Eric Nieman representing the United Soybean Board addressed the group.

Jay Messley representing JM Marketing gave a short presentation. Following his presentation the group adjourned for a break, which was partially sponsored by a $100 donation from JM Marketing.

Following the break, the membership had the opportunity for a question and answer session.  The panel consisted of Mr. Fuller, Myron Stroup, Eric Nieman.  (Note: You will find the questions and answers printed else where in the newsletter.)

The meeting adjourned to the awards luncheon.  Following the luncheon Linda Richardson presented the awards for Sick Leave, Distinguished Service and Scholarship. 

Edwards County was the winner of the $100 drawing for 100% membership.  80 counties qualified for the drawing. 

The raffle prize winners were drawn.  The winners were:

Gas Grill – Alex Gleason (son of Marty & Jennifer Gleason)
Portable DVD Player – Jim Kiefer
KSU Basketball Tickets - Sue Reynolds
SWA Airline Tickets - Rosemary Pillar

Following the awards luncheon the meeting reconvened at 1:30 p.m. with Vice President, Sean Rafferty presiding.

Southwest Area Executive Myron Stroup brought greetings from the National Officers and reported on some of the issues that your NASCOE leadership is working on. 

Gale Beck reported to the Directors last January that this would be his last year for being newsletter editor.  Any person or persons interested in assuming the position of editor are urged to contact Darin.  Gale was presented with a plaque of appreciation for his 20 years of service to KASCOE as editor.

At the 2004 convention it was voted on that in support of NAFEC, KASCOE would buy a one year membership for one County Committee member in each county from the association funds.  A discussion was held concerning continuing this again this year.  After much discussion the final motion was that each district would pay for a one year membership for one County Committee in each county in their district from the district funds.  Motion carried.

Discussion was held about a 2^nd Edition of the KASCOE Cookbook.  It was indicated that Kitra Cooper had volunteered to look into the possibilities of making a new addition.  A motion was made and seconded for Kitra to move forward with this project.  Motion carried.

A discussion was held concerning the need for a State Programs Committee Chairperson.  The National Programs Committee is relatively new and was formed to take program inefficiency ideas, suggestions, and concerns, research them and see that they are forwarded to the appropriate section in WDC.  A motion was made and seconded that a Programs Committee Chairperson be appointed.  Motion carried.

The Kansas delegation made a bid to host the 2007 National Convention in Wichita at the National Convention held in Rapid City in July.  Kansas lost the bid to South Carolina.  A discussion was held as to whether Kansas should make a bid to host the convention in 2008.  A motion was made and seconded that Kansas should not pursue making a bid at this time.  Motion carried.

The group adjourned to a break sponsored by Cargill & Roberts Dairy.

Each committee chairperson and the secretary gave a brief oral report.  Detailed written reports were made available to the membership.

The membership discussed the length of future KASCOE Conventions.   Due to cost issues and family obligations it was thought that attendance might be better if the length of the future conventions were shortened by doing away with the Saturday night activities.  After much discussion the final motion was that future conventions begin on Friday to include the current activities offered during the day and the social gathering on Friday night and that the business meeting would be held on Saturday to adjourn no later than 3:00 p.m. Motion carried.

President Slack talked about the position that KASCOE is taking concerning FSA Tomorrow.  It is the consensus of the directors that the FSA tomorrow plan has some merit; however 29 offices is too aggressive. Anyone that does not agree with the position that KASCOE is taking is urged to contact their director.

Bids for the 2006 convention were presented.  Presentations were made for The Grand Prairie Hotel & Convention Center in Hutchinson, The Salina Holiday Inn in Salina and The Highland Manor in Great Bend.   The membership voted and Hutchinson will be the first choice for the site of the 2006 convention with Salina as second choice.  The proposals made were with the assumption that the convention would last through Sunday and contained language about minimum food and beverage requirements.  The membership directed the KASCOE directors to choose the final site after they were able to determine which site would be the most affordable.

Retiree Roger Lemmons informed the membership about the benefits of belonging to the NASCOE PAC.

The last item of business was the drawing for the Cap Wiz promotional computer. Brandon Wilson, CED in Osage County won the computer and Jana Carlson, PT in Cloud County won the $50.00 consolation prize.

There being no other new business the meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m. 

31 members and guests traveled to the China Inn for Dinner & a Mystery Theatre.

