Select Page

September 28, 2021 agInnovation South Fall Meeting Minutes

agInnovation South Fall 2021 Meeting Notes Tuesday,
September 28, 2021
(PDF of notes plus all Power Point Presentations and agenda briefs)

Participants:  In person: JF Meullenet- AR, Rob Gilbert- FL, Scott Sensman- OK, David Monks- NC, Nathan McKinney- AR, Keith Cobel- MS, Susan Duncan- VA, Lesley Oliver- KY.
Via Zoom: Mike Salassi- LA, David White- TN, Tom Zimmerman- VI, Loren Fisher- NC, Said Mostaghimi- VA, Randy Raper- OK, James Matthews- KY, Wes Burger- MS, Henry Fadamiro- TX, John Davis- FL, Michael Toews- GA, Damian Adams- FL,
Executive Director’s Office:  Gary Thompson & Cindy Morley
Other guests: Kevin Kephart, NIFA; Gary Jackson, ASRED; John Greed, SRDC;  Frankie Gould, LSU; Dr. Carrie Castille, NIFA Director; William Hoffman, Chief of Staff; Faith Peppers, Director of Communications

Action Items
1 Agenda- Approved
Spring Meeting Minutes- Approved
Interim Actions- Approved
2 MRC- New MRC and AA Procedures developed by agInnovation South Office
Two members of the SERA Review Committee will serve on the MRC
3  By-Laws Revision- Approved (11-0)
8 Nominating Committee Report:
Lesley Oliver Elected as Executive Committee Member-at-large
Paula Agudelo Elected as agInnovation South Chair-elect
 
Item Agenda Item – Presenter
1 Welcome and Introductions – Jean-Francois Meullenet

  • Approval of Fall Meeting Agenda
  • Spring Meeting Minutes
  • Interim Actions Fall 2021
  • Introduction of new COOs
    • Scott Senseman- Oklahoma State University
    • Jamie Matthew- University of Kentucky
    • Keith Coble- Mississippi State University (Interim)
    • Arthur Appel- Auburn University (Interim)
    • Tom Zimmerman- University of the Virgin Islands (Interim)
2 SERA Review Committee Report – David Monks

  • Recommendations, Discussion
    • SERA-47 – (Approved) Strengthening the Southern Region Extension and Research System to Support Local & Regional Foods Needs and Priorities

Multistate Research Committee Report –Nathan McKinney

  • MRC Report
    • Projects Approved
      • S-1069 – Research and Extension for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Applications in U.S. Agriculture and Natural Resources
      • S-1090 – AI in Agroecosystems: Big Data and Smart Technology-Driven Sustainable Production
  • MRC Procedural Changes– See procedure document for full changes.  (Power Point Presentation)
    • Membership increase to 5 members (consistent with policies already in place)
      • 2 members of the SERA Review Committee will make up the two new members.
    • The MRC will now meet 4 times per year going forward and minutes from the meetings will be taken and posted on the website.
    • The MRC will now conduct mid-term reviews of those projects that are ready for them.
    • There is now a concise timeline that is standardized across all projects.
  • New  Administrative Advisor Procedures created and shared with the membership
3 agInnovation South By-laws Revisions – Gary Thompson

  • Presentation, Discussion & Motion for approval
  • agInnovation South Rules of Operation Proposal ( New “Rules of Operation”) – Power Point  Presentation for highlights of changes
    • Revised entirety of document to remove redundancy and remove references to documents that no longer exist.
    • Clarified membership and defined regular meetings
    • Clarified Officer positions
      • Defined the Executive Committee “Member at large” to be elected from the Non-COO members of the association and will serve as their representative.
    • Defined the Standing committees and charged the MRC to be the “quality assurance mechanism for the Multistate Research Portfolio”
    • Changed the name of the document from “By-laws” to “Rules of Operation”
4 Updates
5 Strategic Roadmap Implementation – Implementation Team

  • Annual Action Plan Proposal presented by the Strategic Implementation Steering Committee members (Power Point Presentation).
    • Collaborative Discovery- David White & Henry Fadamiro
    • Enhancing Reputation- Michael Toews & John Davis
    • Strategic Alliances- Susan Duncan & Gary Thompson
    • Effective Communications- Frankie Gould & Cindy Morley
6 NIFA Leadership Visit – Dr. Carrie Castille, NIFA Director, William Hoffman, Chief of Staff, Faith Peppers, Director of Communications

  • Joined our meeting to share successes and gather feedback
  • Stressed NIFA’s commitment to partnership building & nurturing and their willingness to listen to needs.
  • Recognized the uniqueness of each region and the need to consider geographic innovations.
  • Successes shared:
    • 50 new staff goal-surpassed.
    • Workforce looks like the people they serve.
    • Providing needed leadership.
  • NIFA is “Your Organization” and would like to hear from you.
  • They understand the need to get $$ out the door fast and they have increased the speed that they are doing that.
  • Asked how do we help brand capacity that emphasizes the input you have?  Data.
  • Asked what are things that we need to work on collectively?
  • Emphasized that they are happy to support what we are working on.
7 Resolutions Committee Report – Lesley Oliver
8 Nominating Committee Report – Robert Gilbert

  • Executive Committee Member-at-large
    • Leslie Oliver nominated and elected
  • agInnovation South Chair-elect
    • Paula Agudelo nominated and elected
9 Passing of the Gavel – Jean-Francois Meullenet
Adjourn