eXtension Launch Celebration: "ribbon-cutting" to officially launch eXtension at 3:15 p.m. EASTERN

Description:
The eXtension formal launch is part of the USDA Ag Outlook Forum which is a large annual event involving hundreds of people involved in agriculture and related topics-just like eXtension! Those who attend include association members and staff, commodity and non-profit organization staff, lobbyists, government agency staff, agribusiness and other corporate staff, D.C. based think tank staff members, charitable foundation staff members, among others. The Launch Celebration ceremony will include: * A "ribbon-cutting" by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture [invited] to officially launch eXtension at 3:15 p.m. EASTERN on Thursday, February 21. * Recognition of Cooperative Extension, USDA, CSREES, and Congressional supporters of eXtension. * Recognition of 16 Communities of Practice who will be a part of the launch. * Broadcast via Adobe Connect to "official" sites in each of 75 Cooperative Extension institutions supporting eXtension. The URL for official sites is: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/launch/ * Local celebrations throughout the U.S. at state, district, and county Extension offices. * Video streaming of the ceremony will be available for other sites at: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/webcast/ * Video streaming of the ceremony, and three days of virtual events celebrating the launch,will be available at the eXtension Virtual State Fair in Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Morrill/168/123/28 .More information about the Second Life launch celebration can be found at Second Life Virtual State Fair to Celebrate eXtension Launch As a part of the Ag Outlook Forum, eXtension will staff a large exhibit area with exhibits on each of the 16 Communities of Practice: * Beef * Cotton * Dairy * Disaster Education * Diversity * Entrepreneurship * Family Caregiving * Fire Ants * Horses * Gardens, Lawns, & Landscapes * Livestock & Poultry * Map@syst * Parenting * Personal Finance * Wildlife Damage Management * Youth SET for Life Following the Launch Celebration ceremony, eXtension will host a series of "Briefings" on various aspects of eXtension, its Communities of Practice, and collaborative tools. These briefings are found in more detail at: http://about.extension.org/wiki/Briefing_Final At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, February 21, eXtension will feature a "Stump the Expert" event. A national media panel will query experts from four eXtension Communities of Practice: Horses, Personal Finance, Parenting, and Gardens, Lawns, & Landscapes. This event will also be broadcast via Adobe Connect for interested persons and the media. eXtension's iTeams are hard at work organizing each institution's local celebration, determining an official Connect site for the Celebration Ceremony, and continuing their efforts to get more of their faculty and staff to get eXtension IDs.