KASCOE would like to thank Mark Nieman, Earlene Jirik and the Shawnee County staff for doing an excellent job on hosting the convention.  A good time was had by all who attended.

Recording – Norma J. McConkey

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KASCOE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL MEETING

 The KASCOE Board of Directors meeting was held in Salina, Kansas at the Saline County FSA Office Conference Room on January 7, 2005.  LuAnn Callan called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.

 Those in attendance were:

A quorum was present to conduct KASCOE business. 

Outgoing president, LuAnn welcomed the new directors and reviewed the information that she handed out concerning travel, By-Laws and Labor-Management Relations Agreement

 LuAnn reviewed with the group the information that she had obtained from the Hyatt Regency Wichita, which is the proposed site chose to host the 2007 NASCOE Convention.  LuAnn agreed with help from Myron, Darin, Sean & Norma to finish the preparations for the bid proposal to the NASCOE Executive Committee due by April 1^st. 

 The election of officers was the first item of business.  Darin Slack was elected President.  Sean Rafferty was elected 1^st Vice President. Linda Richardson was elected 2^nd Vice President.  Norma McConkey was elected Secretary - Treasurer. 

 A treasurer’s report given by Norma shows a balance of $37,649.82 in the general fund and $6,103.05 in the KASCOE Scholarship Fund.  Norma reported that she is now paying NASCOE dues on quarterly basis for those members that have their dues withheld through payroll deduction.

 A discussion was held concerning the location of the KASCOE bank account.  Norma presented new account information that she had obtained from Commerce Bank which is located in Manhattan.  Norma made a request to transfer the accounts to Manhattan for convenience purposes.   The request was approved.

 Also discussed was the Scholarship fund.   Currently the Scholarship fund is in a CD and so transactions such as deposits or withdraws are not available.   Norma reported that the CD would be up for renewal at the end of January.  The Directors decided that the CD be transferred to either a savings account or to the checking account (earmarked as scholarship) so that the money may be used as it was intended. 

 Darin reviewed the NASCOE Awards & Scholarship timetable with the group.  He reported that the three State Distinguished Service Award winners from last year would be submitted to SW Area by February 1^st for judging.  It was decided that the deadline for submitting scholarship applications to the Kansas Awards chairperson would be February 10, 2005.  A motion was made and passed that beginning this year KASCOE would award $500 to the first place winner, $300 to the second place winner and $200 to the third place winner. 

  Myron reported that the Legislative Conference would be held from February 28 through March 2, 2005.  Representing Kansas will be Myron, Norma, Darin and Linda.  Myron also reported that he would be attending the Pre Negotiation Session at the end of January and the Negotiating Session with Management in May.

 Norma gave a membership report.   Kansas has 394 regular members and 70 associate members which is 90% for the state.  A motion was made and passed to continue the $100 drawing at the State Convention for those counties that had 100% membership and submitted their dues to their district treasurer by July 1.

 There was no report from Publicity & Emblems.

 The president than made the following committee appointments: PI&A – Linda Richardson (Chairperson), Sean Rafferty and Becky Cramer. Legislative & Benefits – Myron Stroup (Chairperson), Linda Richardson and Darin Slack. Membership – Becky Cramer (Chairperson) Norma McConkey and Jan Ramirez. Publicity & Emblems – John Hager (Chairperson) Jackie Koch.

 The State Convention Co-Chairs will be Mark Nieman and Earlene Jirik.  Members will be Norma McConkey and Myron Stroup.  The convention will be held at the Topeka Holiday Inn on October 15 & 16, 2005.  A convention planning meeting was tentatively scheduled for April 1^st.  Norma volunteered to contact Mark and Earlene to make arrangements for the meeting.

 Delegates to the South West Area Rally to be held April 29 – 30 at Oklahoma City, OK will be Darin and Norma. Other directors planning to attend are Sean, Linda, Jackie and Myron.  A motion was made and passed for KASCOE to pick up the expenses of Myron since he will be representing the SW Area.

 Delegates to attend the NASCOE Convention to be held July 27 - 30 at Rapid City, SD will be Darin and Norma.  A motion was made and passed for KASCOE to pick up the expenses of Myron since he will be representing the SW Area.  It was also decided that Gale Beck and any director and attending the convention would be given $250.00 to help cover their expenses with the agreement that they attend committee meetings and make a report back.

