The progressive city of Savannah, Georgia provided the ideal backdrop for the 2001 Joint Southern Region Program Committee Meeting. Extension's Associate Director Chinella Henderson and State Program Leader Jannie Carter, represented UANNP at the annual event on August 26-29, 2001. This year's theme was Building Quality Communities of TomorrowToday!!! Other ACES staff in attendance were Lavern Blount, Jonathan Davis, Rebecca Dollman, Molly Gregg, Martha Johnson, Arlie Powell, Ray Rice, Harry Strawn, Clarene Teague-Johnson, Paul Waddy and Carol Whatley.
Frances Hesselbein, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation, delivered the opening address at the first general session. Other general session activities included a discussion on How Extension Has Built Quality Communities with panelists Margaret Hale, Texas A&M University; Rosalie Bivin, Louisiana State University; and Oscar Butler, South Carolina State University. William C. Parker, president of Parker & Parker Associates, a human resource development consulting firm in Lexington Kentucky, lead a lively interactive exchange at the second general session entitled Tolerance: The Critical Role of Leadership.
The regional committee meeting sponsored by the Southern Rural Development Center, provides excellent opportunities for Extension professionals to communicate, network and collaborate on topics of general interest to all states in the region. The meeting also functions as an excellent vehicle for coordinating multi-state program goals, activities and agreements. Mid-level managers left the event fueled with new information and approaches to building leaders, engaging partners and sustaining organizations.