The 5th Annual NAMA Boot Camp will take place August 12-14, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

This year’s Boot Camp will provide the tools you need to more professionally market to the ag industry. Enlist today to learn more about agri-marketing!

Did you attend last year? If so, we want you back! This year’s program is a perfect continuation of the previous programs. Topics will include:

Speed Networking
Serving Niche Markets
New Media
Food & Fuel
The Big, Scary Communications Plan
A Year in the Life of A Producer
International Marketing
Creative In Agriculture

Panel discussions will also be a part of the Boot Camp and include a producer panel and a client/agency panel.

Come in early and attend the optional MoKan Ag Tour. This tour will be a production agriculture tour with half of the day focusing on Animal Health and the other half of the day focusing on crop production.

All Boot Camp attendees will receive a notebook packed with ag terminology and facts as well as case studies and speaker presentations.

To register for the 2008 NAMA Boot Camp visit, http://payment.nama.org/bootcamp08.htm.

If you are interested in sponsoring a session or event at the NAMA Boot Camp, please fill out the sponsorship confirmation form at www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp-spo.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at 913-491-6500 or via e-mail at jennyp@nama.org.

New speakers have been added to the line-up. For more information on the NAMA Boot Camp visit, http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the Professional Development Awards of Excellence is September 1. These awards will be presented at the 2008 Agribusiness Forum, November 11-12, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.The Professional Development Awards of Excellence were created in 2001 to demonstrate NAMA’s commitment to the four professional development areas. Below is a list of the past Awards of Excellence recipients:

Marketing Communications
2007 – Pete Kovac
2006 – Steve Engle
2005 – Bev Larson
2004 – Neil DeStefano
2003 – Sarah Vacek
2002 – Ken Anderson
2001 – Doug Headley

Product/Species Management
2007 – Klaas Okkinga
2006 – No Award was given in this area
2005 – Dennis Gehler
2004 – Wendy Elliott
2003 – Brian Markwardt
2002 – Tony Klemm
2001 – Tony Solon

Public Relations
2007 – Greg Smith
2006 – Barry Nelson
2005 – Janice Person
2004 – Kendal Frazier
2003 – Mike Ricciuto
2002 – David Buchholz
2001 – Ken Gordon

Sales
2007 – Bill Heffron
2006 – Anita Vanderwert
2005 – Margaret Wallace Oldham
2004 – Allen Barkve
2003 – Cliff Becker
2002 – Bob Deiss
2001 – Tom Taylor

Nominees for the Awards of Excellence must be NAMA members. Nominators should target individuals with direct planning and execution responsibilities in the respective Professional Development Area from agribusiness and related companies. If you have any questions regarding these awards, please contact Jenny Pickett at jennyp@nama.org.

To download the nomination form in an Adobe .PDF format, visit http://www.nama.org/awards/PDAapplication.pdf.

You can also fill out the form on-line at http://www.nama.org/awards/pdaonlineform.htm.

Get the recognition you deserve by sponsoring a session or event at the 2008 Agribusiness Forum, November 11-12 in Kansas City.

As a sponsor of the Agribusiness Forum, your organization will be noted as a front runner in supporting up-to-the-moment industry information. Additional benefits include:

• Recognition in the program booklet, and from the podium during the session;
• Recognition by signage at the sponsored event (if applicable);
• Recognition in post-forum articles in the AgriMarketing magazine;
• Recognition on the NAMA Agribusiness Forum Web site page;
• and, first right of refusal for sponsorship of the same item for the 2009 Agribusiness Forum.

If you are interested in sponsoring a session or event at this year’s Forum, contact Jenny Pickett in the NAMA office at (913) 491-6500 or via e-mail at jennyp@nama.org.

Again this year, the NAMA Agribusiness Forum takes place prior to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) convention. The Forum will take place at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center which is near the NAFB hotel.

The Eastern Chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) awarded two grants to Chloe Fuentes and Jennifer Tiao, FFA students graduating from the John Bowne High School class of 2008. Fuentes and Tiao each received awards of $500 for their outstanding achievement and contribution to the FFA agriculture program.

A graduating senior of the animal science program, Fuentes is also president of the student FFA chapter and a member of the Aquaculture and Ag Mechanics teams. Tiao is a graduating senior majoring in animal science. She had worked in the Exotic Animal Laboratory of John Bowne High School and at the Heights Veterinary Hospital.

Fuentes and Tiao will both attend Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Penn. this fall. Fuentes plans to major in biology and Tiao will enter the pre-veterinary medicine program.

The grants, sponsored by NAMA and Gibbs & Soell Public Relations, were presented by NAMA Eastern Chapter Vice-President Benjamin Church of Pfizer Animal Health.

“Jennifer, Chloe and the other John Bowne High School students represent the future of the agriculture industry,” Church says. “By recognizing the achievements of these hard-working students, we hope to encourage their studies and active participation in the future of the ag industry.”

John Bowne High School is located in Flushing, NY. The school’s specialized agriculture program is nationally recognized as an outstanding urban agricultural education offering.

