North Carolina Association of County Agricultural Agents 2003 Annual State Meeting Holiday Inn Nags Head Beach, Kill Devil Hills, NC June 10-12, 2003

Each session will be offered on Thursday June 22, 2003. Consecutively from 9:00 a.m. until noon

"Effective Teaching Methods for County Agricultural Agents" Bob McRackan,NCSU Bob McRackan, Coordinator of the Southern Region Pesticide Safety Education Center (PSEC), talks about the principles of adult training and some alternatives to lecture. His message is "how to involve your audience in the training process." Bob challenges you to be creative and have fun while at the same time getting your message across. Bob McRackan was born in South Carolina. After receiving a BS in Psychology from Clemson University, he moved to western Virginia where he taught school for a couple of years. In 1975 he caught the bug for the bug business and joined Orkin Exterminating Co. as a manager trainee. After the completion of his training period, Bob managed several branches for Orkin. After spending 6 years as a Regional Service Manager, he became a corporate training specialist for Orkin. During the 10 year stint as a trainer, Bob honed his training skills by completing numerous train-the-trainer courses held by Langevin Corp. In 2000 he joined the Structural Pest Control Division of the NC Department of Agriculture as a field inspector. In 2001 he joined the faculty of NCSU as the Coordinator of the Southern Region Pesticide Safety Education Center.

"Ouch!-What Ag Agents Should Know About Mosquitoes, West Nile Virus, and Other Mosquito Borne Diseases" Walker Rayburn The presentation will include: A brief history of West Nile Virus in the US and NC. An overview of other Mosquito borne diseases in NC. What Ag agents should tell clients about protection of people and horses. How Ag agents can help with dead bird monitoring. Live and dead mosquitoes will be available for viewing.