The presence of women in positions of power in the agriculture industry is lacking. This article highlights findings generated from the 2016 Southern Region Women's Agricultural Leadership Summit attended by women from 13 southern states. The research revealed that women working in Extension should (a) formally connect with leadership mentors, (b) envision themselves in leadership roles, and (c) support one another as they work to lead in the agriculture industry. To further the conversation, we provide recommendations that are inherent in the data and intended to assist early-career women professionals as well as middle managers and administrators who desire to advance women's leadership development in Extension.

Round table focus groups were used to evaluate the 2013 Volunteer Conference of Southern States. All 144 conference attendees were randomly assigned to one of 18 different round tables. A series of seven questions were discussed by the focus groups, which were moderated by a member of the Southern Region 4-H Volunteer Advisory Group. A recorder captured the discussion on a Mac Notebook. The responses from 18 networked were assimilated into a Word document, grouped by question. Qualitative data were analyzed by three raters as outlined by Culp & Pilat (1988). Input received was instrumental in planning the 2014 conference.

The SR4-HVAG combines the efforts of states to provide quality educational programming for volunteers and Extension professionals using an advisory group system. An advisory group rather than a council was created because the group provides programmatic input rather than sets policy. The purposes of the SR4-HVAG are to: provide a mechanism for volunteer input and perspective regarding educational, programmatic and developmental needs of volunteers and strengthen communication and delivery systems that provide for the continued sharing of resources and programmatic efforts in the Southern Region. Each state is represented by two volunteers and is facilitated by a state volunteerism specialist.

Purpose In April 2017, FINRA issued a regulatory notice addressing the use of social media and digital communications by broker-dealers. The notice expanded on previous FINRA guidance on these topics. This article provides clarity regarding how social media and digital communications fit within the requirements of various FINRA rules and provides guidance to firms and their registered representatives. Design/methodology/approach The principal topics addressed by FINRA’s regulatory notice are: (a) text messaging, (b) personal versus business communications, (c) third-party content and hyperlinks, (d) native advertising, (e) testimonials and endorsements and (f) links to BrokerCheck. This article presents an overview of each of these topics, respectively. Findings Under recordkeeping requirements, firms must ensure that they are able to retain communications made through text messaging and chat services. Business communications, which relate to the products or services of the firm, are subject to filing and content requirements, while personal communications are not. Under certain circumstances, third-party posts on social media sites established by the member and testimonials may be attributable to the firm. Native advertising, while permissible, must comply with content requirements. Firm-created electronic applications do not have to provide a link to BrokerCheck. Originality/value Firms and their registered representatives will gain a better understanding of what is permissible pursuant to FINRA and SEC rules as they communicate digitally and via social media.

Engaging attendees of a 4-H volunteer conference in a multiple-methods approach to conference evaluation met the needs of our conference planning team by resulting in diverse opportunities for determining impact, assessing satisfaction, and understanding conference participants' experiences. The multiple-methods approach also appealed to conference participants by providing them with a variety of ways to share input and reflection while building a sense of community and belonging. Every participant was involved in multiple assessment strategies. We received both quantitative and qualitative data for assessing conference success and gathered impact data by using multiple creative evaluation tools.