Curriculum Vita for James C

Curriculum Vita for James C. Skeeles

1995 to Present

 

1. Biographical
Statement

 

Title

Extension Educator, Agriculture & Natural
Resources

and

Curriculum Director for Association for Financial,
Counseling and Planning Education AFCPE

(a certification and educational organization that
uses
Webanar and on-line testing with proctors with other cutting edge
technology to
educate and certify Financial and Housing Counselors)

 

Location

Ohio State University Extension Office, 150 Homer
Avenue,
Logan, OH 43138

 

Degrees

1971 – Bachelor of Science, Ohio State University,
Department of Agricultural Education

1972 – Masters of Science, Ohio State University,
Department
of Agricultural Education

1990
– Doctor of
Philosophy, Ohio State University, Department of Home Management and
Housing

 

Rank

Assistant Professor with Ohio State University 50%
time

and

Curriculum Director for AFCPE (non-faculty
position)

 

2. Position
Description for
OSUE

Working collaboratively with a team of county,
district and
state Extension professionals, volunteers, and local community leaders
(including government officials, business leaders, agency
representatives), the
educator is responsible for giving leadership to a comprehensive
educational
program based on local needs and priorities within agriculture, natural
resources and community development.  Specific duties include:

 

×  Serve as a source of
unbiased technical
subject matter information, giving major attention to animal science,
farm
management, natural resources, solid waste and community development.

 

×  Develop and conduct
educational programs
in agriculture which meet the needs of clientele and emphasize estate
planning,
leadership development, water quality, pesticide management, solid
waste
management and soil conservation.

 

×  Provide leadership for
public relations
and education on issues affecting the rural /urban interface in the
county.
e.g. agriculture districting, current agricultural use value (CAUV),
estate
planning, liability, noxious weed laws, zoning, solid waste disposal,
etc.

 

×  Provide educational
programming and
leadership in solid waste issues by 1) serving as a member of the
county
Household Hazardous Waste Advisory Committee, 2) serving as advisor to
the sitting
committee of the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District and 3)
maintaining close communication with the coordinator of the solid waste
management district.

 

×  Provide educational
programming/leadership
to planned residential growth in rural areas addressing issues such as
conservation of open spaces, farmland, wetlands, innovative zoning and
absentee
landowner management.

 

×  Provide agricultural
subject matter
leadership to the 4-H program.

 

×  Make effective use of a
variety of
communication and media forms and work with computers and computer
programs as educational
methods.

 

×  Be responsible for
servicing clientele
through office visits, farm and home visits, telephone, newsletters and
other
correspondence.

 

×  Cooperate with other
Extension personnel
in maintaining effective working relationships with community
organizations and
groups.

                

×  Specialization: Estate
Planning – Each
year a letter study course is conducted for the state of Ohio, with
approximately
500 enrollees per year. It is necessary to keep abreast of the latest
developments in estate planning law and code interpretations to
adequately
educate in this area.

 

×  Lorain County, the area of
responsibility,
is very diverse, in that the north is as urban as the south is rural.
Therefore, programs applicable to both urban and rural must be
conducted.


 

3. Teaching

a.
Group Teaching in Past Two Years

 














 

Type of
Program

 

Skeeles= role – % of
involvement

 

 # Contacts

(line 1, last; line 2, this year)

 

County (C)

Multi -
County (MC)

District (D)

State (S)

National (N)

 

End of Meeting Comment (C), Pre-Post test (P),
EEET, Other  Evaluation (O)

 

Times Offered
(1st line last; 2nd line this year)

 

Land Use Attitude Survey Results

 

Developer
& Presenter 95%

 

210

152

 

C

C

 

O

O

 

3

9

 

Status of
Farmland Preservation

 

Developer
& Presenter 90%

 

197

80

 

MC

MC

 

O

O

 

2

2

 

Row Crop
Production

 

Developer
& Presenter 50%

 

30

127

 

MC

MC

 

O

O

 

1

4

 

Dairy
Management

 

Developer
& Presenter 50%

 

40

33

 

C

C

 

O

O

 

1

1

 

Barn Again!

