Nov. 7, 2001

LUBBOCK - Parents, educators, childcare providers, health and human service workers, and others who interact daily with children should plan to attend the Dec. 13 CHARACTER COUNTS! Community Awareness Conference at the Lubbock Civic Center.

The one-day conference will begin with registration at 8 a.m. and conclude around 5 p.m. There is no registration fee.

The conference is designed to educate those who interact daily with children on the sound principles of character education through the CHARACTER COUNTS! framework. This event is jointly sponsored by Texas A&M University, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas Tech University, the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, the Josephson Institute, Lubbock Christian University, as well as the Anton, Frenship, Lubbock and Slaton Independent School Districts.

"The CHARACTER COUNTS! framework was developed by the Josephson Institute of Ethics and has been widely adopted by a coalition of the nation's foremost youth, education and service organizations," said Colleen Chadwick, Texas Cooperative Extension South Plains district director for family and consumer sciences. "Texas Extension faculty have used this framework for several years as part of our Texans Building Character youth program.

"The curriculum teaches children the importance of practicing the six pillars of character – trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship – in their daily lives."

The Dec. 13 conference will provide participants with a framework to further develop character-building teaching materials, and tips on how to utilize these materials effectively.

Dr. Nat Cooper, director and founder of Lubbock Christian University's Center for Character Development, will serve as conference moderator. From 9 to 10 a.m., participants will hear opening remarks from Judge Sam Medina.

Ron Kinnamon, chair of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, will give the morning keynote address at 10 a.m. The CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition sprang from a 1992 ethics conference, where participants identified basic non-political, non-sectarian ingredients of good character.

Today, the coalition includes more than 350 nationwide education and youth organizations that use the curriculum as a voluntary framework for citizen action in youth education.

Morning workshops will begin at 11 a.m., featuring presentations on: "Character Education in Families," by Dr. Carl Anderson, director for the Center for the Study of Addiction at Texas Tech; and "Character Education in Sports," by David Vinson, director of Secondary Education, Frenship school district.

Afternoon sessions begin with a "Celebration of Children" presentation at 1:30 p.m. featuring performances by students from area elementary and junior high schools.

Afternoon workshops focusing on character education in business, education and the community will run from 2 to 3 p.m., featuring these speakers: David Miller, president of Med Group; and Mary Jane Aguilar, certified national CHARACTER COUNTS! instructor.

Kinnamon will moderate a community action panel on character education from 3:10 to 4:15 p.m. Panelists for this discussion will include:

• Government: Judge Tom Head, Lubbock.

• Education: Dr. Kyle Wargo, executive director of Region 17 Education Service

Center.

• Law Enforcement: David Gutierrez, Lubbock County Sheriff.

• Community Service: Christy Andrews, Miss Lubbock 2001.

• Faith Communities: Leonard Jarman, evangelist and executive director of the

Inside Out Program at Central Church of Christ, Lubbock.

• Youth Organizations: Brad Davis, Texas Cooperative Extension 4-H Specialist,

Lubbock.

• Students: Beau Riker, Anton Independent School District.

Texans can get more information on this educational event by calling Chadwick at (806) 746-6101, Nat Cooper at (806) 796-8800, or David Vinson atdvinson@frenship.k12.tx.us.

Texas Cooperative Extension is an outreach education agency of The Texas A&M University System, with offices and educators in all 254 Texas counties. Extension has an 85- year history of youth and adult education, designed to assist Texas residents in improving their lives and communities. Extension offers its Texans Building Character program in response to local needs, and through a special initiative for families and youth funded in part by the Texas Legislature.

CHARACTER COUNTS! is a service mark of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, a project of the non-profit Josephson Institute of Ethics.