2020 State Meeting Cancelled

The cancellation of the 2020 KEHA State Meeting in its entirety impacts a number of KEHA activities. Below please find a summary of the operational decisions related to these activities. The KEHA Executive Committee has been meeting virtually to address these questions and decide on a best course forward during these unprecedented times.

• Cultural Arts – Items that had qualified at the area level to be entered in the 2020 state contest will be automatically entered in the 2021 state contest. Counties and areas will not hold events in the 2020-2021 KEHA year to qualify new items for the next state contest. KEHA members will be able to enter any items made in 2020 in the contest in 2022 as the rules state that items made within the past two years are eligible.
• Knit and Crochet Corner – Members who have crocheted or knitted strips (or finished blankets) for the Knit and Crochet Corner service project scheduled as part of the 2020 State Meeting are encouraged to use the strips to make finished blankets to donate locally. Alternatively, strips can be retained by individual members for 2021 as the service project is expected to continue at the next State Meeting.
• Quilt Squares – Any quilt squares made for display and auction at the 2020 KEHA State Meeting may be held for 2021.
• Elections – Six positions were scheduled for election at the 2020 KEHA State Meeting. The bylaws state that the current office holders continue in the positions until successors are elected or appointed. Unless vacancies occur for any reasons, these six positions will be elected at the 2021 State Meeting and the successful candidates will take office at installation. The 2021 election rotation will remain as set.
• 2020-2021 Budget – The KEHA standing rules dictate that the KEHA Board must approve all expenditures and that the budget must be presented to the voting delegates. As the standing rules only require presentation to versus approval from the voting delegates, the budget for 2020-2021 will stand as approved by the KEHA Board during their March meeting. A copy will be provided electronically to counties as part of a materials packet that will be distributed in June.
• 2020 and 2021 Area Assignments for State Meeting – Area assignments for the 2020 State Meeting were announced in November 2019 and many areas had already initiated work to fulfill those assignments. The KEHA Executive Committee voted to continue those same assignments for 2021, including the host area assignment. If any area with a budget associated with the specific assignment has incurred expenses against that budget, please contact Harlene Welch regarding potential reimbursement now versus next year.
• 2020-2021 KEHA Theme – The current theme – The Sun Shines Bright – will carry forward for the 2020-2021 year. The theme-based training materials and resources will be refreshed/updated in June and new versions will be posted to the KEHA website.
• Contest Winners – The various winners of the membership contests and contests associated with the educational chairmanship programs of work have been or will be recognized via the KEHA Facebook page. Plaques and certificates will be mailed later this summer.
• Development Grants – The development grant recipients will be announced via Facebook and the counties/areas receiving grants will be contacted. The grant checks will be mailed to the respective counties/areas.
• Memorial Display – Each year, KEHA honors those members we have lost through a special display at the State Meeting. The 2021 display will include member names submitted for 2020 as well as those submitted in 2021.

KEHA Reports for 2019-2020

With the disruptions to county and area council meetings, club meetings, and overall KEHA operations, an amended process has been established for submission of KEHA reports this year. The goal is to make the process simpler for counties. Counties will collect and compile information from clubs and then submit reports directly to state using online forms. Summary reports will then be provided to state educational chairmen and area presidents. The timeline will be as follows.

May and June:

• KEHA club leaders work to complete program of work reports for each club and provide those to the county president, county Extension office, or designated county KEHA contact by the established county deadlines in July. [All forms are accessible on the reports page.]
• Individual members complete their VSU logs and submit to the club president or designated contact by June 30th. Clubs will then forward to the county president, the county Extension office or designated county contact by the established county deadlines in July.
• Mailbox members submit VSU logs to the designated county contact or county Extension office by the established county deadlines in July.

July/August:

• County officers, chairmen and FCS agents ensure all club reports are received and tally reports for the county. Counties will submit the reports using online surveys to be available on the KEHA website beginning July 15th.
• The county leadership chairman or designated contact prepares the county Volunteer Service Unit report. The report form will be provided to Extension offices as an Excel spreadsheet.

Questions regarding the reporting process can be directed to your Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences or be submitted via email to kehainfo1@gmail.com

KEHA Merchandise – The selection of KEHA merchandise available has changed and new items have been added! New items include decals in two sizes and embroidered hand towels. View all items and access the order form on the web page for marketing items.

Membership Tenure Recognitions – After an extensive search, KEHA has not been able to identify a new vendor willing to produce, hold inventory, and fill individual county orders for membership and officer pins. Additionally, less than half of the counties indicated interest in placing pin orders. Therefore, the KEHA State Board voted in March to discontinue the search for a new vendor and will not offer pins for order at the state level. A new, customizable membership tenure certificate has been designed for local use in honoring membership tenure milestones. It is available to counties through your Extension office or area president. If counties or areas would like to work with a local vendor to order pins, they can pursue this option but will be responsible for the associated costs and distribution.