 

Facilitator

 

86

 

S

 

O

 

1

 

Pond Weed
Control

 

Presenter 10%

 

95

43

 

C

C

 

C

C

 

1

 

Dairy
Production

 

Developer
& Presenter

 

275

270

 

C

C

 

C

C

 

1

1

 

Managing your
Dairy

 

Developer
& Presenter 10%

 

75

 

S

 

O

 

2

 

Profitability
& Expansion

 

Assessor &
Presenter 10%

 

8

 

D

 

Follow up,

written

 

2

 

Dairying in
Future

 

Developer
& Presenter 50%

 

20

 

C

 

C

 

1

 

Site Specific

Agronomy

 

Developer
& Presenter

 

25

48

 

MC

MC

 

O

O

 

1

5

 

Farming and Conservation

Development

 

Developer
& Presenter 80%

 

63

77

 

MC

MC

 

O

O

 

1

3

 

 

 

 









 

Type of
Program

 

Skeeles= role – % of
involvement

 

 # Contacts

(line 1, last; line 2, this year)

 

County (C)

Multi -
County (MC)

District (D)

State (S)

National (N)

 

End of Meeting Comment (C), Pre-Post test (P),
EEET, Other  Evaluation (O)

 

Times Offered
(1st line last; 2nd line this year)

 

Livestock
Environment Assurance Program

 

Presenter 10%

 

461

512

 

S & C

C

 

O

 

8

7

 

 

Connecting
Ohio Watersheds

 

Developer &

Presenter 50%

 

 

45

 

 

S

 

 

O

 

 

1

Estate Plan & Passing on the Farm

Developer &

Presenter 50%

55

150

41

S

S

S

O

O

O

1

3

1

 

Composting

 

Developer &

Preenter

 

96

211

 

C

C

 

O

O

 

8

26

Agr. & Cons.

Easement

Purchase

 

Developer &

Presenter 90%

 

54

43

 

MC

MC

 

O

O

 

2

1

Basics of Land Sales &

Deeds

 

Developer &

Preenter

 

200

34

 

S

S

 

O

O

 

1

1

Ohio Barn Conference

Developer 10%

200

S

O

5

 

 

 

4. Creative Works

Burns, Sharon and Skeeles, James C. 2006 -
Financial
Counselor’s Handbook and Study Guide.

      AFCPE, Columbus, OH

Burns, Sharon and Skeeles, James C.  2006 –
Housing
Counselor’s Handbook and Study Guide.

      AFCPE, Columbus, OH

Skeeles,
James
C. 1995 – Present. Monthly. Ag News. The Elyria Chronicle
Telegram,
Elyria, OH.

 

Skeeles,
James
C. 1995 – Present. Monthly to 1999 then weekly. Agronomy News.
Ohio
State University Extension, Lorain County, Elyria, OH.

 

Skeeles,
James
C. 1999 – Present. Bi-monthly contributor to Buckeye Dairy News.
Editor:
Normand St. Pierre. Ohio State University Extension, Columbus, OH.

 

Skeeles,
James
C. 1995 – Present. Monthly. Dairy News. Ohio State University
Extension,
Lorain County, Elyria, OH.

 

Skeeles,
James
C. 1999 – Present. Bi-monthly. Dairy Tips. Farm and Dairy.
Salem, OH.

 

Skeeles, James C. 1999 – Present. Bi-monthly. Dairy
Tips
.
Firelands Farmer, New London, OH.

 

Skeeles,
James
C. 2000. Countryside Program. National Resource Conservation
and Development
Conference, Ogden, UT.

 

Skeeles,
James
C. 1995 – Present. Revision every year, self published to approximately
300
each year. Estate Planning Letter Study Course. Ohio State
University
Extension, Lorain County, Elyria, OH.

