Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
Proposal abstract:
The Program Assistant (PA) will manage communications, advertising, travel scholarships, budget accounting (for honoraria, event registrations, travel and lodging), calendar updates, and meeting facilitation. The PA will manage and update the NC SARE website and twitter account throughout the year, and attend to the NC SARE booth at relevant sustainable ag trainings where SARE information is distributed to agents/personnel/farmers and the general public. The PA will prepare post-event evaluations to assess outcomes of professional development trainings, and report them to the state coordinators. The PA will also prepare the annual report and the coming year MSP proposals for the State Coordinators and AC for review and approval. The PA is supervised by the NC SARE State Coordinators, currently Drs. Chris Reberg-Horton at NCSU and Sanjun Gu at NC A&T.
Project objectives from proposal:
The PA will report to the NC SARE State Coordinators: Chris Reberg-Horton at NCSU, and Sanjun Gu
at NC A&T, and be responsible for the coordination of the following activities throughout the year:
● NC SARE participation with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s Sustainable
Agriculture Conference (CFSA SAC)
o Assist with program development, coordinate Extension trainings, coordinate
transportation
o Interface between NCSU and subcontractors
o Register scholarship recipients for conference and preconference trainings
o Coordinate lodging
o Facilitate billing
o Execute post event evaluations
● Manage travel scholarships for approved sustainable agriculture trainings, both in state and
out-of-state:
o Coordinate registration, lodging and reimbursement as needed
o Develop, disperse and compile post event evaluations
● Coordinate SARE PDP strategic planning and reporting process.
● Maintain records of program accomplishments.
● Schedule meetings to facilitate programs.
● Schedule and plan the November NC SARE Advisory Council (AC) Annual Meeting and other
AC meetings or contacts as needed.
● Maintain the NC-SARE website and Twitter account.
● Develop and follow an annual work plan that meets the needs of sustainable agriculture in NC
as directed by NC SARE State Coordinators and the AC.
● Develop program and proposals for auxiliary funding such as Enhancement Grants,
funding for SSAWG, Specialist Award, and Carolina Meat Conference.
Plan of Work
Monthly
The PA will:
● Coordinate Travel Scholarships to Extension Educators and other agriculture educators and
help with travel reimbursement for these participants.
● Advertise sustainable agriculture trainings.
● Maintain a web based training and sustainable agriculture event calendar for NCCE
(Cooperative Extension at both NCSU and NC A&T) educators and other agriculture
educators in NC.
● Communicate with NCCE faculty and other agriculture educators concerning training
opportunities via the Extension portal.
● Assist and complement development and execution of CFSA SAC.
● Assist with identification and distribution of resources such as Southern SARE granting
schedules, Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) reference books, and other program
information.
● Continue to coordinate with Southern SARE for North Carolina trainers, producers or limited
resource farmers to attend identified sustainable agriculture events if Southern SARE funding
permits. North Carolina Coalition for Farm and Rural Families, NC A&T, NCSU and CEFS
may also be involved in coordinating this effort.
● Maintain a history of accomplishments to include in annual reports.
● Send out evaluations and compile responses following events.
In addition to monthly activities the PA will:
September – November 2021
● Coordinate selection of the 2021 NC SARE Outstanding Sustainable Agriculture
Extension Educator award
● Coordinate the annual AC teleconference in October, 2021
● Assist with the 2021 CFSA SAC, to be held in November, Durham, NC
● Coordinate presentation of the NC SARE Outstanding Sustainable Agriculture Extension
Educator Award
● Organize the AC meeting for NC SARE in November 2021
● Coordinate attendees to the 2021 Women Working in the Meat Industry Conference and
other identified sustainable agriculture events in partnership with Southern SARE.
December 2021 – February 2022
● Begin development of MSP for 2022-2023
● Coordinate reimbursements for selected attendees to the Women Working in the Meat Industry
Conference Conference, if funding is available
● Develop the 2022-2023 Model State Plan (MSP) and submit to State Coordinators and AC
for review and approval
● Invite all NCCES agents to join the NC SARE listserv
● Coordinate selection of 2022 Extension Specialist Award
March – May 2022
● Maintain and update NC-SARE website.
● Assist in development of information to be used in events supported by NC SARE
● Review and update State Strategic Plan
● Assist with development of approved advertising materials
June – August 2022
● Compile and submit the 2021-2022 NC SARE report
● Assist with programming for the CFSA SAC, acting as liaison between CFSA, NCSU and
NC A&T faculty
● Assist with pre-CFSA SAC training plans for Extension Agents