Best Practices to strengthen relationships with county commissioners
* Do your job and do it well ; do more than expected
* Provide lunch for commissioners to thank them
* Involve them as 4-H judges
* Invite them to programs
* Be at their special interest activities
* Be seen in the community
* Top winners of Tropicana present at commission meeting
* Program at a commissioner’s ranch
* Newspaper, TV, radio media
* County employee website/newsletter
* Look over their bios to determine interests
* Maybe ask their opinion – 2-edged sword
* Get them involved in your operation
* Email commissioners pictures
* Be seen and involved in your community
* Know everything about the commissioners, volunteer and their families
* It’s all about relationships
* Personal relationships with commissioners, find ways to interact in social situations (church, rotary, etc.)
* Staff and faculty live in commission districts – can create “adopt a commissioner” program
* Host department head retreat and programs that cut across disciplines
* Identify volunteers, partners, customers, etc. who are willing to go to commission meetings and make public statements during “public input” time, e.g., 3-minutestatement that starts with “thank you for supporting the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service her in ______ County. Let me tell you about how the _______ program has impacted my (family, business, farm, etc.)
* Link county Extension website to Main County homepage and/or every County department
* Tie program titles and marketing to hot topics for county, e.g., sustainable community development, quality of life, etc.
* Don’t avoid controversial issues or programs. If you can find a role to play as a neutral facilitator or moderator, host these events at your facility.
* Host public input/ community forums on same topics
* Send newsletters to all elected officials
* Invite to farm tours
* Water institute program for decision-makers
* NPDES
* Be at BOCC meetings (strategically)
* Thank you and annual report with IFAS Extension calendar
* Gator pins
* Send program announcements
* Invitations to award events, ground-breaking, retirements, etc.
* Serve as 4-H judges
* Recognize master gardener awards, livestock judging teams, etc. at BOCC meetings
* Volunteers
* Annual and monthly reports
* High impact programming
o Create visibility
o Related to priorities
o Issue-based
* Media usage
* Report impacts in terms of $ generated, saved, grants received, etc.
* Find folks who can approach BOCC on a personal level
* Civic roundtable type groups (e.g., HOA)
* Serving on county committees
* Bring agenda items before the board, “face time” at commission meetings
* Identify special interests of each CC
* CC attendance at Extension activities/events
* Make fact sheets more related to county
* Overall committee members assigned to commissioners to meet one on one to discuss Extension issues
* Newsletter lists that include commissioners and legislators
* Department head meetings/retreats
* Annual “feel good” presentations to BOCC
* Need to be careful when incorporating volunteers
* PIO relationship
* Face to face
* Mass media including electronic
* Through stakeholders advising at mutual functions – networking
* Thank you
o After budget from Larry and DED
o 4-H/ volunteers
* Invitation to special events
o Judging/ speaking
* Serving on boards/ county committees
* Walk the halls
o What can Extension do for you
* Invite to Extension facility
* Recognition programs
* Facilitate/ host county meetings
* Agriculture impact statements
* Cost comparisons
* Calendar of events/ pictures/ etc.
* Proclamations for everything
* Key advisors lobby on our behalf
* Annual legislative togetherness meeting
* Announce awards/ publicize them
* County newsletter – program success stories
* Involve in programs – always introduce
* Free peanuts
* Serve as judges – speech contest
* Encourage involvement in FAC training
* News coverage
* Government access television
* Clients communicate
* Doing projects they want you to do
* One page report – highlights
* Annual awards and appreciation dinner; 30 minutes in program for each agent to present
* Use volunteers/ users of programs to contact decision-makers
* Newspaper columns
* Commission agenda’s – proclamations
* All newsletters are sent
* Never surprise them
* New board member orientation
* Take them hunting and fishing
* Boiled peanuts
* Ask them what they need
* Stay under the radar – if controversial