Celebrate National Small Business Week – April 30 to May 6

Celebrate National Small Business Week,  April 30 through May 6, 2017 by visiting small businesses near you! Support small business in your community and post a picture on social media using the hashtag #SmallBusinessWeek. Did you know that more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year? Support your local small businesses today!

Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy – Register Now!

Only a few weeks left to register for the Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy by Ohio State University Extension Clermont County! The Academy is designed for elected officials from county, municipal, and township governments, and appointed individuals serving on local government committees, zoning and planning commissions, school boards or task forces. The purpose is to build and enhance existing foundation principles of the organizational leadership and decision-making toolkit of public officials. The Academy includes eight, two hour workshops to be held weekly in January through March of 2017. For more information visit OSU Extension Clermont County or contact Trevor Corboy, Community Development Program Coordinator at corboy.3@osu.edu or 513-732-7070.

Wednesday, January 25 – March 15, 2017 from 6 to 8 p.m.Tuition: $200 per person includes materials and dinner. Registration is open! Click here to be redirected to the registration form. Contact the Extension Office with questions at 513-732-7070 or email Trevor at corboy.3@osu.edu.

All programs to be held at: University of Cincinnati- East Campus, 1981 James E. Sauls Sr. Dr., Batavia, Ohio 45103

Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy – Register Today!

Registration is open for the Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy by Ohio State University Extension Clermont County. The Academy is designed for elected officials from county, municipal, and township governments, and appointed individuals serving on local government committees, zoning and planning commissions, school boards or task forces. The purpose is to build and enhance existing foundation principles of the organizational leadership and decision-making toolkit of public officials. The Academy includes eight, two hour workshops to be held weekly in January through March of 2017. For more information visit OSU Extension Clermont County or contact Trevor Corboy, Community Development Program Coordinator at corboy.3@osu.edu or 513-732-7070.

Wednesday, January 25 – March 15, 2017 from 6 to 8 p.m.Tuition: $200 per person includes materials and dinner.

Registration is open! Click here to be redirected to the registration form.

Contact the Extension Office with questions at 513-732-7070 or email Trevor at corboy.3@osu.edu.

All programs to be held at: University of Cincinnati- East Campus, 1981 James E. Sauls Sr. Dr., Batavia, Ohio 45103

Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy – Registration Open!

Registration is open for the Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy by Ohio State University Extension Clermont County. The Academy is designed for elected officials from county, municipal, and township governments, and appointed individuals serving on local government committees, zoning and planning commissions, school boards or task forces. The purpose is to build and enhance existing foundation principles of the organizational leadership and decision-making toolkit of public officials. The Academy includes eight, two hour workshops to be held weekly in January through March of 2017. For more information visit OSU Extension Clermont County or contact Trevor Corboy, Community Development Program Coordinator at corboy.3@osu.edu or 513-732-7070.

Wednesday, January 25 – March 15, 2017 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Tuition REDUCED: $200 per person includes materials and dinner.

Registration is now open! Click here to be redirected to the registration form.

Contact the Extension Office with questions at 513-732-7070 or email Trevor at corboy.3@osu.edu.

All programs to be held at: University of Cincinnati- East Campus, 1981 James E. Sauls Sr. Dr., Batavia, Ohio 45103

 

Workshop Topics:
Public Officials and Public Service Introduction Team Building
Conducting Effective Meetings and Decision-Making Communicating & Working with Citizens and Media
Building Sustainable Communities Conflict Management & Dispute Resolution
Leadership Skills and Styles Intergovernmental Relations: Opportunities and Challenges for Cooperation

Workshop Descriptions:

Public Officials and Public Service:

This is a workshop about the requirements and challenges for individuals in public office in Ohio. The workshop will focus on the principles and practices that will provide a framework for improving your tenure and service in public office. These being: Duties and Responsibilities of Public Officials, Codes of Ethics, Standards of Conduct, Conflict of Interest, and Open Meetings Laws / Executive Sessions.

Team Building:

Explore the principles and practices in this workshop that provide a framework for building effective working relationships between and among members of the governing body and building effective working relationships with the administrative/managerial staff and with other employees of the organization or local government.

Conducting Effective Meetings and Decision Making:

The goal for every public official is to “make good decisions.”  What is a good decision?  How do we make them? This is a workshop about the principles and best practices that provide a framework for conducting effective meetings. As well as using effective decision-making processes.

Communicating and Working with Citizens and the Media:

This fourth workshop is about developing positive and effective working relationships with all community residents, as well as with the media representatives and organizations that cover your meetings.  The workshop will focus on the basic principles and practices that will provide a framework for building effective relationships, while engaging community residents and improving media relations skills.

Building Sustainable Communities:

This workshop is designed to help you explore the relationships between growth, development, environment, ecology, social structures and the civic culture. Participants will develop a better understanding of the concept of sustainable communities. You will learn about the principles and practices that provide a framework for developing sustainable communities.

Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution:

The sixth workshop will focus on practical applications and examples of real situations that will help to build a framework for each participant to use the conflict and dispute resolution skills developed.

Leadership Skills and Styles:

Do you know your leadership style? Do you know that understanding leadership styles and types can help improve our interpersonal relationships and the effectiveness of the board/council?   This is a workshop about the concepts, principles, and practices that can provide a framework to improve the operations and effectiveness of your governing body and your personal decision-making.

Intergovernmental Relations: Opportunities and Challenges for Cooperation:

The final workshop will explore Ohio law pertaining to opportunities and limitations for intergovernmental agreements and cooperative arrangements. The workshop will draw heavily from the positive and negative experiences of others who have engaged in cooperative agreements with other governments.

