Honestly, I am not entirely sure I know the answer to this question. This is my first time formally working through a program development process like this, and I find myself hoping that the decisions I am making add up to something effective. The implementation plan I put together feels right to me, but I recognize I am still learning what "right" looks like in practice.

What I can speak to with more confidence is a real example of something that felt well-executed: the Cornell High-Cannabinoid Field Day, which our team has run for at least two consecutive years with roughly 100-150 attendees each time. What seemed to work was a combination of things. The venue carried credibility. The format was active: rotating workshops, live demonstrations, peer conversations, not a room full of people watching slides. DEC credits gave professionals a concrete professional reason to show up. And the logistics were clear enough in advance that people could actually plan to attend.

If I translate that experience into tips I would offer a colleague, they would be: give people a real reason to come, not just an interesting topic. Make the learning hands-on whenever you can. And handle the logistics early and thoroughly, because nothing derails a good program faster than details that were not thought through ahead of time.

That is what I am trying to carry into the work I am doing now with the website and the implementation plan. I hope it is enough. I am genuinely still figuring it out.

Previous years, the SNAP-Ed Hudson Valley Team has worked with statewide staff to host what we call a Summer Symposium. It is typically a 3-day virtual event geared toward teachers and school staff. We bring in speakers to talk about wellness, nutrition, physical activity, and related topics. Attendees are able to receive CTLE credits for their credentials.
The reason it typically ran so well was because we had partnerships, all hands on deck, and clear written instruction. Educators would sign up to hand the zoom and presenting responsibilities, our Program Manager wrote up a guide on how to pull the attendee list from zoom, and Rockland Teacher Center Institute made it so we could provide CTLE credits. Everything was well-planned, with different educators handling different time slots, and evaluations were given at the end that received positive feedback.

Having as much planned ahead as you possibly can definitely is my biggest recommendation, as well as delegating responsibilities so it's not a small group of people doing absolutely everything.

I planned a Soil Health Day Event on June 25th at a dairy farm in Jefferson County. The goal was to highlight good agricultural management practices that increase soil health (no-till, cover crops, and manure injection), improve nutrient management and produce high quality forage. The event was funded by a grant, which made it possible to have no registration fee and provide light refreshments and snacks. The farm cleared out a shop that was used for the program and had their manure injection equipment displayed by a field that had been recently harvested, injected with manure and had emerging short relative maturity corn silage. The three-hour schedule included a brief tour of the field with a discussion on the cropping system, an overview of SWCD and NRCS programs being offered to eligible farms in the region, a Q&A farmer panel discussion, a talk on compaction by the CCE Agricultural Climate Resiliency Specialist, and a rain simulator demonstration by the New York Soil Health Team. The program went very well but ended up running 20 minutes late. The extra time went to audience interaction during the panel discussion and to taking a few minutes between each segment for people to visit, which was appreciated and included in the feedback I received from multiple attendees. Identifying a host farm who was enthusiastic and willing to set aside the time during the growing season was essential. Having several months to plan and promote the event was also extremely helpful. Being able to communicate with the NY Soil Health Team, the host farm, the Ag agencies and speakers during the weeks leading up to the event allowed everything to run smoothly.

As someone who is still relatively new to program planning and development, working on the NERME Emergency Preparedness Workshops has been a valuable learning experience. One thing that has gone well is seeing how the program has evolved throughout the planning process. As we have worked with partners, confirmed speakers, secured locations, and finalized logistics, our implementation plan has continued to change and improve.

One thing that has helped me is not to think of an implementation plan as a static document. It should be reviewed and updated regularly as new information becomes available or priorities shift. Breaking the project into smaller tasks with timelines has also made the planning process much more manageable and helped ensure important details are not overlooked.

I have a passion, expertise and familiarity with health, fitness, and physiology. I often feel that programming events in this are run smoothly and easily for me allowing me to improvise, modify, and pivot when needed - with facilitation. Being able to pivot with other work seems to be much more challenging - so, I believe that intimately knowing the material, plan, process, and intentions are imperative to kicking off an event.

Over time I have become much better at Managing and Coordinating the local Farmers Market, particularly as I gained familiarity with the rules and all the permits that are required for various businesses.

