“As a child I participated in a theatrical production about fire. The production has three movements. At one point we danced around a pile of TVs on stage to represent a large bonfire. Later we were asked to escape a burning building. When asked what I would take from my home in a fire I quickly answered car keys. Apparently at 8-years-old I was going to drive away from that burning mess.” – Tony Staubach, Extension Educator, Hamilton County
Author: Tony Staubach
Two Minutes with Tony: Who Cares?
“What’s the point?
Have you ever had those moments where you wonder why you’re doing something?
You take a moment and think, no one cares, no one wants this, no one notices this.
That’s when you have to look inside and ask, why? Is this for you or is it to please others. Now is a great time to stop, reassess, and find compromise.
For example, cleaning. For some, there must be balance. To live in filth and disarray makes things chaotic and unhealthy but, there are compromises. Rather than throwing all of your clothes on the floor, maybe you have baskets, shirts in this one, pants in this one, etc.
For me, that wouldn’t work, I’d much rather hang my clothes back up but, there is a system that is manageable and functional for all of us.
It would be my preference not to have a drawers. I’d rather hang everything. And in my office, I’d rather have cabinets, I find cabinets to be functional.” Follow this link to read more.
Sourced from: Tony Staubach, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Hamilton County, Ohio.
Strengthening Hamilton County 4-H: By Tony Staubach
The most powerful leaders are those who can exercise humility. This past month I was at a conference at The Ohio State University for Urban Serving Universities. The messages from all the speakers were robust and powerful but none more than a panel I attended on issues of poverty, race, class, and discrimination in our education system. The leaders on this panel all had different perspectives and views, but no one could deny the reality that humbling one’s self and exercising humility did the most to foster a mutually respectful and academically successful system.
My own experiences mirror this realization. As an educator I have found that bonds between the student and teacher should never be forged as a hierarchy. Rather the success of the student and teacher are linked in the ability to be vulnerable with each other. To share perspectives and thoughts. This great success has been modeled throughout history and is often replicated in higher education. It is not a mentor role (thought that does happen), it is not rooted in paternalism. It is a true bond of teacher and student. The reality is that we are all teachers and students at different times in our lives.
It isn’t a secret that I have learned a great deal from my students, I have probably learned more from them than they have ever learned from me. To teach is to love success. I am thankful every day for the amazing work of teachers, but also of the 4-H advisors, volunteers, and parents who humble themselves and exercise humility in their attempt to serve our youth as positive adult role models who foster a culture of success and service.
Thanks,
Tony Staubach
Learn more about Hamilton County Extension Below:
Partner Highlights:
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County:
The public is invited to take part in a series of free workshops on the ins and outs of being a landlord. This nationally recognized program discusses crucial issues related to managing a rental property. Topics discussed at each training include applicant screening and avoiding fair housing issues, crisis resolution and the eviction process, property maintenance and working with Code Enforcement, and the importance of a preventive maintenance schedule, fire safety and prevention.
Dates and locations:
Wednesday, February 26th, 9am-2pm: Main Library
Monday, March 9th, 6-9pm: Main Library
Wednesday, March 11th, 6-9pm: Main Library
Saturday, April 18th, 10am-3pm: Clifton Branch
Friday, May 15th, 10am-3pm: Corryville Branch
Tuesday, August 18th, 3-6pm: Pleasant Ridge Branch
Thursday, August 20th, 3-6pm: Pleasant Ridge Branch
Monday, September 21st, 6-9pm: Main Library
Wednesday, September 23rd, 6-9pm: Main Library
Saturday, October 17th, 10am-3pm: Corryville Branch
Monday, November 16th, 1-6pm: Oakley Branch
Follow this link to learn more.
Cincinnati Museum Center:
Grab your lunch and join us! Our popular Brown Bag Lecture Series take place at the Forest Park Senior Center. With an emphasis on Cincinnati history, these informative and exciting lectures will inspire you to be more curious about the community around you.
Brown Bag lectures are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required, but space is limited.
Lectures all take place at the Forest Park Senior Center, located at 11555 Winton Road, Cincinnati, Ohio. Lectures run from noon to 1 p.m. on the third Friday of the month.
2020 Lecture schedule:
February 21: Union Terminal
March 20: Cincinnati and the Presidents
April 17: Up & Away to Mt. Auburn
May 15: Emery Family Legacy
June 19: USS Cincinnati Commissioning Foundation
July 17: The Cincinnati Story, 1788 to 1925
September 18: Cincinnati and the Miami & Erie Canal
October 16: Historic Hauntings
November 20: Industries that Built the Queen City
December 18: Architecture – The Art Deco Era – 1920 to 1940
Follow this link to learn more.
