The October 12, 2006, Ohio NAMA meeting was held at Unverferth Manufacturing in Kalida, Ohio. Unverferth is a family owned northwest Ohio short-line company which has grown into a world-class manufacturer and marketer of a diverse range of agricultural equipment.

Unverferth has three manufacturing facilities: Delphos, OH, Kalida, OH and Shell Rock, IA. Unverferth currently operates three divisions for specific product lines: 1) Unverferth: grain handling equipment, tillage equipment and wheel systems; 2) Town and Country, Ltd.: Minuteman attachments, Freedom, 3-point and construction equipment; 3) Alliance Product Group: Top Air sprayers, Parker Grain handling and Kill Bros. handling equipment.

Ohio NAMA has agreed to try and hold at least one “tour” and one educational or motivational meeting per year. Our goal is to have at least one other meeting annually.

We are always looking for other places to visit and hear about their successful marketing and management styles. The next Ohio NAMA meeting is planned for March 2007. We are finalizing details with Dale Carnegie to provide a one day training seminar. Details to follow in near future – keep checking your email.

Find a home for that special edition wildlife print or even those sports tickets and surplus company logo jackets. Or give a media package or services, and support the Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF) at the same time. Donations are needed for the 2007 ABEF Silent Auction, held during the Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show, April 11-13 in Dallas.

Please join your agri-marketing peers in supporting this worthwhile effort by donating to the auction. Fill out the on-line Pledge Form at http://www.nama.org/abef/silentauction/pledgeform.htm to indicate your donation and/or interest in the project by March 16, 2007, to be included in the auction catalog. Any worthwhile product or service will be gratefully accepted.

Please show your support of the ABEF and donate what you can (minimum of $50 value suggested). All proceeds from the Silent Auction support the NAMA Student Careers Program.

Please note that all media and service packages will be auctioned on-line. The on-line auction will take place at the end of March.

For more information on the ABEF and the Silent and On-Line Auctions visit, http://www.nama.org/abef/abef-index.html.

To make a pledge to the Auction visit, http://www.nama.org/abef/silentauction/pledgeform.htm.

For more information about the 2007 Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show visit, http://www.nama.org/amc.

As you know, recognizing and celebrating agriculture is an important commitment we should all make. Far too few Americans truly understand the role of agriculture in their everyday lives and that lack of awareness creates many challenges for our industry. That’s why the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) has developed the Ag Day Planning Guide, the annual Ag Day Poster and the Ag Fact Cards, to help concerned organizations and individuals like you make the most of your Ag Day event, and in doing so, improve the understanding about agriculture nationwide.

If you are planning to host an Ag Day Event and would like some helpful ideas, visit the Ag Day web site at www.agday.org or if you would like to order Ag Day Materials, visit, http://payment.nama.org/agdayorder.htm or call the Agriculture Council of America at 913-491-1895 to order.

Join the Agriculture Council of America and NAMA in celebrating National Ag Week, March 18-24 and National Ag Day, March 21, 2007! Good luck in your celebrations!

NAMA is launching a winter membership promotion and as a NAMA member we wanted you to be aware.

New members who join NAMA between January 1 and April 6, 2007 will be entered into a drawing for a 30 GB Video iPod. In addition, existing NAMA members who recruit these new members will also be entered into the drawing. Just make sure when you recruit a member that they put your name in the “referred by” space on the membership application.

The drawing for the iPod will take place at the Trade Show Closing Reception on Thursday, April 12 at the 2007 Agri-Marketing Conference, but you need not be present to win.

Start recruiting members today and take home your new iPod after the conference!

Delivering a new business pitch? Making a presentation to a client? Learn how to hone the skills necessary to make a more powerful impression at a pre-conference workshop, Wednesday, April 11 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Presenting Your Ideas With Power, hosted by Laurie Richards, Laurie Richards & Associates, will teach you how to organize your thoughts to make your point clearly, and to gain support. This interactive workshop will help you polish your speaking skills regardless of your experience or level of development.

Raised in South Dakota, Laurie Richards began her professional career as a legislative correspondent for Public Broadcasting. Moving to Des Moines, Iowa, she managed member communications for the National Pork Producers Council.

Richards’ achievements include hosting her own television show, managing the fastest growing public relations agency in Philadelphia, launching award-winning public affairs programs, and managing highly effective grassroots lobbying and development programs for a variety of associations and Fortune 500 companies.

In 1992, Richards capitalized on her experience in broadcasting, public relations, and professional development, and created Laurie Richards & Associates, Inc.

Author of the popular Speaking Without Fear, and Making Meetings Produce, she has prepared hundreds of professionals for media interviews, legislative visits, lobbying efforts, and presentations. Her latest work, How to Manage Your People Without Them Managing You system, is a live recording of one of Richards’ most popular programs.

Participants must be registered for the full Agri-Marketing Conference to attend this workshop. Separate registration is required, but there is no additional registration fee. To reserve your spot for the pre-conference workshop visit, www.nama.org/amc/reserveworkshop.htm.

Come to the conference early and participate in this hands-on experience!

For more information about the Agri-Marketing Conference visit, www.nama.org/amc.

A company’s employees are only as good as the company’s management. Scott Deming, Scott Deming’s ESP, will show you how to effectively communicate, motivate, empower and inspire every employee so that the brand promise becomes the brand delivery.

In this interactive workshop, targeting senior marketing management, you will learn solid, practical methods and processes to help separate your organization from your competitors. You will learn how to truly identify the difference between typical purchase experiences and extraordinary, emotional experiences that will create loyal customers for life.

In 1983, Scott Deming started his own marketing and advertising company, RCI, which eventually grew into a multi-million dollar organization servicing Fortune 500 companies and many other medium-to-large corporations across the country. Their clients successfully grew their businesses and beat the competition using “renegade” branding, sales, customer service and communications programs. This progressive thinking helped Deming’s firm to realize uncommon growth and success and being named The Business Journal’s “Most Inspiring Business of the Year.” Today, Deming is an internationally known consultant and speaker on creating the ultimate customer experience and turning each and every customer into an evangelist.

Come ready to participate and learn. This is one workshop that will send you away with the tools you need to turn your brand (or your client’s brand) into “the Only Logical Choice.”

Participants of the Senior Management Workshop must be registered for the full Agri-Marketing Conference. Separate registration is required, but there is no additional registration fee. To reserve your spot for the Senior Management Workshop visit www.nama.org/amc/seniorworkshop.html.

For more information about the Agri-Marketing Conference visit, www.nama.org/amc.

One of the major activities of the New Mexico State University NAMA chapter during the spring semester is preparing for their 8th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament. The tournament will be held on March 3 at the NMSU golf course. Their goal is to net at least $10,000 for awarding scholarships to active NMSU/NAMA members, assist with travel expenses to the NAMA marketing competition and other NAMA activities. This event is the club’s largest fundraising activity.

The students work together as a team to obtain sponsorships, solicit teams, develop a publicity program for sponsors and coordinate all of the activities of the day of the tournament including team registrations, cater a breakfast and lunch for over 125 people, and the awards ceremony.

For more information about the NMSU Golf Tournament contact student NAMA President Clarissa Cox at clauren@nmsu.edu or advisor Bill Gorman at wigorman@nmsu.edu.