Midsouth Chapter
Are you a winner? Find out individual chapter awards as well as which entries have a chance to go on to compete at the National Judging in February. The winners of the National Judging will be announced at the National Best of NAMA Ceremony, April 16 in Kansas City.

The Midsouth Best of NAMA Ceremony will take place January 17, 2008. The evening will kick-off with cocktails at 6:00 p.m. with a dinner and awards presentation following.

Please join Midsouth NAMA at the Equestria Restaurant, 3165 Forest Hill Irene Road, Germantown, TN, ph. 901-869-2663.

Please RSVP for the Midsouth Best of NAMA Ceremony today at http://survey.archermalmo.com/TakeSurvey.aspx?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=96KMm88.

TAKE HOME AN iPOD NANO! Any NAMA member who brings a guest to the Midsouth Best of NAMA event will be entered into a drawing to win an iPod Nano!

Carolinas/Virginia Chapter
Join the Carolinas/Virginia chapter for their Best of NAMA Ceremony on January 31 at 4:30 p.m. in Raleigh, NC.

Mark your calendars and share this date with your colleagues. The banquet takes place at the NC State University Club, 4200 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606, to view some of your best work of the past season.

It’s time to celebrate agriculture’s most notable advertising and public relations triumphs of last year. Remember the Battle for the Bigger Logo, the Battle for a Bigger TV Budget and, of course, the Battle for a Media Extension? Let’s honor those heroic efforts at the Region III Best of NAMA Show!

Here are your orders! The Region III Best of NAMA Ceremony will take place January 10, 2008 at the Metropolitan Ballroom and Clubroom, 5418 Wayzata Blvd., Golden Valley, MN 55416. A reception will kick-off the event at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7:30 p.m.

Cost is $65.00 per person, please RSVP by January 4, 2008 at http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/register.htm or by calling 913-491-6500.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the DoubleTree Hotel, Minneapolis – Park Place, 1500 Park Place Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55416, PH: 952-542-8600. The NAMA room rate is $129.00/single, please make sure you mention NAMA to receive this group rate. Room block cut-off date is December 20. There will be a hotel shuttle scheduled to drop off NAMA Members at the Metropolitan and return to the DoubleTree Hotel.

Special thanks to the sponsors of the Region III Banquet:

Gold
CHS, Inc.
LEE Agri-MEDIA (Farm & Ranch Guide, Iowa Farmer Today, Minnesota Farm Guide, Tri-State Neighbor)
Paulsen AgriBranding

Silver
Adculture Group, Inc.
AdFarm
Albarella Design
Associations, Inc.
Broadhead + Co.
Farm Progress Companies
Learfield Communications
Martin Williams Advertising
Padilla Speer Beardsley
Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Inc.
Successful Farming/Agriculture Online
Living the Country Life
Two Rivers Marketing

They were tough people in a tough business. Cunning and determined professionals fighting it out across the farms and ranches of the Midwest – with their Ads, PR Kits, and Integrated Marketing Campaigns.

But they all knew a reckoning was coming. So they packed up the Best they had and headed to Lake Geneva. To see who would be the one they called…Best of Show.

The Region IV Best of NAMA Ceremony will take place at The Abbey Resort, 269 Fontana Blvd., Fontana, WI 53125 (on the western shore of Lake Geneva).

The Region IV Ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a reception, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7:30 p.m.

To book a room at the Abbey Resort call 1-800-709-1323. Make sure you mention NAMA to receive the $109 discount rate.

Cost for the ceremony is $65.00 per person.

Register on-line at http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/register.htm or by calling 913-491-6500.

Even if you aren’t the seventh son of the seventh son, you’ll want to see who captures the gold at the 2008 Region II Best of NAMA Awards. Enjoy the awards ceremony and rubbing elbows with your peers, then try your luck in the casino.

The Region II Best of NAMA Awards will take place, Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino, One Riverboat Drive, North Kansas City, MO 64116.

Cost for the Awards Ceremony is $65/person. A block of rooms is available at Harrah’s for $99 for out-of-towners. For reservations call: 1-800-HARRAHS (800-427-7247) and make sure you mention NAMA to receive the special rate.

The Banquet will begin at 6:00 p.m. with cocktails followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7:00 p.m.

Register on-line at http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/register.htm or by calling 913-491-6500.

Registration for the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City is now open!

Our Opening General Session for the conference is The Sticky Factor with Dan Heath. Dan is a Consultant to the Policy Programs for the Aspen Institute. He is the co-author of the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, which has been a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek bestseller. Dan is also a columnist for Fast Company magazine, and he has spoken and consulted on the topic of “making ideas stick” with organizations such as Microsoft, Nestle, the American Heart Association, Nissan, and Macy’s. In addition, we will also honor this year’s recipient of the Agribusiness Leader of the Year Award (nominations due by January 15).