One of the unique aspects of the program is the relationship between classroom instruction and hands-on experience. During the school year, students take classes in plant science and animal science, in addition to courses in traditional academic subjects. Students develop their agricultural experience on the school’s land laboratory and in both urban and rural agriculture jobs during the summers.

Many John Bowne graduates go on to agricultural and technical colleges and many out-of-state institutions throughout the Northeast before establishing themselves in leadership positions in agricultural professions.

Nearly 35 Badger NAMA Members gained fresh ideas for their company’s tradeshow exhibit at the Badger NAMA’s Tradeshow Workshop on May 7th in Delafield. Attendees learned the latest tips and techniques for successful tradeshow displays, plus garnered ideas from the tradeshow experts of GE Healthcare, Cygnus Farm Shows and Exhibitor Source.

Information from the seminar is now available to download at the links below. What you’ll find:

• Laurie Rebholz and Doug Hay, The Exhibitor Source: Building a Successful Team featuring training tips and industry trends. Click here to download presentation. Click here to download presentation on Training Tips.
• Don Schmid, GE Healthcare: GEHC Tradeshow Success featuring tradeshow exhibit elements, event marketing, branding and a helpful scorecard to qualify your company’s ROI on a tradeshow. Click here to download presentation.
• Bob Olsen, Cygnus Farm Shows: www.farmshows.com.

The goal of the NAMA Advocate program is to enlist a core group of NAMA members to help recruit new members and advocate for the organization.

The NAMA Advocate program is part of the overall “Cultivating Connections” membership plan. Your efforts are part of the bigger membership picture. The national NAMA membership committee is working with chapters on recruiting while simultaneously the NAMA office is working on targeted prospecting. With recruiting efforts in place at the local and national level, we hope to increase NAMA membership over the course of the year. It is important as an advocate, that you work with local chapters and the NAMA office and, likewise, you have support when you need it.

What will I have to do?
You’ll receive membership materials from the NAMA office. You’ll be expected to seek out potential members and lay the groundwork for recruiting members. After making contact, you’ll coordinate the follow up through the NAMA office. Or you can follow up to “Close the deal.”

What will I get in return?
Along with the satisfaction of helping the organization you’ll be recognized in the NAMA News section of AgriMarketing magazine, and in the National NAMA e-news. You’ll be recognized at the Agribusiness Forum and the Agri-Marketing Conference with a ribbon on your name badge. You will also be invited to the “First Timer/Leader” event at the conference.

NAMA Advocates include:

Ken Anderson, Ayres Kahler
Sally Behringer, Nicholson Kovac, Inc.
Mike Butler, Archer>Malmo
Leigh Ann Cleaver, Blasdel Cleaver Schwalbe Communications
Sandy Creighton, Farm Progress Companies
Jean DeLong Custer, Case New Holland
Ken Dean, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
Lee Dueringer
Doug Freeze, University of Memphis
Teresa Hinrichs, CMS
Angela Jamison, Communicopia
Phil Johnson, Colle+McVoy
Amy Jolliff, Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications
Kim Lang
Bev Larson, NK Seeds, Syngenta Seeds
Sue Lee, Farm Journal Media
Tom Mahoney
Kara McDonald, Dairy Management Inc.
Robert Ratliff, ProfitableFarming.com Corp.
Jane Schroeder, NC+ Hybrids
Don Schultz, Clear Channel Ag Networks
Tom Smull, Associations, Inc.
Lori Strum-Stravers, Strategic America
Frank Timberlake, R.F. Timberlake & Co., Inc.
Amber Tjernagel, Alltech, Inc.
Cyndi Treadway, Exhibit Resources, Inc.
Stephanie Vinton-Pollock, Agri-Access
Catherine Wang, Gibbs & Soell
Jeff Winton, Schering-Plough Corp.
Chuck Zimmerman, ZimmComm New Media

Sign up today be a NAMA Advocate at http://www.nama.org/advocate/advocatesignup.htm.

Lee V. McCoy, age 60, lost his battle with cancer on Thursday, May 22, 2008 at the Piedmont Fayette Hospital in Fayetteville, GA.

Lee was with Southeast AgNet for nearly a decade and was a NAMA member for 25 years. He has served as the Southeast NAMA Chapter President, as a regional director and membership chair.

Lee was a Navy Veteran and member of the Crossroads Baptist Church. Survivors include his wife, Aurora McCoy of Newnan, sons, Jacob Lee McCoy of Wamega, Kansas, Daniel Ochoa of Newnan, daughter, Brooke Ashley McCoy of Kansas City, Kansas, brothers, Hugh A. McCoy of Fairhope, Alabama, Walter D. McCoy of Cushing, Oklahoma, sisters, Ellen K. McCoy of Montana, Harriett E. McCoy of Idaho, several nieces and nephews also survive.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Peachtree City VFW Post 9949 in Newnan, Georgia at 117 Chadwick Drive, Peachtree City, GA 30269. Contributions can also be made to the Cancer Coalition, or Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation.