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