 

Skeeles,
James
C. 1979 – 1995. Weekly. Landscape Lingo. The Lancaster Eagle
Gazette,
Lancaster, OH.

 

Skeeles, James C. & Blaine, Thomas W. 1999. Southern
Lorain County Zoning Survey Results.
         
Ohio State
University, Lorain
County, Elyria, OH.

 

Page,
Kathy;
Twining, Ronald & Skeeles, James C. 2001. Lorain County
Farmland
Retention Task Force Committee Report
. Lorain County Community
Development
Department, Elyria, OH.

 



5. Grants – Skeeles
percent
contribution in (parenthesis)

 

$                  
Grow Lorain County (50%) involved low income and
under or
un-employed Lorain County residents in individual and community
gardening and
marketing of produce. The effort was funded by grants from the Nord
Family
Foundation for $10,000 and $20,000 and from ALove
one Another@
for
$10,000. A $250,000 grant request from U.S.D.A. was not approved. As a
result
of the earlier effort 5 community and 40 individual gardens were
established,
Oberlin City is composting tree leaves and makes compost available for
home
gardening, a school club in Wellington grew and marketed pumpkins and
over
7,000 Lorain County Farmer=s
Market Directories were distributed which were complied as a result of
a survey
of farmer=s
markets.

 

$                  
Joint funding from Ohio Department of Agriculture, Lorain
County
Solid Waste Management District and private industry has resulted in
over
$50,000 being spent on efforts to collect and dispose of outdated
pesticides
and their containers (25%)
in Lorain County. In all, over 10 tons
of
outdated pesticides have been collected and recycled or properly
disposed.

 

$                  
Southern Lorain County Land-use Survey (25%) was
funded by
grants and in kind contributions valued at $7,500 primarily provided by
southern Lorain County townships but also private utilities allocated
over
$500. As a result of this effort, over 2,515 useable surveys were
collected.
Survey results were utilized in the development of the Lorain County
Comprehensive Plan and results were presented to 362 people in
different 12
meetings.

 

$                  
The Smart Growth Committee on which Skeeles served was
successful
in obtaining a $90,000 grant to conduct the Lorain County
Comprehensive Land
Use Plan (10%).
The plan is now complete and guides the development
of
Lorain County.

 

 

 

$                  
Skeeles and the Lorain County Planning Commission were
successful
in obtaining a $10,000 grant to implement and enable the Lorain
County
Farmland Preservation Task Force (20%).
Skeeles has written a
portion of
the task force report submitted to the Ohio Farmland Preservation
Office, the Lorain
County Community Development Office and distributed to 400 Lorain
County
residents.

 

$                  
Skeeles has worked through the Lorain County Solid
Waste Management
District to obtain $80,000 (100%).
The first $40,000 was used to
train high
school students to teach grade school students recycling and composting
skills.
The effort supplied recycling and compost kits and bins to high
schools, junior
high schools and grade schools where they were used in the school
curriculum as
demonstration/research projects or as a school, classroom or 4-H group
project.
Bins were also supplied to selected individual grade school students
who wrote
the best proposal to efficiently and appropriately use the bin.

 

$                  
Skeeles worked with the Lorain County Economic
Development and
Community Development Office, Lorain County Commissioners and Lorain
County
Community College to fund an Extension Agent, Community Economic
Development
joint position (10%)
which worked to develop jobs in computer
technology in
Lorain County. The position was a joint position, with county funds
used for
salary and support but housing, clerical and technical support was
supplied by
Lorain County Community College.

 

$                  
After the person in the above position left without
sufficient
results to justify refilling the position, a new position, titled Community
Economic Development in the Agricultural Industry
has been proposed
to the
County Commissioners and County Administrator. This position would be
housed in
the County Administration Building within the Lorain County Community
Development Office. At present the position is on hold due to
administrative
disagreements between the County Administrator and OSU Extension.

