OMAHA, Neb. – Several Nebraska Extension professionals from the Panhandle District were recognized for their work recently at the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) national conference in Omaha.

Sue Pearman, Extension Educator in Central Sandhills Area, was named the 2017 recipient of the NEAFCS Distinguished Service Award.    And a team of educators and specialists, including Jamie Goffena, Extension Educator based in Chadron, finished third nationally in the communications newsletters judging.

Pearman was presented with the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln the past 17 years. The Distinguished Service Award is the highest award presented by the NEAFCS. The award recognizes members for leadership, educational program efforts and professional development, said Andrea Nisley, member of the NEAFCS Awards Committee.

Sue serves Nebraska Extension as 4-H and Positive Youth Development Educator. She is past president of NEAFCS – Nebraska affiliate and a member of the Medicare Education Team.

Goffena is a member of the Nebraska Extension team that produces Extension’s Food Fun for Young Children newsletter. Other team members include Kayla Colgrove, Ann Fenton, Lisa Franzen-Castle, Nancy Frecks, Jessye Goertz, Alice Henneman, Pat Jones, Amy Peterson, Carol Schwarz, Natalie Sehi, and Cami Wells.

Food Fun for Young Children is an online newsletter focused on helping parents and caregivers prepare healthy meals and snacks by sharing recipes, tips, and ideas targeted to children ages 2 to 5. Content is posted online at http://food.unl.edu/food-fun-young-children as a webpage and related printer-friendly PDF copy.

Individuals can sign up to receive an email notification through an electronic mailing list when newsletters are posted. Newsletters are promoted through social media outlets.

Ten Extension staff who focus on food, nutrition, and health have contributed content to newsletters. The goal was to develop content that not only reached and was useful to parents and caregivers, but also multiplier groups such as educators, health professionals, and media outlets who work with that audience.

Since the first issue premiered in 2012, more than 85,000 printer-friendly PDF copies of the newsletters have been downloaded from the Extension Food website. Extension educators, print and online newspapers, bloggers, and agencies across the nation have used the content for program handouts, articles, newsletters, and have shared information on social media sites. Content is used by parents and caregivers at the local, county, regional, state and national level.