Our Second General Session is We Are More Powerful Than Me with Barry Libert. Barry is the CEO of Shared Insights, LLC. Shared Insights owns and operates business communities that enable enterprises and their professionals to communicate and collaborate in order to make better decisions based on the experience of peers, experts and leading industry vendors.

Libert was previously employed by Arthur Andersen, John Hancock and McKinsey & Company. He has also founded and sold two successful businesses that he co-founded. Mr. Libert has written two business books on the value of information and relationships; published numerous articles including those that have been published in Newsweek, Smart Money, Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and has appeared on CNN, CNBC and FNN. He has spoken at more than 100 events worldwide, to more than 20,000 people, on the value of information and relationships in business. At this session we will also recognize the NAMA Marketer of the Year and the recipients of the NAMA Leader Awards.

More information on the conference will be available soon…keep checking the conference web site at www.nama.org/amc.

To register for the conference now, visit http://www.nama.org/amc/register.html.

Hotel Information
The Hyatt Regency Crown Center is now taking reservations for the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 16-18, 2008 in Kansas City.

The hotel deadline for making reservations is March 25, 2008. Reservations made after this date are subject to higher rates and potential unavailability. Make sure you mention “NAMA” when making reservations. All reservation requests will require a credit card guarantee or one night’s deposit. Deposits will be refunded by the hotel for rooms cancelled more than three (3) days prior to arrival.

Room rates for the conference are:

$129 single
$129 double
$154 triple
$179 quad

When making your reservations please specify whether you are an agri-marketing professional or a student as there are different room blocks set up for each.

Professionals – to make your hotel reservations on-line visit, http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknaag2008.

Students – to make your hotel reservations on-line visit, http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknaas2008.

If your company is looking for a lot of recognition, then have we got the opportunity for you! Lead the Charge by sponsoring an event at the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 16-18, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

Some of the sponsorship opportunities that are left include:

Senior Management Workshop – $5,000
Trade Show Closing Reception – $5,000
Trade Show Refreshment Station – $2,000
Program Guide Ad Full Page – $2,000
Program Guide Ad ½ page – $1,000
Speaker Audio Recording – $1,000
Student Mentor Luncheon – $1,000
Breakout Sessions – $750 ea.
Program Guide Ad ¼ page – $500
Welcome to KC Banner – $200

Companies with marketing budgets of all sizes can participate. The higher your support, the more benefits you’ll receive….Platinum Plus, Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze. In addition, you can get more company visibility by claiming one or more of the sponsorship opportunities. These opportunities are available on a first come, first serve basis, with first right given to last year’s sponsor.

Sponsorship benefits are available in an Adobe .PDF format at http://www.nama.org/amc/sponsor/benefits.pdf.

For a complete list of sponsors, visit http://www.nama.org/amc/sponsor/sponsors.htm.

You can also fill out the on-line sponsorship confirmation form at http://www.nama.org/amc/sponsor/form.htm.

We’re open to new, fresh ideas, so if you have an idea for a new sponsorship feel free to contact Jenny Pickett at jennyp@nama.org or call 913-491-6500 to discuss.

Keep in mind that if you become a platinum plus, platinum, or gold sponsor you receive FREE booth space in the Connection Point (Trade Show)!

The regional and chapter Best of NAMA ceremonies are just around the corner. These ceremonies are celebrations of those entries that won first or merit in the regional competition that took place in November. To register for a regional banquet visit, http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/register.htm. To register for a chapter banquet, please see that chapters’ information page.

Information for the regional/chapter ceremonies is below:

January 10 – Region III Best of NAMA Ceremony
This ceremony will take place at The Metropolitan Ballroom and Clubroom in Golden Valley, MN. The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $65. For more information on the event visit, http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/region3.htm.

January 17 – MidSouth Best of NAMA Ceremony
Stay tuned for more information on the MidSouth Best of NAMA Ceremony.

January 17 – Region IV Best of NAMA Ceremony
The Region IV ceremony will take place at The Abbey Resort in Fontana, WI. The ceremony will start with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $65 per person. For more information visit, http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/region4.htm.

January 22 – Region II Best of NAMA Ceremony
This ceremony will take place at The VooDoo Lounge in Harrah’s Casino in North Kansas City, MO. The event will begin with a reception at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7:00 p.m. Cost for the event is $65 per person. For more information visit, http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/region2.htm.

January 31 – Carolinas/Virginia Best of NAMA Ceremony
This event will take place at the NC State University Club in Raleigh, NC. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. For more information visit, http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/carvir.html.

Entries that win first or merit at the regional competition and score above the minimum point standard are eligible to advance to the national competition in February. Winners of the national competition will be announced at the national Best of NAMA ceremony which kicks off the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, Leading The Charge, April 16, in Kansas City, MO.