 Gale Beck met with the group to discuss newsletter costs, deadlines and lack of articles. Newsletter deadlines are the 10^th of each publication month.  Publication months are February, May, August, and November.  Gale also announced that this would be his last year as editor of the KASCOE newsletter.

 LuAnn has agreed to continue to be the Web Master for the KASCOE web site.  The Directors voted to authorize LuAnn to renew the Domain Name (kascoe.org) for a period of 9 years at a cost of $134.91.

Darin appointed Jackie and Sean to perform the annual audit of the treasurer’s books.

 A motion was made and passed to pay the $200.00 fee for the bonding of the secretary/treasurer when the bill is received.

 A motion was made and passed to purchase with funds from the KASCOE account 10 raffle tickets @ $10.00 per ticket to provide support to SDASCOE and the National Convention.

 There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.

 /s/ Norma McConkey, Secretary  

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October 15 – 16, 2004
Hays, Kansas
By: Norma McConkey, Secretary/Treasurer

The meeting convened promptly at 8:30 a.m. on October 16, 2004, with President, LuAnn Callan presiding.

Darin Slack, CED, Logan County gave the invocation.  The Color Presentation was made by the Hays Boy Scouts, and Rosemary Pillar, CED, Cherokee County sang the National Anthem.

Sunnell Koerner, Mayor of Hays welcomed KASCOE and their guests to Hays. 

President Callan conducted role call of Districts with resulted in the following:  District 1-7; District 2-24; District 3-2; District 4-7; District 5-2; District 6-4; District 7-6; District 8-9; District 9-0.

KASCOE District 7 Director, Velma Larimer presented the In Memoriam.

Doug Frago, DAFO addressed the group.  Mr. Frago indicated that this was his 3rd trip to Kansas and was pleased to once again be able to speak to the employees of Kansas.  The agency is currently under a continuing resolution that will carry us through November 20th.  The agency is going to be faced with the task of delivering programs in the field with fewer people.  The budget is somewhere between 24 to 45 million dollars short.  Major concerns with budgetary issues are:  office closures and consolidations, staffing and temp levels, modernization of programs, workload and the disaster bill.

Bill and Janice Fuller were present.  The association was honored that they chose to attend the convention in lieu of the K-State game in which their grandson was a starter.  Mr. Fuller gave a presentation on what Kansas FSA employees have contributed and accomplished in the last two years.  He complimented the employees for administrating a record number of programs.  There are 33 programs that the agency is responsible for and Kansas is actively participating in 30 of them.  Serving farmers and ranchers...that's our mission to the tune of $1.24 billion in payments and $369 million in loans.  He indicated that the 2005 budget for the state of Kansas is 10.2 billion dollars.  What this means is that we have made a contribution over a two year period which is about the same as the State of Kansas budget is for one year.  Workload calls for 146,826 paid work days.  The actual paid for workdays were 116,633 which means we are doing more with less and doing it well.

Mr. Fuller also reported that he had requested and been approved for 10 additional temporary employees for Kansas to help us survive the LDP activity.

Mr. Fuller's requested that employees provide input concerning the continuation of the Employee Appreciation Gifts system that was used this year in future years providing funds are available.

Daron Jamison from Congressman, Jerry Moran's office in Hays addressed the group.  On behalf of the Congressman he thanked us for the job that we do because ti makes their job very easy.  They understand the challenges that we are facing concerning staffing and budgetary restraints.  Congressman Moran did write a letter to the House Agriculture Committee about 4 months ago outlining some of his concerns about FSA staffing levels.  The Disaster bill passed congress earlier this week.  The details about how the program is going to be disbursed are not out yet, but all indications are that it will be handled very similar to the last disaster bill.

Gale Beck retired CED from Allen County explained the benefits of being a member of National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) and encouraged membership.

Jay Messley representing JM Marketing gave a short presentation on the new dental plan offered by JM Marketing and reminded everyone that the open season ended on the 31st of the month.  Following his presentation the group adjourned for a break, which was partially sponsored by a $100 donation from JM Marketing.

Following the break, the membership had the opportunity for a question and answer session.  The panel consisted of Mr. Frago, Mr. Fuller, and Daron Jamison.

The meeting adjourned to the awards luncheon.  Following the luncheon Darin Slack, PI&A Chairperson gave the criteria for each award and presented this years awards for Sick Leave, Distinguished Service and Scholarship.

66 counties qualified for the $100 drawing.  To be eligible for the drawing the counties must have paid their dues to the district treasurer by July 1, 2004 and have 100% membership.  Mr. Fuller did the honors and drew Miami County as the winner.

