The deadline for submitting nominations for the Agribusiness Leader and NAMA Marketer of the Year awards is this Friday, January 15, 2010. Both awards will be presented at the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 21-23, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Agribusiness Leader of the Year
The Agribusiness Leader of the Year is NAMA’s highest honor. The award honors an outstanding leader in agribusiness, education, government service or other agribusiness related areas. Nominees do not need to be NAMA members.

Fill out the nomination form on-line now at http://www.nama.org/awards/agribusinessform.htm. Or download the Agribusiness Leader Nomination form in an Adobe PDF format by visiting, http://www.nama.org/awards/agbusapplication.pdf.

NAMA Marketer of the Year
NAMA recognizes its active members with senior management of marketing and/or sales responsibilities with the NAMA Marketer of the Year award. This award is the most prestigious honor awarded to an active member of the association and honors outstanding accomplishments in the field of agri-marketing directly to ag producers. Nominees MUST be NAMA members.

Fill out the nomination form on-line now at http://www.nama.org/awards/namamarketerform.htm or download the NAMA Marketer of the Year nomination form in an Adobe PDF format by visiting, http://www.nama.org/awards/mktrapplication.pdf.

There’s still time to register for a Best of NAMA ceremony near you! The following regions and chapters will be hosting events.

Region III ~ January 14
The Region III Best of NAMA ceremony will take place on January 14, 2010, at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN.

Cost for the event is $70. The program will begin 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.

To register for the Region III Best of NAMA ceremony visit http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=10.

Rooms are being held at the Radisson University Hotel, 615 Washington Ave., SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414. Call 1-800-395-7046 to make your reservations. Make sure you mention NAMA to receive the $99 rate.

For more information visit www.nama.org/amc/bon/region3.htm.

Region IV ~ January 21
The Region IV Best of NAMA ceremony will take place on January 21, 2010, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Madison, WI.

The cost of this event is $65. The program will begin with a reception at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. and the awards presentation at 8:00 p.m.

To register for the Region IV Best of NAMA ceremony visit http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=11.

You can make hotel reservations at the Crowne Plaze by calling 800-404-7630. Make sure you mention “NAMA” to get the special rate of $104.

For the latest information on the Region IV Banquet visit www.nama.org/amc/bon/region4.htm.

Carolinas/Virginia NAMA ~ January 26
The Carolinas/Virginia NAMA chapter will hold their Best of NAMA event at the Chatham Hill Winery in Morrisville, NC. There will be wine tasting reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the awards program.

More information on this event will be coming soon…stay tuned to www.nama.org/amc/bon/carvir.html.

Western Pacific NAMA ~ February 9
Western Pacific NAMA will be hosting a Best of NAMA event at the VIP tent at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA.

The event will be a reception/mixer from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.

More details about the cost for this event are on the way. Visit www.nama.org/amc/bon/westpac.htm for the latest information.

The ABEF Century Club, which was launched at the 2004 Agri-Marketing Conference in Kansas City, raised $2,100 at the 2009 Agri-Marketing Conference. Investing in the club provides the opportunity to step forward and help advance the future of agribusiness. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders and the Century Club support is totally dedicated for investing in scholarships for tomorrow’s leaders.

The Century Club’s goal is to have today’s agribusiness leaders contribute $100 for today’s youth.

Membership in the Century Club is on an annual basis.

Club members who renew prior to the Agri-Marketing Conference will have an “ABEF Century Club” sticker on their name badge and be recognized on the Century Club sign in the Silent Auction area and in other conference materials.  You will also receive an invitation to attend the Agribusiness Leader of the Year Recognition Luncheon hosted by the ABEF and sponsored by Adayana Agri Business Group, Inc.  The annual membership contribution is $100.

You can be a part of this select group of individuals committed to enhancing the opportunity for tomorrow’s leaders. The list below contains professionals who joined the Century Club by the end of the 2009 conference. Don’t be left out, sign yourself up now! Visit http://www.nama.org/abef/centuryclub/signup.htm.

John Riley
Ron Claussen
Jan Ford
H&P Company, Inc.
Mick Sibbel
Leigh Ann Cleaver
Vicki Henrickson
Beth Burgy
Lyle Orwig
Leon Westbrock
Mike Gustafson
Bill Howard
Tom Taylor
Gary Vorpahl
Russ Parker
Tom Davis
Marvin Kokes
Marjory Walker
Allen Barkve
Tim Price
Cliff Becker

The new NAMA Job Network has moved to the Members Only Section of the NAMA web site.

The job network was created to make it easy for you to post jobs. How it works? Simply visit http://www.nama.org/postjob.aspx to post your position, once you have submitted the position, it will be approved by the NAMA staff and will then be posted live. Please allow 24 hours for your job to be approved and posted live.

