First Timers Information

First Timers Webinar

$Description: C:\Documents and Settings\rmcmahon\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\IF7L7LYL\ksre.jpg$ On behalf of the Kansas Association of County Agricultural Agents, the First Timers Committee would like to extend an invitation and encourage you to attend the 2011 NACAA AM/PIC in Overland Park, KS. We are very excited about this year’s event and confident that the program offers something for everyone. AM/PIC is educational, motivating, and very family oriented. Plus, the registration fee for any first timer with less than 10 years of experience is FREE!

The first step you need to take is getting registered. For someone new to AM/PIC, we know this can be somewhat of a daunting task. There is a very comprehensive schedule to navigate through and numerous decisions that need to be made on what to attend. Well, we’re here to help. The Kansas First Timers Committee and Registration Chair have teamed up with the National Early Career Development Committee to offer a recorded webinar that will hopefully make your decision to attend AM/PIC and the registration process much easier.

This hour-long webinar highlights the benefits of attending AM/PIC, what events and activities first timers can and should attend throughout the week, and, finally, it takes you through the steps of the registration process. This will be a live webinar, so if you have any questions, the presenters will be glad to help you out.

To view the recorded webinar, please use the following URL:

http://tinyurl.com/2011AMPICFirstTimerWebinar

If you have questions or issues with accessing the webinar, please contact Dan Kluchinski at 908-866-1766 or kluchinski@aesop.rutgers.edu or Cade Rensink at 785-392-2147 or crensink@ksu.edu.

This webinar is also available at the e-County Agent, NACAA website, and the "NACAA-Early Career Development (ECD)" Group Page on Facebook.

First Timers Orientation & Reception

Once you receive The County Agent AM/PIC Edition in May and you begin the registration process, be $Description: C:\Documents and Settings\rmcmahon\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\IF7L7LYL\568.jpg$ sure to look at the schedule. On Sunday, August 7 you will see that there is a First-Timers Orientation & Reception from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm. We highly recommend that you plan to attend this event as it will serve as your “official” first-timers kick-off.

Several NACAA and AM/PIC representatives will be on hand to welcome you to Kansas and to offer a helping hand in making the most of your experience in Overland Park. You will also have the opportunity to meet all of the other first-timers from across the country and to start establishing that valuable network of Extension professionals which AM/PIC is known for offering. In addition, the reception will be a time to kick back and relax over beverage and hors d'oeuvres.

The Kansas First-Timers Committee is dedicated to making your attendance enjoyable and educational. We hope you will join us for the FT Orientation & Reception.

First Time Attendee Luncheon

On Monday of AM/PIC, the Kansas First-Timers Committee will be hosting a First-Time Attendee $Description: C:\Documents and Settings\rmcmahon\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\IF7L7LYL\NASCO.jpg$ Luncheon from 11:45 am – 1:15 pm. The luncheon is a great opportunity to come together and be recognized for your commitment to professional development.

$Description: C:\Documents and Settings\rmcmahon\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\IF7L7LYL\people2421.jpg$ This event will feature our long standing First-Timers sponsor Nasco International, Inc. as well as our invited keynote speaker Mr. Gary Kilgore. Gary is a professor emeritus at Kansas State University, having served 41 years as an Extension crops and soils specialist is southeast Kansas. His no-nonsense, practical advice still makes him a favorite resource of farmers from Kansas and beyond and an adviser to many county Extension agents. As Mark Parker, free lance ag journalist, put it, “If you had a dollar for every question Gary Kilgore has answered {about grasses, grains, or legumes}, you could buy a new tractor. Actually, you could probably buy a farm to go with it.” Always wanting to be one himself, he has been a mentor to hundreds of county agents and gathered plenty of stories from those relationships. Today, Gary is actively involved in production agriculture on his farms in southeast and southwest Kansas. He currently serves on the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission and is a member of the Kansas Soybean Association and Kansas Farm Bureau. He is the Executive Secretary of the Kansas Forage and Grassland Council and continues to be supporter of 4-H and of the Extension system by being involved in county and state events. Gary says he will continue to learn — because that’s what Extension folks do.

We think Gary is a great choice to speak to first-timers about the value of professional development and the importance of the career that you have chosen. His enthusiasm for life, agriculture, and Extension is highly contagious.

Please be sure to fill out the First-Timers section of the AM/PIC registration form (bottom of page 1) in the May edition of The County Agent and plan to attend the First-Time Attendee Luncheon. We look forward to seeing you on Monday, August 8.