What an exciting week! ANR advocated at the capitol Tuesday for all the great work we do. It was a day of pride as we shared our many stories with legislative staffers. We split into two groups and crossed paths occasionally. It was nice to see the capitol dome from a different vantage point.  Anne Megaro and Sheron Violini did a fabulous job with the arrangements with some help from Lara Schroder. Sheron championed the team with VPHumiston, Hanif Houston (the Vine), AmiraResnick (Director of Community Nutrition and Health), Organics Advisor Stephanie Mar and 4-H Ambassador Sruthi Sudarsan. Anne's group included 4-H Ambassador Megna Nayar, Forestry Advisor Susie Kocher, Vegetable Advisor Zheng Wang, Lara and me. Thankfully there were a few breaks to catch up on emails. While Glenda worked on an important news release I continued negotiations on Specialist positions.

ANR Advocacy day in Sacramento. Team Megaro (L to R) Zheng Wang, Lara Schroeder, Magna Nayar, Deanne Meyer, Assembly member Vince Fong (32nd District) , Susie Kocher and Anne Megaro.

Wednesday we received the exciting news that Brent Hales will be our AVP beginning July 1. I'm excited to work with Brent as he assumes his new role. ANR has many moving parts and we're a bit more complex than most Land Grants where Cooperative Extension and the Ag Experiment Station reside on a single campus or at least co-locate across a system. Brent is up to the California challenge. He's excited to be joining us. I've enjoyed our interactions thus far and look forward to helping him in his transition. Please give him a warm California welcome when you see him at the conference.

We are in single digits countdown before the conference. So much organization is needed. Today PSU was in high gear just getting things done. Thank you Bridgett Alvarez, Maria Alvarez, Julia Kalika, PJ Kelly, Mariette Malessy, Kate Lyn Sutherland and Director Sherry Cooper.  Kathy Eftekahri and Kathryn Stein spent the day immersed in all things conference. Katherine Hanke, Andrea Ray Ray and campus add ins (thank you Joyce Pexton and Lexi Martinez) rounded out the packing and arranging festivities. (Apologies if I've missed anyone). Getting ready for conference is similar to a big family party with all the preparations, and then it's over in the blink of an eye. Kindly join me in extending gratitude and appreciation to all who participated in the planning and execution of this conference.

The All ANR conference will be one for the records. It'll be wonderful to see new hires in person as well as old friends/colleagues. I'm especially excited to catch a minute with people who may be retiring to thank them for their contributions toANR, their county or campus, and California. Collectively we all contribute to great impacts for Californians. For the extroverts in the group this will be your energy source after a few years of zoom meetings. For my fellow introverts, please practice self-care during the conference. When the crowds and regular interaction get to be too much, take time to collect your thoughts. (It's ok to sneak into a quiet corner to regroup!)