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CES Chapter History

CES Chapter History

Right from the start, CES leadership promoted the concept with other states. In November 1989, Dorothy Rex traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas to celebrate the formation of the Beta Chapter of CES and install its first officers. She presented Shirley Bennett with a gavel inscribed with the CES logo as a gift from the Alpha Chapter. President Irene Moore worked closely with Shirley Bennett at University of Arkansas Extension to provide mentorship and guidance. One of President Bennett’s letters to Irene commented, “Just knowing we have fraternity sisters and brothers we can call on, gives us a feeling of kinship that was much needed in Little Rock.”

CES travelled with its tabletop display - first to the Joint College Conference and then on to the 1997 Galaxy Conference. Inquiries came from Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

 

Pat Myers, CES President, became our Ambassador to Montana in 1998; and beginning during her term as president, Lee Ann Johnson worked closely with support staff in Kentucky to form their own chapter. After inviting Kentuckians to attend our Support Staff Conference in 1997 and presenting at the 1st Kentucky Extension Support Conference in 1998, Lee Ann returned to Kentucky along with past president Pat Myers and current president Barbara Brackman to install their charter officers and directors on September 10, 1999. Gamma Chapter became official.

 

After having initially formed a local association ESSA (Extension Service Staff Association) in 1997, West Virginia joined with Ohio, Arkansas and Kentucky to become the Delta Chapter in 2001. Alpha Chapter President Cheryl Engle along with Past President Karon Dellinger and Annalist Barbara Brackman returned to West Virginia on October 22, 2001 to install charter officers for Delta chapter.

After several years of planning and development, Chancellor Bill Richardson of Louisiana State University enthusiastically agreed to a proposal for the establishment of a support staff organization and Epsilon Chapter was formed in 2003. They held their first conference By May 2005, Epsilon Chapter was 100+ members strong and held its first conference. The 2005 hurricane season was devastating to the entire state. Extension support staff turned their attention to recovery efforts putting association business on hold. By 2007 their conference theme was “Getting Back on Track” and they took the lead in spearheading the effort to develop a national organization open to state organizations and their members.

All 4 Chapters received invitations to attend our 2007 Annual Meeting, in celebration of our 20 year anniversary. Representatives from Kentucky, West Virginia and Louisiana attended.