Hamilton County Farm Bureau:
Hamilton County Farm Bureau has multiple scholarship opportunities for students pursuing post-secondary education including FFA students.
Application Deadlines:
• Active Member Agricultural Scholarship – April 1, 2020
• Community Member Agricultural Scholarship – April 1, 2020
• FFA Scholarship – April 1, 2020
If you have any questions, contact 513-831-5870 or via email at hamilton@ofbf.org.
Hamilton County Community Fair:
Thank you must continue to be extended to the Hamilton County Community Fair for their ongoing support of Hamilton County 4-H. Hamilton County 4-H has removed the county wide membership fee. 4-H members interesting in exhibiting at the Community Fair will have the choice to purchase a Community Fair membership which will admit them to the fair every day and provide them with other benefits throughout the year. Be on the look out for more info soon!
Volunteer Needs:
Looking to volunteer with Hamilton County 4-H? We are looking for adults to serve as club advisors at our afterschool sites.
Follow this link to learn more about the job description.
Chick Quest:
It’s that time of the year. Classroom Teachers can sign up for ChickQuest. This year we are asking for a $25 donation (or whatever you can afford) to support the program payable by cash, Credit Card or Check to OSU Extension, Hamilton County. The basic kit includes, eggs, incubator, teacher manual, a cardboard brooder box, and a light. Workbooks for students cost $5 each or $50 for 25 books. Eggs will go out the first Wednesday of each month beginning in February and continuing through April.
Follow this link to learn more or to sign up.
Donate:
Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Nancy and Colonel David Bull, we can enhance the impact of the 4-H program for generations of youth to come through the establishment of an endowment to be used exclusively for 4-H programming in Hamilton County. Nancy and David Bull have a deep sense of the community of philanthropy. They would like to leverage their gift of $50,000, half the amount needed to fund the $100,000 endowment, as a challenge gift to other donors who are interested in establishing support of Hamilton County 4-H. Their gift will match dollar-for-dollar to the first $50,000 raised to establish the Hamilton County 4-H Endowment.
Follow this link to learn how you can donate.
Events:
Follow this link to view the Hamilton County 4-H 2020 Calendar.
Auricle courtesy of Tony Staubach, Extension Educator 4-H Youth Development, Hamilton County
NUEC’19 Reflection Told by Tony Staubach
The truth is often less salacious and more complicated than the myth that prevails. Through simplification and reorganization, history begins to make narrative sense. Extension is not immune from this phenomenon. Within the Extension system the legend begins with humble beginnings and good intentions until it is raised up by the federal government and spread nationwide through rural communities.
The reality is that Extension is an ever-evolving system that extends well beyond the scope of agriculture and education. According to the USDA the roots of Extension go back to the agricultural clubs from the early 1800s. The real story of Extension is one of institutionalization of private and public efforts that are unsustainable in the traditional economic system.
At the National Urban Extension Conference (NUEC), professionals from around the nation gathered to discuss the successes and opportunities of urban extension work, but present in nearly every conversation was the understanding that the role of the Extension professional is to facilitate taking a program to scale. As Extension professionals, the responsibility is not to the myth but to educating the people. That education may look very different when compared to a rural environment, but the intent remains the same.
It was a privilege to present at the NUEC, but the greatest learning experience was researching the demographic and programmatic trends in Cincinnati, Ohio. The story of Cincinnati is almost in direct opposition to the myth of Extension. Founded in 1788, the city predates the founding of the USDA but not the agricultural heritage of America.
Cincinnati is not known for fertile lands, instead the greatest agricultural achievement is pork production and animal processing. While intimate and extremely important, most people aren’t comfortable with the truth behind animal processing.
By the time Extension was founded in 1914, Cincinnati was the 10th largest city in America, the initial focus on rural communities left Cincinnati to continue to grow and develop without the initial support of Extension. Fast forward to 2019 and OSU Extension has become a valued member of the community with a wide reach and great support, but there is still a lot more work to do. The time has come to look at existing infrastructure and identify what needs to be taken to scale. Like a lot of urban counterparts, the goal moving forward is greater collaboration with the community and championing their causes.
Thanks to the conversations, reflections, presentations, and research, the conclusion that greater collaboration is going to be key to building a stronger and more sustainable Extension will prevail and benefit not only OSU, CFAES, and Extension but the Greater Cincinnati region, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, the nation, and the world.