 

$                  
Skeeles worked with the Lorain County Economic
Development and
Community Development Office, Lorain County Commissioners and Delta
Institute
of Chicago to fund and staff a Watershed Coordinator for the Black
River
Watershed (10%)
. Skeeles then worked with the Watershed Coordiantor
to
write and successfully present a $95,000 grant to study problem areas,
educate
farmers, pesticide applicators and agronomists and conduct a feasibility
study to maintain or reduce the presence of atrazine in the Black River
(50%)
.

 

$                  
Skeeles worked to move the new and fledgling Firelands
Land
Conservancy from a volunteer organization to obtaining a $25,000
grant to
fund a part-time Executive Director (05%)
. Skeeles has also been
instrumental in moving smaller land conservancies in northeastern
Ohio to a
Coalition of Land Conservancies (05%)
, now called the Western
Reserve Land
Conservancy and the largest coalition of land conservancies in the
nation.  Since
the other land conservancies are much better funded than the more
recently
formed Firelands Land Conservancy this has been very benefical to our
local
land conservancy.

 


6. Service

 

Ohio Chair, Professional Service Committee of the
National
County Agricultural Agents Association

 

Ohio Chair, Personnel Committee of Ohio Extension
Agents
Association

 

Ohio Waste Management Team

 

Ohio Agronomic Crops Team

 

Ag Manager Online Newsletter Team

 

Ohio Barn Conference Team

 

Northeast Dairy Excel Team

 

Secretary, Western Reserve Resource Conservation
and
Development Council

 

Connecting Ohio Watersheds Program Committee, NE

 

Farmland Retention Sub-Committee, Lorain County
Comprehensive Plan

 

Growth Management Committee, Lorain County
Comprehensive
Plan

 

Lorain County Smart Growth Committee



Lorain County Farmland Retention Task Force

 

Lorain County Ag Group

 

Southern Lorain County Steering Committee

 

Lorain County Agriculture and Natural Resource
Council

 

Seventh Generation Strategic Planning Committee

 

Lorain County Farm Bureau

 

Lorain County Solid Waste Management District
Policy
Committee – Ex-Officio

 

Technical Advisory Board for the Black River
Watershed
Coordinator

 

Ex-Officio and Advisory Board for Firelands Land
Conservancy

 

 

7. Awards

 

District Achievement Award for the Northeast
District in the
category of 10 years and over for outstanding accomplishments in
Extension
education in Community Development in 1999

 

District Achievement Award for the Northeast
District in the
category of 10 years and over for outstanding accomplishments in
Extension
education in Agriculture & Natural Resources in 2000

 

Certificate of Leadership and Service by Western
Reserve
Resource & Conservation in 2000 Development Council

 

Award of Appreciation for Leadership and Service
by Lorain
County Resource Development Council in 2001

 

Epsilon Sigma Phi Program of Excellence Award in
2003

 

District Achievement Award for the Northeast
District in the
category of 10 years and over for outstanding accomplishment in
Extension
education in Community Development in 2004

 

State Distinguished Service Award by the National
Association of County Agricultural Agents for 2004

 

National Association of County Agricultural Agents
Team
teaching award for accomplishments of the Ohio Agronomic Crops Team in
2004

 

National Association of County Agricultural Agents
Team
teaching award applicant for accomplishments of the Ag Manager Team for
2005

 

8. Significant
Accomplishments

 

Comprehensive
Land
Use Plan has been accepted by Commissioners and ratified by all but two
Townships

Smart
Growth
committee functioned well to obtain ultimate goal, that of revising Comprehensive
Land Use Plan

-
Changed public
attitude concerning the need for updating the plan

-
Developed strategy
and implemented strategy for funding of plan

-
Public Forums
informed public and motivated leaders

-
Established and
staffed Northeastern Ohio Center for Farmland Preservation as a result
of
leadership in Western Reserve Resource Conservation and Development
Council

-
Established and
administered Countryside Program as a result of leadership in Western
Reserve
Resource Conservation and Development Council

-
Farmland Retention
Task Force developed through process, with agent the author of a large
portion
of the Farmland Retention Task Force Report to the Ohio Farmland
Preservation
Office. County Community Development Office and public.

