How Fast Should You Walk?

New research from the U. of Colorado has found that both normal and overweight people naturally walk at the same speed – about three miles per hour—because this is the speed that expends the least energy. It turns out that the calories required for walking are actually greater when you walk faster OR slower than three miles per hour. If you’re overweight, the experts suggest slowing down and walking longer and farther for a greater calorie burn. To build cardiovascular fitness, you’ll need to eventually step up your pace or add some hills to your walk. (source: Environmental Nutrition June 2009)

Susan Mills-Gray
Nutrition & Health Education Specialist
Co-County Program Director
University of Missouri Extension
Cass County Center
302 S. Main, Harrisonville MO 64701
816.380.8460
816.380.8465 (fax)
816.506.3338 (cell)
mills-grays@missouri.edu

Ready, set, update county web pages

Now that the new design for extension.missouri.edu has launched, attention will be turning to refreshing the county Web sites. To ease the transition and take full advantage of the new features, review your Web pages now. Add events to the calendar pages and local resources for your county.

In particular, evaluate the info on your entrance page - too much/too little, cohesive, organized, timely? The time you invest now in spring housecleaning will pay off during the summer transition.

When you review your county site, remember:
1. The huge majority of Web visitors spend less than 10 seconds deciding whether to continue with the site.
2. The majority of visitors view only two pages before bouncing elsewhere.

Is it easy to find information quickly on your splash page?

Meeting reporter's deadlines TODAY

Pubicity informs and attracts audiences. Being quoted as a university-trained expert fuels credibility for MU Extension information. Overscheduled faculty, caught offguard by a spur-of-the-moment media request for an interview, can lose sight of the potential value of making time to speak with a reporter NOW. Few, if any, reporters trying to meet a short deadline will need more than 15 to 20 minutes to capture your quotes. Remember, juggling that small amount of time between conference calls and meetings can pay off with a rewarding media ripple.

In addition to answering questions, part of your job as the expert is to keep the reporter on-track with accurate information. You may need to make recommendations to add value to the story, particularly for reporters without the time to fully research a topic before the interview.

To prepare yourself for the interview, review this list of What to ask the Reporter, (adopted from the Creative Communications Consulting don't get caught blog), http://communicatingscience.aaas.org/WorkingWithReporters/Pages/WhattoAskReporters.aspx.

Weekly Wellness Tip

Ounce for ounce, kiwifruit has more vitamin C than an orange and more potassium than a banana. It also supplies some folate, vitamin E, and lutein, a carotenoids that may help keep eyes healthy. This green fleshed, furry peel fruit, is actually a large berry, and like all berries, is rich in fiber! (University of California-Berkeley Wellness Letter, June 2009)

Susan Mills-Gray
Nutrition & Health Education Specialist
Co-County Program Director
University of Missouri Extension
Cass County Center
302 S. Main, Harrisonville MO 64701
816.380.8460
816.380.8465 (fax)
816.506.3338 (cell)
mills-grays@missouri.edu

Legislative Day Comments

The Lafayette County delegation to Legislative Day felt very positive about their experience. Although we have ongoing support from our current legislators, our council delegates indicated it's very important to personnally meet with our representatives on Legislative Day in Jefferson City to highlight and discuss Extension's impact in the county. As staff, we should greatly appreciate the time and dedication of our Council members. This year, the County Commissioner who serves on the Lafayette County Extension Council attended Legislative Day as part of our delegation. He felt it was especially important this year to emphasize to our legislators how the County values University of Missouri Extension programs and resources, and urge them to continue supporting Extension on the state level.

Star in the movies!

Many West Central faculty have appeared in MU Extension videos shot by Kent Faddis, who does an excellent job with production and grabbing air time. Most recently, he has indicated interest in picking up on a pitch to feature MU Extension's involvement in assisting local producers with developing major supply chains, i.e. supplying tomatoes to Price Chopper. If you have a story line that would appeal statewide, let me know.

West Central presents

Several Jackson and Clay County specialists presented at the North Central Urban Extension Conference in Milwaukee this past week: Lala Kumar and Karen Elliott co-presented Eating From the Garden. Marsha Alexander shared Smart Lighting Strategies for Your Home. Glenda Kinder reviewed Stay Strong, Stay Healthy: Strength Training Program With Proven Results.

GO NUTS!!!

Pistachios, almonds, pine nuts and sunflower seeds are among the best foods you can eat to get cholesterol-lowering phytosterols. That’s what Virginia researchers found when they analyzed 27 varieties of nuts and seeds for their phytosterol content. Wheat germ and sesame seeds were highest, but are generally not eaten as often or in as large a quantity as these nuts and sunflower seeds. Caution: nuts and seeds are calorie-rich because the high levels of heart-healthy fat – so remember while very a very healthy snack choice, too much could pack on the pounds!
(Environmental Nutrition, March 2009).

Susan Mills-Gray
Nutrition & Health Education Specialist Co-County Program Director
University of Missouri Extension Cass County Center
302 S. Main, Harrisonville MO 64701
816.380.8460
816.380.8465 (fax)
816.506.3338 (cell)
mills-grays@missouri.edu

Summer programming for youth

Before the end of the school year, you might want to check to see if the local school districts will send your schedule of summer youth activities home with the students.

Web links for county pages

You can easily link your county page to Swine Flu info and Spring Weather info using the West Central Regional Web site, http://extension.missouri.edu/wcregion/ .

Job opening for small farm specialists

Katie Nixon, Small Farm Specialist-West Central Region Innovative Small Farmer's Outreach Program, Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, could use some help distributing information about openings for small farm specialists:

FARM OUTREACH WORKER: Three full-time positions available with Lincoln University Cooperative Extension. Duties include working with small farmers/ranchers in Cass, Johnson, Platte and Lafayette Counties of Missouri to improve production and income from their farms. High school diploma and farm experience required. For additional information, visit http://www.lincolnu.edu/ or contact nixonk@lincolnu.edu

The entire job posting is available at http://www.lincolnu.edu/pages/110.asp?PositionID=405.

Legislative Day 2009

Thanks for the great support and attendance from West Central Region. Our region had the highest registration and actual attendance from all the 8 regions!!!

I'm sure most of us feel that we have effective working relationships with our state legislators, but it does have a HUGE impact when we coverge on the capitol in large numbers. I always enjoy seeing persons with MU Extension nametags walking each and every hallway, as they make legislators visits during the day!

Cass County supporters shared some strong impact from their meetings with our legislators. All those in attendance felt that it was crucial to make those visits on the legislators turf.

Marketing 101

Did you know the basic MU Extension marketing tools are available online under the heading For staff, Marketing and Communications? Of particular interest is Marketing County Offices, http://extension.missouri.edu/staff/marketing/marketing.html. There is something for everyone, particularly at the option: Marketing Roles for County Secretaries, Specialists and Council Members, http://extension.missouri.edu/staff/marketing/marketingroles.html. Even if you've been with MU Extension since forever, taking a fresh look at the info can be valuable. :)