A single event example would be our annual Garlic Day which hosts 50 vendors over 5 hours and sees about 1000 customers. Last year went very well, and vendors concerns and conflict was addresses timely and orderly. Without the confidence in the process, understanding of the rules and laws, I wouldn't have been as prepared to ensure remediation for concerns, thus having potentially larger issues on my plate.

An event I planned in coordination with some CCE colleagues that went very well was a vineyard soil health field day in 2024. This event was so successful that I just remember it so vividly! This field day was held at a concord grape vineyard in western NY and was a full day (10-3pm) event. We had all our partner agencies involved (eg., NRCS, SWCD, Penn State, etc.) and the farmer was directly engaged in the planning and demonstrations during the event. We started in the barn with a few presentations in the morning, followed by lunch, and then an afternoon in the field which included 2 stations (soil pit and soil health trailer demonstrations) that participants rotated between. Overall it was just a very well executed event and we received very good feedback from participants.
Overall, my pro-tips for running a successful event are plan, plan, and plan some more, involve relevant partners, and engage with good farmer cooperators.

One event that stands out to me as being especially well executed was the Master Food Preserver training that we hosted at 4-H Camp Shankitunk. There were many moving pieces—state instructors, volunteers, participants, lodging, meals, supplies, kitchens, and hands-on lab activities—but everything came together because there was a clear implementation plan and strong communication.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was the importance of planning every detail ahead of time while also being flexible enough to adapt when needed. Having clear roles and responsibilities, organized materials, and regular communication among the planning team helped the week run smoothly. We also built in time for participants to connect with one another, ask questions, and learn through hands-on experiences, which made the training even more meaningful.

My biggest pro-tip is to never plan an event alone. Build a team, communicate often, and create detailed checklists. When everyone understands their role and feels invested in the outcome, the event runs more smoothly, and you can spend your time engaging with participants instead of putting out fires.

In my other role as CCETC compost outreach coordinator, I am lucky to get to learn from and work beside my supervisor Adam who has been runnign the compost program for 25 years. He organizes a huge four-day-long compost collection and education at the Grass Roots Music Festival and has for the last decade or more. This is an incredible feat logically and physically, and it feels like a miracle every year how smoothly it goes. We collect over a ton of food waste and coordinate dozens of volunteers, plus do lots of shift work ourselves. I have learned that behind the scenes are months of pre-planning meetings with other event organizers, then weeks of materials prep, and then recruiting and training volunteers, not to mention several days worth of clean up. The major way it is all accomplished is Adams excellent method of delegation. He recruits and trains coordinators who take on the coordination shifts through out the event. Together they do a big orientation with all volunteers support hing the compost program at the festival. He has packets of info for every volunteer with contact information, shift schedules, procedures, etc. The coordinators take notes throughout the festival and at the end we do a debrief meeting to learn what worked well and what to change. Which 10 + years of notes on this event we have been able to make it a truly organized and well communicated process.

One thing I've learned from watching & helping pull off Extension events is how smooth they run when there is a rough timeline, checklist and understanding of who is responsible for what. For instance, with Corn & Soybean Day having a lot of moving parts (speakers, food, DEC & CCA credits, topics, materials etc), having those details planned out ahead of time makes a huge difference.
I also think it's important to build in extra time for things that may not go as planned and to communicate changes with everyone.

One event that stands out as being particularly well executed was our annual Highway School. With hundreds of attendees, speakers, partners, and moving parts, there are a lot of opportunities for things to go sideways! What made the event successful was the amount of planning that happened behind the scenes, as well as having a team that was willing to jump in and help wherever needed.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that the little details really matter. Having clear timelines, knowing who is responsible for each task, communicating expectations ahead of time, and having backup plans can make a huge difference. I also try to think through the attendee experience from beginning to end. From registration, signage, parking, meals, sessions, breaks, and even those small questions people may have when they arrive.

My biggest tip is don’t assume everyone knows what I know. If you think something is obvious, it probably still needs to be communicated. I would rather send one extra email or have one additional sign than leave someone wondering where they need to go or what they are supposed to do.