Mark your calendars to check out an upcoming chapter event for the spring/summer!

If you have any write-ups or photos from your previous events, please send the information to Kathi Conrad at kathic@nama.org to get it in the NAMA e-News.

June 12 ~ Eastern NAMA
Student FFA Banquet

Please save the date June 12 on your calendars. You are invited to attend the Student FFA Banquet on June 12 where NAMA East will present scholarships to two Class of 2009 graduates of the John Bowne High School Ag Education Program. This year’s winners are outstanding achievers in the fields of plant and animal sciences. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Catherine Wang, Gibbs & Soell, at 212-697-2600 ext. 1202 or at cwang@gibbs-soell.com.

June 18 ~ North Central
Golf Outing

The North Central Golf Outing is planned for Thursday, June 18. Keep checking the NAMA Calendar for the latest information on this golf outing.

June 18 ~ Ohio NAMA
Buckeye Tour

It’s been a while since we just got together and had a fun day of networking and catching up on what everyone’s up to. We’ve been discussing this fun day for a while and we finally have some details to share with you.

1. Private morning tour of the Buckeye’s (“The Horseshoe”) football stadium (approx 9:30 am -11:00 am)
2. Afternoon business day special Columbus Clippers Baseball Game (12:00 pm)

We’ll have the tour in the morning followed by some drinks and food at the ballpark. We hope to see you all for this fun-filled day!!

The RSVP’s for tickets and other details will be coming soon. Students, you’re also more than welcome to join us. Keep checking the NAMA Calendar for more information.

June 25 ~ MoKan NAMA
MoKan Golf Classic

Join MoKan NAMA for their annual Golf Classic at Falcon Lakes Golf Course in Basehor, KS. Registration for the golf outing will begin at Noon and tee off will be at 1:00 p.m. Dinner and an awards ceremony will follow the outing.
This annual fund-raiser event helps provide additional financial support for both of our student chapters; Kansas State and Northwest Missouri State. To register visit, https://payment.nama.org/mokan.html.

August 18 ~ MoKan NAMA
MoKan Ag Tour

Join MoKan NAMA for the annual Ag Tour, prior to the NAMA Boot Camp, on August 18. The MoKan Ag Tour will begin at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri and will feature a trip to seed production facility, NECO Seeds, in Garden City, Missouri. The group will stop for lunch at The Farm, a family owned and operated facility with a dining hall. The afternoon will feature a trip to a livestock operation, then back to the Hyatt Regency Crown Center.

To register for the MoKan Ag Tour and/or the NAMA Boot Camp, visit http://www.nama.org/programs/index.html.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the Professional Development Awards of Excellence is September 1, 2009. These awards will be presented at the 2009 Trends In Agriculture meeting, November 10-11, 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
2008 – Paul Redhage
2007 – Pete Kovac
2006 – Steve Engle
2005 – Bev Larson
2004 – Neil DeStefano
2003 – Sarah Vacek
2002 – Ken Anderson
2001 – Doug Headley

Product/Species Management
2008 – No award was given in this area
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
2008 – Beth Andersen
2007 – Greg Smith
2006 – Barry Nelson
2005 – Janice Person
2004 – Kendal Frazier
2003 – Mike Ricciuto
2002 – David Buchholz
2001 – Ken Gordon

Sales
2008 – Vernon Benes
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.

NAMA would like to welcome 87 new members since January 1, 2009. Please join us in welcoming our new members!

At Large
Rachel Faust, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Ltd.
Darren Palendat, Novozymes Biologicals
Dastina Johnson, USDA/NRCS
Daniel Cote, Producteur Plus
Scott Campbell, Syngenta Crop Protection

Badger
Jennifer Rabitz, Alltech
Kevin Klubertanz, Digi-Star
Amy Richards, Charleston/Orwig
Dean Helmke, Equity Brand Design
Charles Skendziel, Equity Brand Design
Brant Ausenhus, Bader Rutter & Associates
Cal Krisher, Wisconsin State Farmer
Nesh Malinovic, Bader Rutter & Associates

CAMA Alberta
Jason Forster, CRVG

CAMA Ontario
Ross Gill, Gill Agribusiness
Christopher Johnston, Glacier Ag Products

Carolinas/Virginia
Courtney Beck, Howard, Merrell & Partners
Clifford Perry, Bayer CropScience
Kylee Birchenough, Technekes

Chesapeake
Caitlin Sheffer, University of Delaware

Chicago
Laura Schmidt, Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Comm.
Paul D’Anna, Farm Journal Media
Bekah McCurdy, BFI Innovations, Inc.
Chris Dillman, Kincannon & Reed

Florida
Diann Ilkenhons, Senninger Irrigation, Inc.

