As you know, we are in the process of hiring a new Executive Director for NAMA. The position has been posted on the following websites:

www.nama.org
www.asaecenter.org
www.agcareers.com

Resumes also can be e-mailed to searchcommittee@nama.org.

Resumes will be accepted until the end of the business day on Friday, July 6, 2007. At that time the search committee will begin the process of identifying and interviewing prospective candidates. We hope to have our new Executive Director on board in October.

The search committee consists of the following members:

Stephanie Gable, Fort Dodge Animal Health
Monte Reese
Tom Smull, Associations, Inc.
Greg Ehm, Two Rivers Marketing
Beth Burgy, Broadhead+Co

In the meantime, the NAMA staff will continue to support on-going programs and initiatives, including the NAMA Boot Camp and Agribusiness Forum, and will be available to assist with any questions you may have.

We thank you in advance for your patience and support as we go through this process. It’s an exciting time for agriculture and our organization. We look forward to introducing you to our new Executive Director later this fall.

The 4th Annual NAMA Boot Camp will take place August 21-23, 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:

Importance of Networking
Interpreting Research
Maximizing Your Trade Show ROI
Successful AgriTourism
AgroTerrorism
Shifting Demographics in Agriculture
New Media
Ethanol
Farm Bill Update

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 get you out in the field to experience a wide range of working agricultural operations first hand.

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 2007 NAMA Boot Camp visit, http://payment.nama.org/bootcamp07.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.

For more information on the NAMA Boot Camp visit, http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm.

To support young, aspiring ag professionals, the National Agri-Marketing Association, Eastern Chapter, presented its first annual student award grant at New York City’s John Bowne High School graduation awards ceremony on May 31, 2007. Wendy Elliot, Pfizer Animal Health, presented the award to graduating senior Alida Sanabria. Alida is an animal science major in John Bowne’s specialized agriculture program and is active in the student FFA chapter. Alida will enter the pre-veterinary science program at Cornell University this fall.

Gibbs & Soell Public Relations matched the NAMA grant amount, resulting in a total award of $600.

Steven Perry, assistant principal and director of agriculture of John Bowne High School, says, “Our school welcomes the involvement of groups like NAMA through this special award program. Alida worked especially hard to achieve her academic successes and has wanted to be a veterinarian since she was six years old. The NAMA award will help in moving Alida closer to her goal at Cornell.”

John Bowne High School is located in Queens, 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. 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.

Earlier that evening, the Eastern Chapter convened for its summer chapter meeting at CIBO Restaurant in NYC.

For more information, please e-mail Catherine Wang at cwang@gibbs-soell.com.

The Region IV Leader Workshop took place May 31, prior to the Badger/Chicago NAMA Golf Outing, at Hawk’s View Golf Club in Lake Geneva, WI.

Thanks to Sarah Muirhead, Feedstuffs, in-coming Chicago president; Betsy Francoeur, Bader Rutter, in-coming Badger president; Tom Thieding, Wisconsin Farm Bureau, in-coming Badger board member; and Kenna Rathai, Kenna B. Rathai Communications, NAMA Staff Representative, for participating in the workshop, a lot of great ideas were brainstormed in the areas of chapter planning, leadership, membership and programming for the upcoming program year.

Also discussed was the Region IV Best of NAMA Banquet. It was decided to bring the location back to the Lake Geneva, Wis. area and are tentatively holding Thursday, January 17, 2008, as the date. Each chapter will be responsible for providing a representative to serve on this committee.

Region III Leader Workshop
Region III will host a leader workshop on Thursday, June 21 at the Crystal Lake Golf Club, prior to the North Central golf outing. The workshop will take place from 8:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Region II Leader Workshop
The Region II Leader Workshop will take place in July. Stay tuned for more information.
Note: Please also remember, if you have your leaders selected for the upcoming 2007-2008 program year, please submit them to Linda Schaefer at the NAMA office at lindas@nama.org.

Chapter Leadership
Make the most of your membership by taking a committee role at the chapter level. Gain hands-on leadership experience that will benefit you in your professional and personal life.

Chapter leaders are currently recruiting committee members. If you are interested in becoming a member of a chapter committee, contact your chapter president. A list of chapter presidents can be found at http://www.nama.org/chapters/chapters-index.html.

Get the company recognition to match your marketing or PR objectives by sponsoring a session or event at the 2007 Agribusiness Forum, November 13-14 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 next year’s 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.

Nominate someone you know for the Professional Development Awards of Excellence. These awards will be presented at the 2007 Agribusiness Forum, November 13-14, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

The awards honor NAMA members based on outstanding achievement in each of the Professional Development Areas (PDA): (1) Marketing Communications; (2) Product/Species Management; (3) Public Relations; and (4) Sales. Nominees 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.

The deadline for submitting nominations is September 1. 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.

Some of the speakers for the 2007 NAMA Boot Camp have been confirmed. The Boot Camp will take place August 21-23, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

This year’s Boot Camp will kick-off on Tuesday, August 21, at 8:00 a.m. with an optional day-long farm tour. Following the tour, registration for the Boot Camp will open along with a chance to network at the welcome reception. After the reception, enjoy dinner followed by a session on Speed Networking with Matt Anderson, The Referral Authority.

Wednesday, August 22, begins with breakfast and a Producer Panel. After the general session, select one of two breakout sessions. These breakouts will focus on Research and Trade Shows. Scott Hanna, Skyline Displays Heartland, Inc., will show attendees how maximizing your Trade Show R.O.I. helps you get results by revealing the essential aspects of a successful trade show program.

Join Errie Raasch with the Liberty Corn Maze/Carolyn’s Country Cousins and other attendees for a luncheon session on AgriTourism. The afternoon will begin with breakouts on BioSecurity as well as Shifting Demographics with Rhett Hawkins of Osborn & Barr Communications. The final session of the day will be a client/agency panel discussion. Following the last session, join us at The Cashew in downtown Kansas City for a networking reception.

Thursday, August 23, will kick-off with breakfast followed by breakout sessions on the Farm Bill and New Media followed by the Boot Camp Closing Session.

More details on sessions and speakers to come!

To register for the 2007 NAMA Boot Camp visit, http://payment.nama.org/bootcamp07.htm.

There are a few sponsorships still available for 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.

For more information on the NAMA Boot Camp visit, http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm.