News & Notes January 2001

PA Students’ Poster Art Earns National Acclaim

Two Pennsylvania students have earned national acclaim for their conservation-minded artwork. Michael Kensinger of Blair County was awarded first prize in the 10th – 12th grade division and Raymond Heromin of Northumberland County received second prize in the Kindergarten – 1st grade division of the 2000 National Conservation Poster Contest, sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts.

Both students were awarded first prize in their respective county conservation districts’ poster contests and in the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. Annual Poster Contest. At the national level, their posters were selected from more than 130 posters, representing 35 states.

Raymond earned his second place prize with a colorful painted poster depicting our natural resources – land, air, water and wildlife, while Michael used a creative scratchboard effect to portray a fly fisherman reeling in a large fish.

The Conservation Poster Contest program at the local, state and national levels provides kindergarten through twelfth grade students an opportunity to share their thoughts about natural resources and related issues in an artistic manner. Assigned themes for this year’s contest were “On the Verge of a New Millennium: Today’s Lessons Shaping Tomorrow’s World,” “Community Waters,” “In the Children’s Hands,” and “Water for Life – Keeping the Wild Alive.”

Michael and Raymond will receive cash bonds for $100 and $75, respectively, for their efforts and their artwork will be put on display during the NACD annual meeting. The students were previously awarded with a cash prize, provided by the PACD auxiliary, for claiming top honors in the PACD statewide poster contest.

Leadership Development Committee Reflects on
1999-2000 Accomplishments

The Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development Committee has provided Pennsylvania’s conservation districts with a number of useful resources during the year 2000. In addition, several training sessions were held to help familiarize conservation district staff with these unique tools.

Listed below are summaries of five major Leadership Development projects conducted during fiscal year 1999-2000.

TEAM VISITS

Perhaps the most substantial project completed by the Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development Committee in 2000 was the Capacity Building Team Visits to Conservation Districts, held in the offices of six of the state’s conservation districts.

PACD First Vice President Ron Rohall, who served as a team member in two of the visits, explained that participating in the leadership project was mutually beneficial for the team members as well as the host district.

For team members, the visits provided a better understanding of what is going on in the other conservation districts. “From the PACD leadership perspective, it gave me a much broader view of what’s going on across the state and will help me in my decision making,” Rohall said.

A total of 18 conservation districts volunteered to participate in the team visits and, of that number, the Leadership Development Committee selected six districts to participate. Luzerne, Sullivan, Montgomery, Fulton, Clearfield and Adams county conservation districts were the six districts participating in the team visits, which began in May and were completed by late June.

The visitation process entailed a three-member team going into a conservation district for a day-and-half assessment/observation period. During this time the team members engaged in interviewing the district staff, managers and directors, attending a board meeting and then preparing a report to be presented to the district manager.

Bradford County Conservation District Manager, Mike Lovegreen, who was involved with the organization and planning of the project, said the whole idea behind it was to bring in an outside consultant, with expertise in team planning, to the district offices in order to offer new insights and advice.

The consultant hired for the project was Marilyn Bok, of M-bers Consulting Services. Bok is a former county commissioner and conservation district board member and is the only person who went on all six of the district visits. Lovegreen explained that on each of the visits, Bok, along with two additional team members, would identify the districts’ accomplishments and strengths, as well as opportunities for development in the district.

By assessing common challenges faced by the districts, such as dealing with growth, housing and space, the team will recommend programs that can help districts better meet these challenges. During the 2000 PACD Summer Meeting, team members presented a report from the findings of the six district visits. The program is scheduled to continue through July 2001.

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE VIDEO

The second project of the Leadership Development Committee was a video and supporting material to the state’s conservation districts on the topic of “Incorporating Parliamentary Procedure into Conservation District Meetings.”

The project was developed by the Clarion County Conservation District with assistance from the North Central Mathematics/Science Education Collaborative and Clarion University. The materials produced for this project were designed to help conservation districts enhance their monthly board meetings and communication skills, both during and between meetings.

The 16-minute videotape is packaged with a fact sheet on parliamentary procedure, a copy of Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act as amended in 1998, and a letter from Arthur Frost, Chairman of the Clarion County Conservation District.

MANUALS

The third project, undertaken with a Leadership Development Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, through the State Conservation Commission, was to finance the development of three guidance manuals.

The manuals were developed by teams of directors from the Lancaster, Bradford and Westmoreland conservation districts and have been reviewed by experts. Each of the manuals was presented during separate training sessions last year and at this point, all districts should have a copy of each one in their possession.

1. Financial Reporting and Internal Control
The first manual presented by the Leadership Development Committee in 2000 was “Financial Planning and Internal Control,” which itself is a three-part manual designed to serve as a training tool for districts.

Richard Patterson, CPA, and the Westmoreland County Conservation District developed the manual, which focuses extensively on the financial aspect of managing a conservation district. Initially, the manual was presented to districts during the PACD Summer Meeting in Monroeville. During this session district directors and managers learned the finer points of conducting an audit, selecting software to manage finances, and use of computers for accounting and payroll.

The three parts of the manual are: Internal Control, Dealing with CPAs, and Selecting Software. The manuals, as well as copies of the “Nonprofit Financial and Accounting Manual,” were distributed to conservation districts in attendance at the training session held in July in Monroeville, and copies have been sent to districts that were not able to attend. A copy of the “Financial Planning an Internal Control” manual has also been posted on the PACD website: www.pacd.org.

2. Personnel
A sample personnel manual was drafted by the Lancaster County Conservation District, in order to provide Pennsylvania’s conservation districts with an example of a complete personnel manual.

Don Robinson, of the Lancaster Conservation District, presented the manuals during the Fall 2000 PACD Region Meetings. Districts in attendance were provided with a hard copy of the manual and a floppy disc copy, which enables districts to revise the manual to the needs of their conservation district.

Districts not attending a PACD Region Meeting were mailed copies of the manual and copies are available on the PACD website. Included in the sample personnel manual are policy guidelines for employee relations, equal opportunity, vacation/benefits and health insurance, and an assortment of procedural topics.

3. Building Conservation District Board/Staff Foundations
The Leadership Development Committee presented the manual “Building Conservation District Board/Staff Foundations,” as the last installment of a series of three handbooks developed as a special leadership development project.

This handbook slightly differs from the first two manuals provided to the districts in that it revolves more around philosophy than policy and procedure. It was developed by the Bradford County Conservation District and meant to stimulate communication and dialogue within your district team. The handbook is designed to help districts strengthen relationships between district staff and directors.

Recently, the handbook was debuted during the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference, where it stimulated a productive discussion. The Leadership Development Committee believes that when individual districts host sessions, the handbook will initiate similar discussions within the district teams.

Committee members strongly encourage all districts to share the handbook with their district team at an upcoming board meeting, if they have yet to do so. This manual is also available on the PACD website.

CUSTOMER SURVEY

In the spring of 2000, the Bradford County Conservation District undertook a survey of its customers to assess the effectiveness of its programs. The survey was the fourth project funded through a Leadership Development Grant. The district asked its clients for feedback in four service categories: Information, Education, Technical and Financial services. Their results – and more importantly, the process they used to gather the information, were distributed to all conservation districts.

The Bradford County Conservation District maintains a comprehensive database which includes a list of all its clients and the form of assistance they receive. In the interest of time and expense, the district decided to randomly target every third client on its list.

More than 3,000 surveys were mailed out, along with a cover letter explaining the purpose of the survey, and a postage paid response card. In all 332 responses were received at the district office.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
w/ COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

The Leadership Development Committee is working toward establishing a leadership development training program that would utilize Penn State Cooperative Extension’s expertise in leadership training. Their goal is to provide a stable, on-going source of training to conservation district directors and staff on a regional basis.

Funds were provided to secure the services of a grant writer who would help develop a grant and corresponding support materials for it’s presentation to potential funding sources. A side benefit of the project has been an enhanced partnering between the Cooperative Extension and the Leadership Development Committee.

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