The raffle prize winners were drawn.  The winners were:
27" Flat Screen TV - Alex Gleason (son of Marty & Jennifer Gleason)
DVD/VCR Combo - Shelley Radcliff
$250 Cash - Denise King

Southwest Area Executive, Nicole Bell, reported that she had just returned from the NASCOE organizational meeting at the site of the 2005 convention in Rapid City, SD.  The organizational meeting is the time used to determine what the priorities are and what the plans are for the new year.  Many of the concerns from the past year are going to carry over.  Such as increasing the base line of employees for FSA, implementing the County Office employee adverse policy and procedures and continuing efforts to have management grant consideration toward PT reclassifications.  Other items include monitoring office consolidations and closures, the pace of eGov and how it affects our employees and employee performance plan evaluations.

New changes are coming on getting the membership involved and the way we are informed.  NASCOE newsletters will be reduced from 6 per year to 4 per year.  To avoid duplication each officer and exec will be assigned a specific topic that they will discuss.  Also, the membership will be enlisted to write articles.

The membership was encouraged to utilize the negotiation/consultation form.  The deadline is December 15th for submitting items.

Nicole gave a power point presentation on Capwiz.  Capwiz is a grassroots political actiton web site service.  The service has been purchased by NASCOE for a period of three years.  It is to be used as a conduit to all members who have registered bringing legislative information to their personal e-mail addresses.  It will also be an easy way for you to contact your congressional representatives with e-mails.  In some cases NASCOE will provide the letter for you.  To learn more go to the Capwiz link on the NASCOE web site.

A discussion was held concerning the National Association of Farmer Elected Committeepersons (NAFEC) and their struggle for membership.  A motion was made and seconded that KASCOE in support of NAFEC will buy one 1-year membership for one County Committee member in each Kansas county from t he association funds.  Motion carried.  A letter signed by the association president will be sent to the CED of each county in time for the organizational meetings in January.

A discussion was held concerning Kansas to be the host of the national convention for 2007 or 2008.  The last national convention held in Kansas was in 1998.  A motion was made and seconded that the KASCOE Directors pursue making a bid for the NASCOE convention for either 2007 or 2008.  Motion carried.

A discussion was held concerning the computer currently being used by the KASCOE secretary/treasurer.  The current computer is very outdated and needs to be upgraded.  A motion was made and seconded that the secretary/treasurer be allowed to purchase a new computer.  Motion carried.

Bids for the 2005 convention were presented.  Norma McConkey made a presentation on behalf of the Holiday Inn in Manhattan and Linda Morgan made a presentation for the Holiday Inn in Topeka.  The membership voted and Topeka will be the site for the 2005 KASCOE convention.  The dates for the 2005 convention are set for October 14  & 15, 2005.

Secretary/Treasurer, Norma McConkey gave the treasurers report.  A copy of that report can be found elsewhere in the newsletter.

Velma Larimer gave the membership report.  She reported that on July 1, 2004, Kansas had 444 county office employees.  Currently there are 391 regular members and 65 associate members.  Overall membership is as 88%.

To end the day, Myron Stroup gave a presentation on Team Building.

There being no other new business the meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

KASCOE would like to thank Linda Richardson, the Barton County staff and members of District #2 for doing a excellent job on hosting the convention.  A good time was had by all who attended.

/s/ Norma J. McConkey, Secretary

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JOINT ASSOCIATION MEETING

Representatives of the Kansas employee associations (KASCOE, KACS, and AFGE) met with SED, Bill Fuller on May 12, 2004 at the STO.

As of PP #8 Kansas has 21 temporaries on board.  Current CO funding projections indicate a shortage of $360,000 for payroll land $81,000 for travel.  A request has been made to Washington to move money from the non payroll allocation to payroll to meet our needs for the remainder of the fiscal year.  Mr. Fuller indicated that there are no travel restrictions at this time and that no RIF's would occur.  Due to budget, the remaining 2 PT sessions will most likely be held next fiscal year.

The awards committee met in Manhattan on May 5, to review award nominations submitted for the many dedicated FSA employees.  In support of the outstanding accomplishments of all FSA employees in 2004, Mr. Fuller has designated a portion of the awards allocations for a keepsake award for all permanent employees this fall.  The next meeting of the awards committee will be in August.