All Things Community Development in Clermont County

WOW! Hard to believe is has been six months as Community Development Program Coordinator, seeded position in Clermont County and there are lots of exciting things underway! Check out the excitement and learn more at clermont.osu.edu or find your local OSU Extension office and explore the opportunities.

1After a successful Ohio Local Foods week in August, several groups of people expressed interest in a center for small business owners to collaborate within Clermont County. This center would not only incorporate an incubator kitchen for cottage foods type producers, but other locally sourced value added products as well. In the hope to take on a wide variety of market sectors within the agriculture industry of Clermont County. In the current stages a preliminary group has been established to facilitate the process. In the coming weeks the group will look into facilities and design. Then, following this will be a larger convening of producers and supporters to expand upon the foundation work to decide the next steps in this venture.

2

Leadership! It is a basic fundamental need for any organization to perform as a well-balanced machine. Based upon an earlier developed plan of work, addressing the needs of county elected officials is a necessity. Over the first few months in my position, I met with many public officials to learn and begin to address their needs. Through these efforts, several officials have asked for education in leadership development, conduct, communications, and more. Based upon this inquiry, the Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy has been formed. The Academy will allow public officials to build and enhance existing leadership skills and decision-making abilities. This will be done through eight themed monthly workshops. Learn more about the Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy.

3

Through early discussions with townships and villages, many officials and community members have expressed an interest in strategic planning and goal setting for their communities. This has added to the growing excitement of expansion and redevelopment of infrastructure throughout Clermont County.

Any questions regarding Community Development in Clermont County may be directed to Trevor Corboy, Community Development Program Coordinator at corboy.3@osu.edu. Learn more about all of the educational opportunities and services available to you and your community through Community Development and Ohio State University Extension by visiting your local extension office or find one here.

LOCAL FOODS SURVEY NOW AVAILABLE

Local Foods is a popular topic today that may affect how we feed the world of tomorrow. Learn more in a recent blog post. Please, take a few minutes to complete the survey’s below. These will be used internally to guide programing and educational opportunities within Clermont County. If you have any questions, please contact: Trevor Corboy or Gigi Neal at corboy.3@osu.edu orneal.331@osu.edu or 513-732-7070. Thank you for your time.

Local Food System Needs Assessment for Producers
Local Food System Needs Assessment for Consumers

Feeding the World – One Community at a time

Picture1“Local Foods”… What does this really mean to residents of Ohio? As Ohioans we use these types of words on a daily basis it seems, but do we really understand the need? Local Foods can aid in feeding a growing global population of 9 billion by 2050. We must produce more food in the next 50 years than has been produced in the past 10,000 years combined, all while tillable land is becoming less available.

In our ever changing world, today we as consumers, want the freshest product available to us at the most economic value. Often, the solution is to meet local producers and buy directly from them. This helps the consumer to not only enjoy local food, but also learn of the economic, nutritional, and social benefits of buying local. Freshness is one of the benefits of Local Foods adding to the experience of the personal connection between growers and producers. According to the 2012 USDA Agricultural Census, Ohio ranks among the top ten states for direct sales to consumers represented by a wide variety of food products. Two resources available in Ohio to aid in the challenge of linking the producer and consumer are: Market Maker and Ohio Proud.

Many people are searching for ways to improve their quality of life by eating local food. Consumers now wish to become the producer, not only in the produce sector, but in animal agriculture. This enables the consumer to gain an intimate knowledge of the food source in a hands-on environment. From this there has been an up-turn in economic development strategies to market locally produced foods. Interest groups in many communities aim to increase the accessibility to items for both wholesale and retail customers. These groups are sometimes lacking one essential component… research-based education. OSU Extension is in a position to educate these individuals in not only raising and growing their own food, but also in harvesting and storing their food products. This is an excellent opportunity for cross-program area collaboration within our system.

In Clermont County, we are especially looking at ways to bring multiple efforts together to produce a cohesive change. There are many tools available to aid in this effort. So, contact your local Extension office and get involved today in the local foods mission. Be a part of feeding the world today. The Clermont County office may be reached at 513-732-7070.

Endnotes:

Ohio Proud. www.ohioproud.org/

MarketMaker. https://foodmarketmaker.com/

OSU Extension – Clermont County adds Community Development programming

Corboy, Trevor original

Ohio State University Extension – Clermont County adds Community Development programming:

Hi Clermont County! My name is Trevor Corboy and I am proud to serve as your new Ohio State University Extension Community Development Program Coordinator. This position is one of two “seeded” OSU Extension Community Development positions in Ohio, both of which are fully funded for 12 months by the state Community Development Office.

A little about myself, I graduated from The Ohio State University in December of 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture specializing in Animal Sciences and Agribusiness. Prior to accepting this position, I worked as a student assistant for Ohio State University Extension as well as a team member for Tractor Supply Company. I currently reside in Brown County as the sixth generation on my families’ century farm. Here I am active in raising Angus cattle, Boer and Nubian goats, hay, and grain products. I continue to play an active role in the community as an alumnus of 4-H and FFA. I am very passionate about agriculture and the community in which I serve.

More about the grant, Clermont County was selected for this “seed” grant based on evidence of:

  • a wide variety of existing and new partnering and programmatic opportunities in Clermont County;
  • high levels of interdisciplinary and cross-program collaboration among the Clermont County office staff within Clermont County and throughout Ohio, and;
  • interactivity and strong working relationships with advisory committees, local officials, and other key community partners.

The position was designed to cultivate and increase knowledge and awareness of Extension Community Development program capacities among existing and potential Extension partners.

My office will be located within OSU Extension, on the Clermont County Fairgrounds and I can be reached at corboy.3@osu.edu or 513-732-7070. Please feel free to stop by and say “hi” or with your Community Development questions and programming opportunities. Thank you again for your warm welcome and I look forward to a long working relationship within the county and its communities!