To view the postings, just visit http://www.nama.org/membersonly.aspx and log in. Once logged in, scroll down to the NAMA Job Network and click on that link to view all postings.

Please note, you must be a NAMA member to view postings, but you need not be a NAMA member to post a position.

The Trends In Agriculture fall meeting is moving to Minneapolis this year! In addition, the dates have changed as well. The new dates for the 2010 Trends In Agriculture conference is October 5-6, at The Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, MN.

“We are very excited to host Trends in Agriculture in Minneapolis,” said Jenny Pickett, Executive Vice President/CEO of NAMA.  “We have a large membership base there and it gives us a chance to expand our audience for the event,” says Pickett.

The Best of NAMA regional judging will be November 9-10, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City. The regional judging will take place prior to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention.

Mark your calendars today for the 2010 Trends In Agriculture, October 5-6, in Minneapolis!

Get your company noticed by becoming a sponsor at the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 21-23, in Kansas City. 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. The high profile Best of NAMA Celebration Reception in the Connection Point is just one of the many opportunities available.

NAMA is introducing a new level of sponsorship:  Sustaining Partners

The NAMA Sustaining Partner would provide maximum exposure for a company seeking to align themselves more closely throughout the year with NAMA.  The program delivers extensive overall promotional benefits and exposure at all three key NAMA events (Conference, Boot Camp and Trends in Agriculture).  The partnership provides the ability to carry marketing objectives to new levels while assuring that NAMA has a more stable means of sponsorship income throughout the year.  The baseline commitment is $10,000 over the course of one full year.

The NAMA Sustaining Partner will receive all the sponsorship benefits of a Platinum Level Sponsor, plus the following:

• Use of Strategic Partner logo in advertising and promotion
• Web banner ad on NAMA web site that rotates with other Strategic Partners on an equal basis
• One comp registration at each of the three key NAMA meetings
• One comp NAMA membership
• Ad on digital signage at annual Conference
• Logo recognition as a partner on promotional materials for all three key NAMA events
• Verbal recognition at all three key events

Who’s already a Sustaining Partner? Take a look!

Agri Marketing magazine
Farm Progress Companies
High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
John Deere
Successful Farming
Syngenta

Please review the benefits and opportunities of sponsorship at the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference and confirm your interest by filling out the online sponsorship form at http://nama.org/amc/sponsor/form.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at (913) 491-6500 or e-mail to jennyp@nama.org.

Start making your plans now to attend the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 21-23, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

We’ve included the schedule at-a-glance for professionals and students below so you can easily plan your trip.

PROFESSIONAL SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 20

12:00 Noon – 5:00 p.m. – Executive Committee Meeting
11:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. – ABEF Golf Outing
6:00-8:00 p.m. – ABEF Golf Outing Awards Reception

Wednesday, April 21

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon – Chapter Leader Workshop
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Board of Directors’ Meeting
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Pre-Conference Workshop
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. – First-Timer/Leader Reception
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. – Best of NAMA Finalists Reception
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Best of NAMA Ceremony
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Best of NAMA Celebration Reception in the Connection Point

Thursday, April 22

7:30 – 8:45 a.m. – Omelet Feast
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. – Opening General Session/Agribusiness Leader of the Year Award
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Second General Session/NAMA Marketer of the Year Award/NAMA Leadership Awards
12:30 – 2:00 p.m. – Connection Point Luncheon
1:30 – 5:30 p.m. – Student Marketing Competition Finals
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Senior Management Workshop
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Breakout Sessions
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Connection Point Break
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. – Breakout Sessions
5:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Connection Point Closing Reception/ABEF Silent Auction

Friday, April 23

6:00 – 7:15 a.m. – Sunrise Walk
8:00 – 8:45 a.m. – Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. – Breakout Sessions
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 Noon – Closing Session Brunch

STUDENT SCHEDULE

Tuesday, April 20

12:00 Noon – 5:00 p.m. – Student Practice
5:00 – 6:30 p.m. – Student Orientation
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. – Judges’ Reception/Orientation

Wednesday, April 21

7:30 – 11:00 a.m. – Student Marketing Competition Preliminary Heats
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Student Luncheon
12:30 – 3:00 p.m. – Student Marketing Competition Semi-Finals
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Student Critiques

Thursday, April 22

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. – Student Mentoring Lunch in the Connection Point
1:30 – 5:30 p.m. – Student Marketing Competition Finals
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. – Student Awards in the Connection Point
9:00 p.m. – 12:00 Midnight – Student Party

Friday, April 23

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. – Student Advisors’ Meeting
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. – Student Presidents’ Meeting

To register for the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, please visit http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=8.

To make your hotel reservations, please visit:
Professionals – http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknagr2010

Students – http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknags2010