National Chair: Richard Csutoras, Pennsylvania

National Association of FSA County Office Employees

Programs Committee

National Chair: Richard Csutoras, Pennsylvania

Midwest Area: Wayne Stickler, MI

Northeast Area: Dan Smeal, Pennsylvania

Northwest Area: Jennifer Dutton, Wyoming

Southeast Area: Dana McKinney, Kentucky

Southwest Area: LaCresha Dale, Texas

2015 Organizational Meeting Report

Activities since Convention

The Programs Committee has received 7 submissions so far this year. These are either waiting on WDC or online submissions getting prepped to go to the area chairs. There are 17 submission from last year that never received a response from WDC. These will be resent to Area Chairs to see if they are still relevant and should be resubmitted.

The Q&A from the breakout session has been prepared and is attached to this report. A courtesy copy was sent to all the panelists at the breakout on September 8th and no comments were received. If the Exec Committee has no concerns with the Q&A then it will be shared with the membership following the conclusion of the Organizational Meeting.

Attending the ARCPLC National Training as a State Trainer last year helped me be better prepared for membership questions dealing with that program. This year I will have the opportunity to attend the CRP training in Denver. This should provide me with a better understanding of the CRP, BCAP, and ECP programs in order to better handle related submissions. I also expect to have the opportunity to promote NASCOE and the Programs Committee.

Proposal for the Upcoming Year

As was noted in the Programs Committee Convention report, many of the committee’s successes come as a result of relationships built with WDC specialists. The Negotiations visit was very beneficial to building and growing these relationships and I would like to continue to have permission to travel and attend these meetings and be permitted to visit with specialists. In addition to this, believe that additional visits to allow face to face visits with WDC specialists would help enhance these relationships and continue to build on the successes the committee has seen. I would further suggest that, if funds allow, I be allowed to invite an area chair or other aspiring member on these visits. This would facilitate better discussions and potentially allow for smoother Chair succession in the future.

Membership Support

In order to support the association’s goal of focusing on membership growth, I intend to encourage my Area Chairs, and in turn the State Chairs, to work with their membership counterparts to help educate current and potential members about the opportunities that the programs committee provide to help address real concerns in the field. As the National Chair, I plan to highlight key “wins” throughout the year and forward them to membership to help show how NASCOE is benefiting all employees.

Goals for the Upcoming Year

·  Continue to improve the submission process. As this year progressed I felt more organized and better able to handle the various methods that members use to suggest improvements or vent concerns. I want to continue tweaking this process to speed it up and make it more transparent. The online submission form remains a useful tool for the membership but I still need to work with Deb to figure out the best method for easily identifying when a submission has been received and then preparing the submission for review.

·  Review the way program responses are posted to the website. This was my biggest area of weakness over the last year. When a response is received from WDC, the submitter is always immediately notified. However, the response has not been consistently or timely posted to the website for all members to view. This is entirely my fault and I fully intend to correct it so the Executive Committee and membership see a marked improvement in the coming year. I did revamp the topics and the numbering system for responses this year.

·  Continue to establish and build relationships with the National Office Specialists. It can be challenging to keep track of who handles what in WDC/KC. It is an ongoing process to keep track of everyone’s responsibilities and ensure I am reaching out to them as appropriate. The above proposal will help facilitate this.

·  And still #1, continue to work submissions and get valid, timely, and useful answers for our membership. As we move past the hectic rush of implementation for new programs and software and into routine administration, I expect we’ll continue to receive a substantial amount of suggestions and concerns. This committee is a real opportunity to provide a timely and often practical service for our members, and in turn our producers, and we’ll continue to work to not only maintain that service but improve it over the coming year.