Community
A Letter from the President;
I have been proud to serve on the Board of Directors of Cornell Cooperative Extension-Schuyler County (CCESC) for a number of years, and this past year as President. I thank our excellent staff and our countless volunteers for their hard work in making 2015 a very productive and successful year. I also want to thank our immediate past Executive Director, Danielle Hautaniemi for her dedicated service to our association, first in the role of providing County Planning services and finally as our Executive Director. She accepted a position as a Specialist in Extension Administration at Cornell beginning October 1st. We also have said goodbye to Sue Larson, a valued administrative assistant for 15 years as she recently accepted the position of Executive Director of RSVP. We will miss both Danielle and Sue, and we wish them well. With Danielle’s departure, we are faced with recruiting a new Executive Director. The process takes time, and as we proceed, we do so knowing the Association is in good hands. Melissa Schroeder has accepted the position of Interim Executive Director. She will also be performing many of her program leadership functions while leading the organization. Mel is doing an excellent job and we appreciate her energy and knowledge.
The energy of a knowledgeable, productive staff and the support of a large group of dedicated volunteers provide two of the four cornerstones of this dynamic educational organization. Cornell University as well as numerous associated land grant universities nationwide, provide the third cornerstone, which is research based knowledge used to formulate meaningful programs for county residents. Cornell Extension Administration also provides considerable administrative assistance to CCESC, The fourth cornerstone is made up of County, State and Federal government support. Through their budget process, the Schuyler County Legislature provides base funding for CCESC. This base funding is the leverage which helps us acquire New York State County Law 224 funding and Federal Smith-Lever funding. We are always grateful for the support of our government entities, for they provide a large percentage of our operating funds. The balance of our funds come from special projects and specific program grants. Finally, the residents of Schuyler County, and other surrounding counties which our programs touch, provide the reason for continuing an educational partnership that will celebrate its 100th year in service on 2017. The system has worked well for 10 decades, and will continue to do so.
Dick Peterson, President
Schuyler County Cornell Cooperative Extension