Initiative for the Future of Rural Oklahoma
| Speaker: |
Joe Williams |
Joyce
Martin Director, Staff and Program Development Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Oklahoma State University 139 Agricultural Hall Stillwater, OK 74078-6019 Phone: (405) 744-7969 Fax: (405) 744-5339 mjoyce@okstate.edu |
| James
Barnes Assistant Professor Oklahoma State University 310 Ag Hall Stillwater, OK 74078 Phone: (405) 744-6153 barjn@okstate.edu |
Mike D. Woods |
|
| Gerald
Doeksen Professor, Extension Economics & Rural Development Oklahoma State University 508 Ag Hall Stillwater, OK 74078 Phone: (405) 744-9834 gad@okstate.edu |
In 2002, the 77 county Extension offices across the state of Oklahoma were invited to submit proposals for leadership development programs to be funded by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. County Educators were encouraged to consider interdisciplinary areas and multi-county projects when developing the proposals. By the end of June, proposals representing 37 counties had been submitted.
Some communities/counties have
benefited from a variety of leadership training opportunities and have
a cadre of leaders ready to identify and implement a project. Others have
lacked opportunity to train leaders. These communities should start with
leadership training and allow project identification to wait until the
leaders are better equipped to initiate their chosen project. A total
of 13 proposals, representing 17 counties, were accepted in two categories.
This session will present an overview of the project titled Initiative for the Future of Rural Oklahoma including successes and failures. Evaluations following Year 1 of the project will be reported. Lessons learned and "best practices" identified will be shared.