Kansas has gained 19 CO positions that will be available from other states.  Since these positions will not be available until the position is vacated in another state, it is unlikely that they will be available anytime in the near future.  The following were suggestions made and are being considered by Mr. Fuller for filling the 19 positions:

No definite decision for filling the vacant positions has been made at this time.

The next joint meeting will be held at the STO on November 10th.

KASCOE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL MEETING

 The KASCOE Board of Directors’ meeting was held in Manhattan, Kansas at the Riley County FSA Office Conference Room on January 9, 2004.  Velma Larimer called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

 Those in attendance were:

 A quorum was present to conduct KASCOE business.

 A treasurer’s report was given by Norma, which shows a balance of $59,158.17 in the general fund and $6,012.11 in the KASCOE Scholarship Fund.  Norma reported that the balance after paying NASCOE dues would be $42,738.17.

 Norma requested that she be authorized to contact an accountant concerning the filing of Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.  She reported that she continues to receive correspondences from IRS concerning the filing of this form. 

 LuAnn reviewed the Scholarship timetable with the group.  A motion was made and passed to expand the eligibility for the KASCOE scholarship to include any associate member, member’s spouse, member’s child or member’s legal dependent who has been a member for 5 consecutive years.  LuAnn reported that she only received one nomination for Service to Community last year.  She indicated that she could send previous year nominations for Service to Agriculture and Service to NASCOE/KASCOE to the SW area for judging.

 Myron reported that he would be one of five persons from the SW area attending a mini Legislative Conference in Washington DC, March 7-10, 2004.  He indicated that they would be focusing on budget, benefits and RMA data sharing.  He indicated that new appointments for SW Area chairs were as follows: Benefits – Kent Jorgenson; Scholarship – Mary Mauly; and Awards – Kevin Dale.

 There was no report from Publicity & Emblems.

 Cleo Smidt provided a membership report.  Kansas has 378 regular members and 64 associate members.    It was brought to the attention of the directors that the Constitution and By-Laws indicates that the dues of the membership shall be as outlined on the attached Exhibit 1 of the By-Laws.  However, there is no exhibit 1.    A motion was made and seconded that a new Exhibit 1 be made and presented to the membership at the state convention for adoption.   

 The election of officers was the next item of business.  LuAnn Callan was elected President.  Cleo Smidt will serve as 1^st Vice President and Darin Slack as 2^nd Vice President.  Norma McConkey was elected as Secretary/Treasurer. 

The president then made the following committee appointments: PI& A – Darin Slack (Chairperson), Jennifer Sensley and Linda Richardson. Legislative & Benefits – Myron Stroup (Legislative Chairperson), Linda Richardson (Benefits Chairperson) and Darin Slack. Membership – Velma Larimer (Chairperson) Norma McConkey and Cleo Smidt. Publicity & Emblems – John Hager (Chairperson) Cleo Smidt, Jennifer Sensley and LuAnn Callan.

 Delegates to the All South Area Rally to be held March 11-13 at New Orleans, LA will be LuAnn and Norma.  A motion was made and passed for KASCOE to pick up the expenses of Myron and Cleo since they will be representing the SW Area.

 Delegates to attend the NASCOE Convention to be held July 28 - 31 at Baltimore, MD will be LuAnn and Norma.  A motion was made and passed for KASCOE to pick up the expenses of Myron and Cleo since they will be representing the SW Area.  It was also decided that Gale Beck and any director and attending the convention would be given $250.00 to help cover their expenses with the agreement that they attend committee meetings and make a report back.

 The Kansas State Convention was discussed.  Co-Chairs for the event will be Linda Richardson and Cleo Smidt.  Members will be Norma McConkey and Velma Larimer.  The dates and location are being worked on.  The 1^st choice location is Hays and the 2^nd choice is Great Bend.  1^st choice convention dates are October 1 – 3; 2^nd choice is October 8 – 10; and 3^rd choice is September 24-25.

 Gale Beck met with the group to discuss newsletter deadlines. Newsletter deadlines are the 10^th of each publication month.  Publication months are February, May, August, and November.

LuAnn and Darin performed the annual audit of the treasurer’s books.

 A motion was made and passed to pay the $200.00 fee for the bonding of the secretary/treasurer when the bill is received.

 A motion was made and passed to purchase 10 raffle tickets @ $10.00 per ticket to provide support to LASCOE and the all South Rally.

