University of Wisconsin - Extension

MADISON – Colleen A. Bates was elected as the new President of the Wisconsin Associated County Extension Committees, Inc. (WACEC) Board of Directors.

WACEC serves as the liaison between county government and the University of Wisconsin-Extension. Membership includes Extension Education Committees from each of Wisconsin's 72 county boards of supervisors. WACEC provides a forum for the consideration of county extension education issues.

County governments work together with UW-Extension to provide local educational programs for communities, businesses, farmers and families. WACEC members advise UW-Extension about programs and encourage financial support for UW-Extension work, which is to educate people where they live and work. More information about UW-Extension is available at www.uwex.edu/ces/.

Bates said of her new appointment, “I am very passionate about the work of Extension and enthusiastic about the future of our programming in the State of Wisconsin. I also recognize the significant challenges that Extension programs face.

“On every level of government,” Bates continued, “we are living in an atmosphere of change. Extension certainly has not escaped that reality. One has only to look at our recent organizational change, our changing fiscal climate, and the changing populations that we serve to recognize the truth of that statement,” she said.

“Managing change is a survival necessity. The good news is that the strength of Cooperative Extension has always been its ability to be flexible in an ever-changing environment. The WACEC Board, along with our partners, will have a vital role to play in securing the future of Cooperative Extension in the current challenging atmosphere. While an ‘agent of change’ is seldom welcome, I believe the WACEC organization has a real opportunity to grow the “Wisconsin idea” even in the current climate.”

Bates has been a member of the Eau Claire County Board of Supervisors since 1982. She currently is first vice chair of the board. Bates is a long time member of the Agriculture and Extension Education Committee. She also serves on the Administrative Committee, is chair of the Human Services Board, and serves on the Select Committee on Restructuring County Services, the Ad Hoc Committee on Jail Diversion.

In addition, Bates was appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle to the State Council on Workforce Investment and also chairs the Western Wisconsin County Consortium of Workforce Development. Bates is a member of the Wisconsin Counties Association Health and Human Services Steering Committee.

Bates has received recognition of her time and dedication to the Implementation of the Eau Claire County Drug Court, received a Head Start Volunteer Award for outstanding volunteer service, and received the Bolton Refuge House Award of Excellence on behalf of the victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

She and her husband Patrick have been married for 42 years and have seven children and 9 grandchildren.