In January of 2017, the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Service conducted a single session of Leading Meeting Effectively open to local Extension Leadership including District Boar, County Extension Council, and all Program Councils. As a result, outside interest was expressed and the post evaluation of participants showed a desire for a more in-depth series to educate leaders in conducting effective business meetings in our community. The desire found within the community to become educated in this matter led the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Agents to offer this series to the public.

In February 2018, 4 lunch sessions of Leading Meetings Effectively were offered to expand these skills. Each lesson covered a different topic based on the Kentucky Extension Leadership Development curriculum, tying in the 4-H Officer Training curriculum provided by Kentucky 4-H, with a written post evaluation of the participants. Participation from community leaders and business owners ranged from twenty-four to forty-six attendees per session. Sessions included topics of managing conflict, generating and maintaining membership and volunteers, conducting effective meetings following Robert’s Rules of Order, and effective communication. Sessions were split and presented by individual Daviess County Extension Agents through PowerPoint presentation, interactive games and hands-on education, and question and answer interaction with the series participants.

As a result of the Leading Meetings Effectively Series, 92% of attendees from Robert’s Rules of Order reported that they plan to share this information with their organization and 65% improved their ability to distinguish between three classifications of volunteer motivation. Additionally, Extension Agents have seen an increase in the participation of Extension leadership and orderly conduct of Extension and Program Council meetings.