This past week I attended the North Central Region Leadership Conference in Omaha for Extension professionals. At both the beginning and at the end of the conference, we as Extension educators, specialists and administrators recited the Extension Professionals Creed.

The creed is something I truly believe in – to help to provide education and resources for others. One stanza says, “I believe that education is a lifelong process and the greatest university is the home.”

As a leader in your community you may be asked to present a program to club meetings, civic groups or professional organizations.   At the bottom of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln website http://www.extension.unl.edu/ is a link to programs available that can be taught and learned in the home, or in an organization you belong to (http://www.extension.unl.edu/communityprograms). On the website you can find “leaders guides” to help you prepare the program; “participant guides” that are resources for the program participants; and even slides that you can show to help make the points you are talking about.

This week, May 5 – 9th, 2014, the National Cooperative Extension is celebrating the 100-year signing anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act, which officially created the national Cooperative Extension System. While celebrating Cooperative Extension’s rich heritage, the primary focus today is on contemporary programming to help address complex issues faced by individuals, families, youth, farmers, communities and businesses.

A glimpse at the http://www/extension.unl.edu will show some of the issues addressed. From apps for your mobile device to keep you informed, to in-depth research reports, the education provided by Extension is unbiased and research based.

You may be interested in watching the University of Illinois extension professionals recite the creed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T29nsJgJQKo – the Creed I believe in.