Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The first annual committee meeting of SERA39 was held on February 1, 2009 (2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.) in Atlanta, Georgia at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Tower, Room 1205. The organizational meeting proceeding with officer elections. Bradley Lubben of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was elected Chair and Amanda Ziehl Smith of the University of Georgia was elected Secretary. The position of Chair-Elect was deferred to the next meeting scheduled for April 6, 2009 via teleconference. The committee advisors as of the February 1 meeting were Lisa Collins of the University of Kentucky for the Research Directors, Roland Smith of Texas A&M University for the Extension Directors, and Maurice Dorsey for USDA-CSREES. The meeting continued with discussion on committee goals and priorities. The discussion focused on four key points: 1) establish an ongoing presence (e.g. eXtension Community of Practice), 2) understand the process of public policy issues education, 3) understand the issues, and 4) prioritize activities.