What a whirlwind of a week. Over two weekends while people were trying to get into the portal to get documents for search committees, prepare for the Peer Review Committee meeting this week or otherwise access information on the ANR website our IT team was burning the midnight oil. They spent much of the weekend and early part of the week switching out some of our antiquated servers and then trouble shooting since the old and new pieces weren't talking with one another. THANK YOU Sree Mada, Jaki Hsieh Wojan and their teams who figured it all out so we could access all we need! Rest assured when we're having a challenge getting to web pages this group is trying to make things better.
Last Tuesday was Ag Day at the Capitol. UC ANR was there with 4-H, Master Gardeners, the VINE and a great citrus/avocado setup. The rain was minimal during setup and then the heaven opened. It rained and it poured. Our assembly and senate members walked through the crowd and popped under the tent to get out of the elements. Anne Megaro did a great job greeting our elected officials. Strategic Communications were out in full force with Miguel Sanchez, Ethan Ireland and Ricardo Vela with cameras and Pam Kan-Rice doing interviews. Dora Garay was on social media with the quickest thumbs around. Mike Hse, Linda Forbes, Evette Kilmartin and Lara Schroder greeted visitors in the booth and shared oranges or mandarins (thank you Ashraf El Kereamy and Lindcove REC) or talked about avocados (thank you Darren Haver and South Coast REC). The 4-Hers were wonderful! They had goats and rabbits which were crowd pleasers and did many interviews and discussions with elected officials. The VINE robot drew crowds. Numerous others helped make the day fabulous. Thank you all for your incredible energy, excitement and commitment on a very rainy day!
Speaking of rain, the number of people and animals in CA displaced by our winter weather continues to climb. ANR Advisors and CES will be helping people as they work through options. Emergency preparedness for livestock and humans is a must this winter. The amount of standing water on fields is bound to impair crop harvests. Not to mention some late season cold temperatures this week. That old saying "when it rains it pours" is definitely true this year.
Last Wednesday we held Administrative Orientation in the Valley Rooms. What excitement to see so many new members of the ANR family. A big shout out to Human Resources and Program Support Unit for all their efforts to make the day enjoyable and memorable. Many tables were set up for people to meet and greet members working in different units. It was fun and informative! Speaking of new people, eight new Community Education Specialists started in February: Roxana Price, Riverside; Alfonso Mota, Central Sierra Nevada; Hannah Meyer, Nevada Placer; Kenia Estrada and Jo Reynolds, Sutter/Yuba; Elizabeth Reikowski, Statewide program operations; Mavrick Farnam, Modoc; and Reyna Yagi, Alameda County.
Here's hoping your week has sunshine!