-
Lorain County Ag
Group (LC Ag) developed to promote farmers point of view in farmland
retention
and land use planning

 

Southern
Lorain
County Steering Committee

-
Conducted survey
consisting of over 4000 responses with unique involvement of township
and
village officials in funding and conducting survey

-
Survey results used
to show need for new Comprehensive Plan and in development of
Comprehensive
Plan

-
Survey Results
presented in numerous public meetings. Results utilized by land use
planning
consultants. Additional analysis results supplied to one municipality,
two
townships and two consulting groups.

-
Committee made sure
view of rural Lorain County is considered in county land use planning

 

A
program to train
high school students to teach composting and recycling to grade school
students
has been developed and funding provided to conduct the program from
1999 to
present. The program was piloted in Lorain City Schools in 1999 and
over 4000
youth have been directly instructed by Skeeles.

 

The
Estate Planning
Letter Study Course offered state wide to 300 to 850 enrollees per year
prior
to and during winters since 1999. Over 3800 people have completed the
letter
study course and the course has been adapted for New York and Wyoming.
The spin
off of the course is that 53 estate planning sessions have been taught
by
Skeeles. A presentation to the Ohio Auctioneer’s Association was
presented to
200 auctioneers in October, 2005 and Skeeles will co-present at the
Jennifer
McSweeny Land Use Conference March 2006.

 

Skeeles
has worked
with State staff in planning and conducting Train the Trainer programs
for
Tractor Safety and Operation Certification of 14 – 16 year old youth so
they
can be employed on farms. Skeeles is currently Ohio coordinator for
computer
based instruction to allow certification to youth who do not have the
opportunity to attend a traditional class.

 

Skeeles
has conducted
the atrazine training for farmers and the soil and water management
training
for certified pesticide operators and certified crop advisors in
compliance
with the terms of the grant funded by Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency for
the Black River Watershed.

 

Newsletter
and
Mass Media Efforts

-
Monthly dairy
letters and Agronomy letters during the winter months

-
Weekly Agronomy
letters during the spring, summer and harvest months

-
Intermittent sheep,
beef and intensive grazing newsletters.

-
Weekly columns in
Elyria Chronicle were made possible by the agent initiating the effort,
writing
once a month and coordinating the effort after inception

-
Agent contributes
to bi-weekly column from Northeast Dairy Excel Team published in Farm
and Dairy
and Fireland=s
Farmer.

-
Skeeles writes
Estate Planning articles in the Ag Manager web based newsletter.

 

Plotwork

-
Lorain County Corn
Variety Plots – Corn seed was donated for variety comparison and for a
check
hybrid where performance of hybrids could be compared under Lorain
County
weather and soil conditions. Results were published.

-
Plotwork
complemented statewide research where the same design procedure was
used to
determine the appropriate soybean seeding rate for different cultural
practices
for soybeans.

-
Skeeles coordinated
statewide research and plot design to investigate the feasibility of
applying
nitrogen fertilizer based on a APre-Sidedress
Nitrogen Test@.

 

Pesticide
Container and Pesticide Recycling

Skeeles has served as
a recycling
drop-off and coordinated with local agri-business for them to be a
drop-off in
order to recycle pesticide containers. Over one ton of pesticide
containers
have been recycled each year of the program.

 

Extensive work has
been done with
the Lorain County Visitors Bureau to solicit farms as stops on bus
tours of the
agriculture of Lorain County. Brochures have been developed and Shore
to
Agriculture Bus tours feature Lorain County agriculture as well as the
shoreline of Lake Erie.

 

Skeeles has worked
with Oberlin College
and Cleveland State University to develop the Cleveland Foodshed, local
marketing of local produce, food marketing coops, community gardening
and
community agriculture. Food coops are thriving in Lorain County and an
increasing share of the food served to students at Oberlin College is
produced
locally.