Gateway
Rick Tolman, Natl. Corn Growers Assn.
Katie Smith, Osborn & Barr Comm.
Cheryl Bergeron, Osborn & Barr Comm.
Mary Hagan, Osborn & Barr Comm.

Great Plains
Ed Frey, Farm Credit of the Heartland

Heartland
Katherine O’Hara, USDA/ARS – Natl. Ctr. Agr. Utilization Research
Rodney Riech, Brandt Consolidated, Inc.
Philip McCutchan, AgriGold

Iowa
Liz Smith, The Scoular Company
Brian Sexton
Dwight Fritts, Hellman

Mid-America
Megan Sheridan, Center for Food & Agricultural Business – Purdue Univ.
April Sauer, Center for Food & Agricultural Business – Purdue Univ.
Lindsey Miller, Farm Credit Services of Mid-America
Adam Manwarren, Dow AgroSciences
Liza Markle, National FFA Organization
Emily Myers, Farm World Newspaper

Midlands
Terry Anderson, Midwest Producer/Midwest Messenger
Joanna Pope, USDA/NRCS
Kyla Wize, Nebraska Pork Producers Assn.
Dee Peterson, Nebraska Pork Producers Assn.

Midsouth
Michael Park, University of Tennessee-Martin

MoKan
Stephanie Meyers, Osborn & Barr Comm.
Oscar Will, Ogden Publications
Rob Tremble, Vance Publishing
Eric McEwen
Tom Sizemore, John Deere
Danielle Deitch, Ag Career Spotter
Stephanie Pruitt, Nicholson Kovac
Sarah Jolliff, Avatar Studios
Michael McCrave, Saepio Technologies

North Central
Matthew Bradford, DTN/The Progressive Farmer
Terri Fast, AgStar Financial Services
Cheri Jensen, AgStar Financial Services
Sasha Beckrich, Martin/Williams
James Gustafson, InHouse Media
Jennifer Ringler, Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Inc.
Tim Holmes, Campbell Mithun
Marie Jacobsen, Martin/Williams
Matt Falck, AgPhD
Joe Gustafson, AgPhD
Mike Dowling, Paulsen
Alicia DeGeest, Paulsen
Kathy Albarella, Albarella Design

Northern Prairie
Leslie Prins, AGWEEK

Rocky Mountain
Courtney Gaudet, Trimble Navigation
Sara Konkel, Natl. Cattlemen’s Beef Assn.
Tom Morgan, Consultant

Southeastern
Tim Byrne, Main Street Management Group, LLC
Susan Otten, AGCO Corp.
Brenda Ourada, Deere & Company
Robert Castleberry, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health
Jana Korn, Merial, Ltd.
Beckie Peskin, Merial, Ltd.

Southwest
Nancy Gill, Superior Productions
Greg Wilson, National Country Market

Western Pacific
Leslie Wahongan, Jain Irrigation, Inc./Acu-Drip
Steven Knudsen, Intl. Agri-Center
Jake Mortensen, AgraQuest
Remi Lohse, AgraQuest
Jeff Reynolds, Rizen Creative Co.

Hawk’s View Golf Club in Lake Geneva, WI, was the setting for the Badger/Chicago/Cornbelt Chapters’ Annual Golf Outing on Thursday, May 21.

There was a great turnout of 44 golfers. The winning team was comprised of Jim Van Proosdy, Priority AIC; Gary Vorpahl, Hoard’s Dairyman; Dick Burckhardt, Western Plows; and Mike McFarland, of the McFarland Group. A wonderful dinner buffet and awards were enjoyed afterwards by the golfers and additional guests.

The chapters appreciate the support of Penton Media, the beverage cart sponsor, and Bader Rutter, who provided the use of their new online registration system. Hole sponsors included Accelerated Genetics, Bock & Associates, Charleston|Orwig, Dairy Herd Management, Hoard’s Dairyman, Iowa Farmer Today, Open Roads, Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications, and World Dairy Expo.