directors, elected by the states county extension council members, guides the Association.
2006-2007 IACEC Board of Directors
Northwest Area Sue Boettcher Dickinson County (term ending 2007) 7-year council member; sales administrator for furniture manufacturing company
Brian Waldstein
Buena Vista County (term ending 2008)
Thomas Ullrich Woodbury County (term ending 2009) 3-year council member; farmer/developer
Northeast Area Debra Nelson Floyd County (term ending 2007) 2-year council member; employed by The Principal Financial Group
Sybil Soukup Cerro Gordo County (term ending 2008) 3-year council member; employed by Niman Ranch
Kenny Hennings - Bremer County, (term ending 2009) 2-year council member; farmer
Central Area Joe VanGinkel Madison County (term ending 2007) 8-year council member; athletic manufacturing
Pat Griffin Greene County (term ending 2008) 14-year council member; banker
Connie Cannon Jasper County (term ending 2009) 10-year council member; K12 education
Southwest Area Gary Smith Mills County (term ending 2007) 10-year council member; cattle and grain farmer
Cindy Shelley Wayne County (term ending 2008) 11-year council member; employed by State Farm Insurance
Russell Kurth Harrison County (term ending 2009) 6-year council member; District Conservation
Southeast Area Ron Fransen Van Buren County (term ending 2007) 6-year council member; retired ag teacher
Denise Maier Johnson County (term ending 2008) 3-year council member; Marketing/Community Relations with Mercy Hospital
Tori Grantz Clinton County (term ending 2009) 1-year council member; ag loan officer
The IACEC Board is pleased that 99 extension councils were members for the year 2006-2007. This high level of membership indicates the successful year that we have had as an association.
Serving as officers for the Board of Directors this year were Gary Smith, president; Sybil Soukup, president-elect; Denise Maier, secretary; and Pat Griffin, treasurer. Debra Nelson, Floyd County, resigned from the board in January 2007 for personal reasons.
Board members were assigned to the following committees: Marketing Committee, Connie Cannon, chair Sue Boettcher Kenny Hennings Russell Kurth
Policy & Finance Committee Pat Griffin Gary Smith
Legislative Committee Joe Van Ginkel, chair Ron Fransen Tori Grantz Denise Maier Debra Nelson Cindy Shelley Sybil Soukup Thomas Ullrich
IACEC worked closely with the Administration to appoint a committee to review the Partnership Agreement. Ten council members were represented on the committee, including five current Board members. At the close of the fiscal year, the committee developed recommendations to be reviewed by the IACEC Board.
At the request of numerous council members, IACEC Board members held several discussions this year with Extension Administration regarding the Cougar Mountain accounting software that is being adopted for all county offices. As a result of these discussions, trainings were adapted to be more user-friendly. Links between bookkeepers in counties were established so they might help each other. IACEC continues to be updated regularly on the progress with Cougar Mountain statewide.
The sixth annual Legislative Day was held on March 14th, 2007. About 60 people from 27 counties attended. We had very positive reception from the legislators, with the exception of about 4 legislators. The legislature passed 3% salary increases funded through the Board of Regents. There was also an additional $25 million approved for the appropriations bill.
E-mail legislative updates were sent via the Legislative Liaisons to all IACEC members. The updates were designed to keep member abreast of the current impact legislative actions had upon Extension during the 2007 Legislative Session.
Two IACEC members represented the Association at the Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) annual Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference in Washington, D.C. April 24-27. They met with their federal Congressional delegation to discuss the importance of Extension.
The Policy & Finance Committee developed a new procedure manual for the Board. This manual compiles the procedures of the board based upon the Articles of Incorporation, By-laws, and actions of the Board (derived from past minutes) into one place. The Committee believes this will serve as a good resource for the Board members in moving forward with business.
At a special meeting of the membership on March 14, 2007, Article 8 of the by-laws was amended to change the terms of office of the Board from beginning July 1 to beginning at the June meeting.
The Marketing Committee challenged all county extension councils to either expand a program to meet a new audience or to develop a program for a new audience by providing programming mini-grants at one $500 grant/area. Nineteen applications were received for the mini-grants. Recipients are Black Hawk, Crawford/Ida, Monroe, Audubon/Cass/Shelby, and Story Counties. We received a lot of good response with this. The committee would recommend doing this again next year.
The Distinguished Extension Council Member Award was presented to Julie Beitelspacher from Plymouth County.
Our Scholarship Program remains strong. IACEC awarded five scholarships to sons & daughters of council members, one in each extension area. The scholarships were awarded to: Jessica Slavik, Crawford Co. (Northwest) Nilan Lansing, Fayette Co. (Northeast) Andrew Martin, Wright Co. (Central) Elizabeth Baudler, Adair Co. (Southwest) Mallory Steinhart, Keokuk Co. (Southeast)
In an effort to foster communication with our members and between local councils and Extension Administration, IACEC continues to publish the semi-annual Network Newsletter and maintain the IACEC website.
Additionally, the Marketing Committee distributed a Member Benefits packet to each Board member. The packets contain information to help board members explain the benefits of IACEC membership to council members and to provide resources for board members to use when talking with councils. A PowerPoint presentation was also developed for this use.
The new 2007-2008 directors, listed below, took office June 23, 2007.
2007-2008 IACEC Board of Directors
Northwest Area
Brian Waldstein
Buena Vista County (term ending 2008)
Thomas Ullrich Woodbury County (term ending 2009) 3-year council member; farmer/developer
Rick Rosberg Emmet County (term ending 2010) 6-year council member; banking
Northeast Area Sybil Soukup Cerro Gordo County (term ending 2008) 3-year council member; employed by Niman Ranch
Kenny Hennings - Bremer County, (term ending 2009) 2-year council member; farmer
Caroll Schreiber Allamkee County (term ending 2010) 1-year council member; Master Gardener (retired)
Central Area Pat Griffin Greene County (term ending 2008) 14-year council member; banker
Connie Cannon Jasper County (term ending 2009) 10-year council member; K12 education
Scott Bahr Hardin County (term ending 2010) 5-year council member; commercial/farm insurance agent
Southwest Area Cindy Shelley Wayne County (term ending 2008) 11-year council member; employed by State Farm Insurance
Russell Kurth Harrison County (term ending 2009) 6-year council member; District Conservation
Dawn Marnin Cass County (term ending 2010) 4-year council member; retail sales
Southeast Area Denise Maier Johnson County (term ending 2008) 3-year council member; Marketing/Community Relations with Mercy Hospital
Tori Grantz Clinton County (term ending 2009) 1-year council member; ag loan officer
Ron Fransen Van Buren County (term ending 2010) 7-year council member; retired ag teacher
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