 A discussion was held concerning director phone cards.  Norma reported that she had cancelled the account for the phone cards and that if anyone still had one, that they should destroy it. 

 A discussion was held concerning Notice PM-379, Pilot Flexi Place Program for STO.  LuAnn is going to write a letter to Bill Fuller indicating KASCOE support of the program. 

 A discussion was held concerning recognizing employees who donate leave to other eligible employees.  Darin is going to do some research on ways that this could be accomplished.

 There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.

 /s/ Norma McConkey, Secretary

KASCOE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL MEETING

The KASCOE Board of Directors’ meeting was held in Manhattan, Kansas at the Fairfield Inn on January 31, 2003. Velma Larimer called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.

Those in attendance were:

A quorum was present to conduct KASCOE business.

A treasurer’s report was given by Norma, which shows a balance of $45,134.50 in the general fund and $5,912.70 in the KASCOE Scholarship Fund.

A motion was made and passed to move $5,000.00 from the general fund to the scholarship fund if the secretary determined that the interest paid by the scholarship fund was more than the general fund.

LuAnn reported that February 15 was the deadline to submit scholarship applications to her.

Myron expressed his appreciation to KASCOE and the Directors for the financial support he has received to attend NASCOE functions representing the SW Area. He reported that he would be attending the Legislative Conference in Washington DC, February 23-26, 2003 representing the SW Area. Delegates representing Kansas will be Velma and Norma. NASCOE encouraged each state to also invite a farmer delegate however; the person that Myron had lined up has backed out. Myron indicated that Ina Selfridge from Burdett representing the WIFE organization will be in attendance at the Conference and has been invited to participate in the Kansas congressional visits.

Cleo Smidt provided a membership report. Kansas has 376 regular members and 71 associate members. She indicated that she would be sending each non-member in the state a letter inviting him or her to join.

The election of officers was the next item of business. Velma Larimer was elected President. Lisa Hall will serve as 1^st Vice President and Myron Stroup as 2^nd Vice President. Norma McConkey was elected as Secretary/Treasurer.

The president than made the following committee appointments: PI& A – LuAnn Callan (Chairperson), Jennifer Sensley and Lisa Hall. Legislative & Benefits – Myron Stroup (Legislative Chairperson), Linda Richardson (Benefits Chairperson) and Darin Slack. Membership – Cleo Smidt (Chairperson) Norma McConkey and LuAnn Callan. Publicity & Emblems – Lisa Hall (Chairperson) Linda Richardson and Darin Slack.

Kansas will be the host of the SW Area Rally on May 16 - 17, 2003 at the Holiday Inn Express in Wichita. All directors will be delegates to the rally. It was determined that the State Convention this year would be held in conjunction with the SW Area Rally. State business will be held on the morning of May 16^th.

Delegates to attend the NASCOE Convention from July 23-26, 2003 at Salt Lake City, Utah will be Velma and Norma. A motion was made and passed for KASCOE to pick up the expenses of Myron and Cleo since they will be representing the SW Area. It was also decided that any director attending the convention would be given $250.00 to help cover their expenses with the agreement that they attend committee meetings and make a report back.

Gale Beck met with the group to discuss newsletter deadlines. He indicated that the annual cost of the mail permit had increased to $150.00 per year. For 2003 the newsletter will be printed in March, June, September and November.

Velma appointed Myron & LuAnn to perform the annual audit of the treasurer’s books.

A motion was made and passed to pay the $200.00 fee for the bonding of the secretary/treasurer.

A motion was made and passed to purchase 25 raffle tickets @ $10.00 per ticket to provide support to UASCOE and the National Convention.

A discussion was held concerning director phone cards. It was determined that due to e-mail phone cards were no longer necessary. All directors were instructed to destroy the cards. If long distances charges are incurred, bills will be submitted to the treasurer for reimbursement.

Velma reported that KACS Representatives, AFGE Representatives and Myron, LuAnn, Norma and herself representing KASCOE will meet with the SED at their quarterly meeting on Wednesday, February 5^th.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

/s/ Norma McConkey, Secretary

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October 25 – 26, 2002
Wichita, Kansas
By: Norma McConkey, Secretary/Treasurer

The meeting convened promptly at 8:30 a.m. on October 26, 2002 Velma Larimer, KASCOE President welcomed all in attendance and made introductions of those special guest including, Doug Frago, Executive Director of State Operations, Bill Fuller, SED, Susan Roenbaugh, State Committee, Charlotte Saunders, NASCOE Secretary/Treasurer, Herb Sorely, Southwest Area Executive.

