From February 28 to March 3, 2002 you will want to be in Kansas City, Missouri for the National Extension Family Life Specialists Conference. This conference has the potential to bring together all regional and state Extension family life specialists from throughout the states, territories, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

Who Should Attend?

Regional and state Extension family life specialists. This includes positions in family life; family life education; family development; family science; human development; child development; adolescent development, adult development; aging; gerontology; parenting; child care; or family policy. This conference is for specialist staff addressing human development issues across the lifespan.

It will be very special. It will be the first time such a conference has been held since the mid 1980's. You will have ample opportunities to network with each other, foster multi-state work, find personal and professional renewal, share your work and learn about the work of your colleagues. Past conference participants have found the professional connections to be ones that endure throughout their Extension career. This conference will be especially helpful to specialists who have joined the Cooperative Extension System (CES) recently.

To help you begin to make connections, visit the networking section of this site by clicking on the highlighted "networking" button and add your ideas. We encourage you to view the site periodically between now and the conference registration deadline to see what topics are being proposed.

You are also encouraged to submit a proposal to present a poster or workshop session during the conference. Your involvement will add to the richness of the interaction.

Sponsorship:

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) of USDA is pleased to sponsor the conference. I want to thank Dr. Alma C. Hobbs, Deputy Administrator for the Families, 4-H and Nutrition Unit of CSREES for her commitment to this conference and for the financial support from the Unit.

Speakers:

Two leaders have been invited to help us set the stage for creative exploration and dialogue throughout the conference. Dr. Ron Daly, Professor-Emeritus, University of Tennessee will help us capture the developmental milestones for family life and human development programming in CES. Ron had a distinguished 13-year career at USDA as the national family life program leader. Prior to his tenure at USDA, he was a state specialist in Nebraska and he returned to that role after leaving the Federal government. Ron retired from the University of Tennessee Extension Service as Professor and Leader of the Family Life Section.

Dr. John Byrne, President-Emeritus, Oregon State University and most recently Executive Director of the Kellogg Commission will bring insights from the work of the Commission. The Kellogg Commission was created in 1996 by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) to help define the future of state and land-grant universities. A grant of $1.2 million from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation funded the 25-member presidential commission's work. To view copies of the 6 reports published by the Commission, visit NASULGC's web site at <www.nasulgc.org>.

Planning Committee:

I want to express my deep appreciation for the great work of the planning committee. They are working very hard to make the conference a great success. Feel free to contact any of the committee if you have questions regarding the program.

Linda D. Ladd (l-ladd@tamu.edu), co-chair Mary Britnall-Peterson (Brintnall-peterson@admin.uwex.edu) Anna Mae Kobbe (akobbe@reeusda.gov) Judith Myers-Walls (myerswal@cfs.purdue.edu) Lynn Pike (PikeL@missouri.edu), co-chair Wilma Ruffin (wruffin@acesag.auburn.edu) Chuck Smith (casmith@ksu.edu)

Registration Questions:

Please direct all questions about the conference registration to Linda Ladd at <l-ladd@tamu.edu>.

See you in Kansas City.

I expect to see you in Kansas City...Missouri that is. Kansas City is a wonderful city with many attractions. The conference hotel places you in the heart of the Country Plaza area for dinning, shopping, and recreation. You will have some free time Friday and Saturday evenings for informal networking and relaxation. Mark your calendars. I'll be looking for you.

Anna-Mae Kobbe, Ph.D. National Program Leader Family Life & Human Development