The hotel cut-off date for the 2008 NAMA Boot Camp is just around the corner on July 21. Hotel reservations made after this date are subject to higher rates and potential unavailability. The NAMA Boot Camp will take place at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City. Please call 816-421-1234 to make your reservations and make sure you mention NAMA to receive the special rate.

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

Just added to the Boot Camp line-up is Allan Johnson, Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary, Rural Development-USDA. Johnson will present at the luncheon session, Food & Fuel, on Wednesday, August 13. Before joining Rural Development, Johnson was active in agricultural publishing and public affairs for more than 30 years. He served as President of Farm Progress Companies and was named NAMA Ag Communicator of the Year in the Media category in 1998.

You won’t want to miss the 2008 NAMA Boot Camp! To register now, visit http://payment.nama.org/bootcamp08.htm.

For more information on Boot Camp speakers and sessions, visit http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the NAMA Boot Camp! To sign-up for a sponsorship, visit http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp-spo.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at jennyp@nama.org.

In an effort to broaden your professional development opportunities, NAMA will be hosting several webinars in the upcoming program year.

Our first webinar will be Thursday, August 7. Barb Murphy, President of Weyforth-Haas Marketing will present Direct Branding: Where Message Meets Measure. The webinar will begin at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time) and will last for one hour. Cost for the webinar will be $35.

Stay tuned to your inbox for more information on the upcoming webinars!

You’re invited to join the NAMA Group on LinkedIn. Joining will allow you to find and contact other NAMA members on LinkedIn. The goal of this group is to help members:

• Reach other members of NAMA
• Accelerate careers/business through referrals from NAMA Group members
• Know more than a name – view rich professional profiles from fellow NAMA Group members

It’s a great way to connect with NAMA members. All current NAMA members have been “pre-approved” to be part of this group. You must be a member to be part of the group! Join LinkedIn today, just visit http://www.linkedin.com/.

The Iowa NAMA Chapter hosted the “Field to Food Olympics” on June 21, 2008 in conjunction with the Johnston Green Days Festival. This new event evolved from previous years’ 5k run and marks 13 years of Field to Food events for the Iowa Chapter. The Field to Food Olympics highlighted the connection between Iowa agriculture and the food we enjoy every day.

Participants completed four stations:

• Agriculture safety trivia: participate in 101-style trivia to learn about the precautions involved in agriculture.
• Dress for success: gear up for chores by dressing in ag appropriate working attire.
• Pedal tractor driving: navigate through the obstacle course and head to the fields for harvest.
• Find the soybeans: it’s harvest time – search for soybeans in a bucket of corn.

Two beneficiaries, the Iowa FFA Foundation and Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, each will receive a $1,000 donation from the event. The Iowa FFA Foundation will use proceeds to support the Food Science and Technology Career Development Event Awards and the FFA Enrichment Center. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids will use proceeds to support their efforts to promote a safe farm environment to prevent health hazards, injuries and fatalities to children and youth.

The chapter would like to thank the following sponsors: Agri-Access, Baitinger Consulting, CMA Consulting, and Successful Farming. We would also like to thank the volunteers from Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, 2008 Iowa FFA State Officer team, and members of the AIB College and Iowa State University student chapters.

Ohio Chapter members toured Price Farms Organics, Ltd, in Delaware, Ohio, followed by a luncheon and chapter meeting on June 26, 2008.

Price Farms Organics is a premiere organic bulk material farm licensed by the Ohio E.P.A. as a Class II Composting Facility. Its owner, Tom Price, conducted the tour and spoke at length about both the operation.

This is an extensive operation that strives to take full advantage of all opportunities to recycle what many would call waste.

Tom Price’s constant work over the years to recycle and to maintain environmental balance was recently recognized with his induction into the Ohio State Fair Ag Hall of Fame. A video of his induction was watched during the luncheon afterwards. Lunch also included discussion about future chapter programs. As those programs are finalized, information will be shared so members can add the dates to their calendars.

Below is a list of new members since July 1. Welcome to NAMA!

Carolinas/Virginia
Antonia Matthews, Quarry Integrated Communications

Great Plains
Peggy Burdick, Golden Plains Ag Network
Berta Fox, KFRM Radio

Midlands
Dawn Skibinski, Twin Prairies Suffolks

MoKan
Rick Kennedy, KC Vet Specialty
Erin Turnbaugh, Blasdel Cleaver Schwalbe Communications

North Central
Stephanie Loch, Broadhead + Company

Whether you’ve just entered the rough working world or one who’s been through the NAMA Boot Camp drill before, sign up for this program today to learn more about the agri-marketing industry. Join us for the 5th annual NAMA Boot Camp, August 12-14, 2008 in Kansas City.

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

Take a look at the Boot Camp Sessions we have scheduled for you:

Speed Networking
Producer Panel
Serving Niche Markets – Focus on California
New Media
Food & Fuel
Little Red Writing Hood and the Big, Scary Communications Plan
A Year in the Life of a Producer
International Marketing
Creative in Agriculture
Client/Agency Panel

Once again the MoKan NAMA Chapter is hosting an Ag Tour prior to the start of Boot Camp on Tuesday, August 12. Scheduled stops include a cow/calf producer, veterinarian, fertilizer dealer and row crop farmer.

Make your hotel reservations now at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center! The hotel cut-off date is July 21. Hotel reservations made after this date are subject to higher rates and potential unavailability. Contact the Hyatt 816-421-1234 to make your reservations. The room rate is $125.
You won’t want to miss the 2008 NAMA Boot Camp! To register now, visit http://payment.nama.org/bootcamp08.htm.

For more information on Boot Camp speakers and sessions, visit http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the NAMA Boot Camp! To sign-up for a sponsorship, visit http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp-spo.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at jennyp@nama.org.