Vivian Rogers, PT, Sedgwick County gave the invocation. The Color Presentation was made by Cub Scout, Josh Jenkins and Pam Bain, PT, Cowley County sang the National Anthem.

John Rolfe of the Wichita Convention Bureau welcomed KASCOE and their guests to Wichita.

Doug Frago is concerned for the safety of all employees and explained the need for the recent request of SEDs, DDs and CEDs home and cell phone numbers. He explained that FSA employees are on the front line and in case of an emergency situation he wants to be able make contact if necessary during non working hours.

Mr. Frago agrees that we should all be under one personnel system. He further stated that we can be different but we are all under the same umbrella and its time to realize that we are one organization and that we need to function that way.

Employee slots over the last 7 years have decrease while the responsibilities of the employee’s left have increased. He defined SLOTS as enough money to support a person for 12 months and indicated that each state has the freedom to determine how they use the slots.

He thought that we would have the $60 million that was approved for additional employees by now and is hoping that some of it is for permanent employees. He explained that everyone in the agency knows of the need for permanent employees but that if we think we are going to get 1000 permanent positions we are fooling ourselves. He went on to say "that FSA and Doug Frago support an increase in permanent employees".

Redistribution and adjustments of personnel based on the latest workload will be made in sometime in December.

Mr. Frago was asked if he thought that there would be a "Buy Out" offered in the near future. His response was since we are already short handed and asking for people he would be surprised if one were offered.

Jim Mace of J.M. Marketing gave a short report and announced that J.M. Marketing is now offering a new Pre Paid Legal Plan. He reminded the group that associate members of KASCOE are also eligible for benefits and encouraged temporary employees to become associate members. Following his presentation the group adjourned for a break, which was partially sponsored by J.M. Marketing.

Mr. Fuller spoke of the changes that have taken place in the last year and a half such as increasing the size of the State Committee from 3 members to 5 members; the district tours that the State Committee attended; the Farm Bill Leadership Forum and the new State Fair display.

Another thing that Mr. Fuller is doing is trying to match staffing with the work. He realizes that workload numbers don’t tell the whole story and when moving people around he is only doing so through attrition. He is allowing the county committee and CEDs to provide input about situations that don’t show up on workload before making decisions as to whether to fill a vacant position.

Another positive change that has been made is the way that district director meeting are being held. Full DD conferences are now held only 4 times per year. 4 DD day meeting have been added and he also holds a conference call with the DDs on biweekly basis.

Space guidelines have been changed to increase the 150 square foot per person by an additional 10 percent and to allow 1 additional workstation for temporary employees.

Mr. Fuller is pleased that Kansas was allocated the fourth most number of temporaries in nation. He realizes that to get the job done that we need permanent employees.

Mr. Fuller announced resources were again available this year to provide each permanent employee with a gift of appreciation.

Susan Roenbaugh expressed her appreciation for the invitation to the convention. She indicated that Kansas had a good State Committee and that they all work well together.

She has a great admiration for all FSA employees and the work we do. She thanked us for the time, effort, knowledge and dedication to helping farmers everywhere in the state to improve their lively hood.

The meeting adjourned to the awards luncheon. Following the luncheon LuAnn Callan, PI&A Chairperson presented awards for Sick Leave, Professional Improvement, Distinguished Service and Scholarship.

The raffle prizewinners were also drawn. The winners were:

Airline tickets – Marty Schwintz
DVD/VCR – Keith Tilley.
TV/VCR Combo – Bill Harmon
Mug of Cash – Karen Hiatt

Following lunch Charolette Saunders, NASCOE Secretary/Treasurer addressed the group. She brings greetings from the other NASCOE officers. She indicated that NASCOE’s position has always been that we need to be one FSA. We are all different but so many things are the same. Each one of us that works for FSA still loves and respects the greatest group of people in the whole wide world and that’s the farmers that give us the cheapest best food supply in the world. That is where we are all alike.

Charolette gave a brief update on what our NASCOE leadership has been doing since national convention this summer. They have attended the organizational meeting in Salt Lake City; had a presence at the Oklahoma, Michigan & Ohio State conventions; will have a presence at the upcoming national WIFE convention; going to DC next week to follow up with the negotiating session and are going to have a national legislative committee meeting in St. Louis the middle of November.

Charolette talked a little about the budget. Since 1996 FSA has lost almost 4000 permanent employees. One of the main purposes of the legislative trip was to discuss with congress the $60 million budget amendment that was requested by President Bush specifically for FSA to administer the new farm bill. NASCOE’s request was that this money would go to permanent staffing at the county level. The workload numbers do support a permanent staffing increase of 1700 full time county office employees. NASCOE fears that when congress re adjourns that they will be looking at the 2004 budget and comparing it with the 2002 budget instead of the 2003 budget. Timing is a very important issue in the whole process.

She talked about classification of CED positions. Charolette indicated that NASCOE has been assured that the only time a position will be reclassified or down graded is when a vacancy occurs. They are now back at working at PT classification and are trying to get them in line with the GS system so that we can become one. When classifying positions they look at knowledge, skills and abilities. She indicated that volume is not a classification factor. They have submitted rewritten position descriptions with more updated information about what a PT actually does. NASCOE has hired a lawyer, Paul Kats. Mr. Kats has reviewed the descriptions and is of the opinion that we have some grade 7, 8, 9 and 11 PTs.

Charolette talked about membership. She indicated that approximately 9000 people across the nation are represented by NASCOE. NASCOE dues cost just 10 cents per day. Last year 83% of our people were dues paying members.

Southwest Area Executive, Herb Sorely spoke of the leadership that he sees in FSA employees. And because of that leadership how we have been named the "Can Do Agency". When it comes to FSA as a whole he can safely say that any State in this nation is the best of the best. We have had a lot of change in the last two years. Herb says that we are going to have to learn to work smarter. Do your job, do it well but make sure you don’t cut yourself or your family short.

In closing Herb indicated that NASCOE was our organization and that it was up to us to remember it’s a two way street. Not just what has NASCOE done for me, but what have I done for NASCOE. He asked that those present take home the message that FSA employees are the most important people that this nation has to deliver farm programs.

KASCOE president, Velma Larimer thanked the KASCOE directors for there help and support. She gave her report on commitment to the agency and believing in what we do. She thanked us for allowing her to be our president and to tell us that it is an honor to represent the employees of Kansas. She encouraged communication and urged employees to contact her with their concerns.

Secretary/Treasurer, Norma McConkey gave the Treasures report. A copy of that report can be found following the minutes.

Lisa Hall gave a report on publicity and emblems. Lisa encouraged everyone to submit articles to Gale Beck for the newsletter. Lisa announced that KASCOE now had a website that was put together by LuAnn Callan. Lisa reported that our cookbook inventory has pretty much been depleted. She indicated that NASCOE is in the process of going to a storefront concept instead of keeping emblems in stock and most of their present inventory is being sold at reduced prices. You can place an order for these emblems off the NASCOE website. Lisa had KASCOE shirts made for the directors to wear at the convention. If anyone is interested in purchasing a shirt there will be an order form on the KASCOE website.

Cleo Smidt gave the membership report. She reported that we currently had 378 members and 63 associate members. Overall membership was at 83%.

LuAnn Callan gave the PI&A report. She provided all those present with a handout, which provided information about each type of award available and instruction on how to nominate members for awards. The nomination forms are available on the KASCOE website. LuAnn also indicated that KASCOE has a small library of self-improvement materials available to be checked out. A list of the materials is also posted on the website.

Myron Stroup gave the legislative report. He spoke about Notice CONOP-14 that came out this summer that changed the way the EQIP program was administered. He indicated that was a surprise to NASCOE and that it was one of the hot topics at the national convention. NASCOE has pointed out some of the problems that this notice has created to Mr. Little.

Myron also spoke about what we can do about our current staffing problem. He indicated that we need to do a better job on getting the message out to our local coalition groups about the problems FSA is having administering the new farm bill without sufficient staffing. He also encouraged all employees to join NAFAC.

Myron reported that there would be a full-blown legislative conference in DC in March 2003. He also reported that Kansas will host the SW Area Rally in Wichita in May of 2003 and encouraged attendance.

Myron believes that we are to blame for the staffing problem that we currently have. He indicated that the time has come that we step back and re access our properties. We need to start doing an honest day of work for an honest day of pay and go home to our families. We’ll still get the job done its just going to take a little longer.

There being no other new business the meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

KASCOE would like to thank Rick Case, the Sedgwick County staff and members of district #7 for doing an excellent job on hosting the convention. A good time was had by all who atte