The MoKan NAMA Chapter held its latest monthly meeting July 8 at Lidia’s Restaurant in the Freight District of Kansas City, Mo. Approximately 70 members heard the featured presenter, Jason Weaver, founder and CEO of Sway, Inc.

Weaver discussed why social media is important now, how it works as a part of an integrated marketing plan, and what tactics are possible to launch today.  Weaver says social media is going to continue to be added to marketing plans for three reasons: 1) it’s measurable, 2) updates can be made on a turn of a dime, and 3) it’s highly targeted to reach your key audience.

According to Weaver, social networking is the most powerful way to interact with people online.  He says your audience is already online.  In fact, he has never not found an audience online for any particular product or service.  Weaver says the best way to reach your target audience is through relevant, engaging content — content is king when it comes to driving awareness online.

Weaver suggested marketers view social media like this…“you give it enough gas to get up the hill, you provide valuable content to the audience, eventually word-of-mouth takes over, and you sell the product.”  He states that starting and stopping an online, social strategy is worse than not doing one at all.

Following the luncheon meeting and presentation, the MoKan Chapter drew a $50 cash door prize, which was awarded to Jennifer Saylor of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

Future MoKan NAMA events include the First Annual Miniature Golf Tourney in late August or September.  Watch for details.

Note: 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.

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 6th annual NAMA Boot Camp, August 18-20, 2009 in Kansas City.

All attendees will receive a notebook packed with ag terminology and a CD with speaker presentations.

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

Networking
A Year in the Life of a Crop Producer
A Year in the Life of a Cow/Calf Producer
A Year in the Life of a Specialty Producer
Social Marketing
Little Red Writing Hood & The Big, Scary Communications Plan
Producer Panel
Pitching To Ag Media
How To Deal with a Client
Retailer Panel
Jedi Marketing

Once again the MoKan NAMA Chapter is hosting an Ag Tour prior to the start of Boot Camp on Tuesday, August 18. Scheduled stops include a trip to seed production facility NECO Seeds in Garden City, MO with a lunch stop at The Farm, a family owned and operated facility associated with NECO Seeds. The afternoon will feature a trip to Kurzweil Farm for a tour of a cattle and hog operation. Attendees will tour the hog confinement and also visit the meat store and learn how they process and market their own meat.

Make your hotel reservations now at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center! The hotel cut-off date is July 27. 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 $129.

You won’t want to miss the 2009 NAMA Boot Camp! To register now, visit https://payment.nama.org/bootcamp09.htm.

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

Sponsorships are now available for the 2009 Trends In Agriculture meeting, November 10-11, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

As a sponsor of Trends In Agriculture, 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-Trends articles in the Agri Marketing magazine;
• Recognition on the NAMA Trends In Agriculture Web site page;
• and, first right of refusal for sponsorship of the same item for the 2010 Trends In Agriculture.

If you are interested in sponsoring a session or event at this year’s meeting, contact Jenny Pickett in the NAMA office at (913) 491-6500 or via e-mail at jennyp@nama.org.

The Trends In Agriculture takes place prior to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) convention. Trends In Agriculture will take place at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center which is near the NAFB hotel.

The Eastern Chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) and Gibbs & Soell Public Relations recently awarded $500 scholastic grants to Katherine Vegas and Nigel Calderon, two Future Farmers of America (FFA) students graduating from the John Bowne High School class of 2009.

The grants, sponsored by NAMA and Gibbs & Soell Public Relations, were presented to Vegas and Calderon for their outstanding scholastic achievement and contributions to the FFA program at the school. Making the presentation was Catherine Wang, NAMA Eastern Chapter president and an agribusiness communications professional at Gibbs & Soell.

John Bowne High School, located in Flushing, N.Y., has a specialized agriculture program that is nationally recognized as an outstanding urban agricultural education offering. The school’s agriculture program is the most extensive of its kind in the state.

A graduating senior of the animal science program, Vegas has been an FFA member for her entire four years of high school. She plans to study wildlife management at the State University of New York – Cobleskill. As an agriculture major, Calderon gained broad experience in animal health studies on the Small Animal Care and Exotic Animal teams at John Bowne. He plans a career in zoology or veterinarian medicine.

“Katherine, Nigel and the other John Bowne High School students represent the future of the agriculture industry,” Wang said. “By recognizing the achievements of these hard-working students, we hope that they are encouraged to vigorously pursue their careers in animal health.”

Nearly 30 golfers participated in the annual MoKan NAMA Golf Classic on June 25 at Falcon Lakes Golf Course in Basehor, KS.

The MoKan Golf Classic is an annual fund-raiser event that helps provide additional financial support for both of the MoKan Student NAMA chapters; Kansas State and Northwest Missouri State.

Coming in third place at the outing was:

Laurie Whittington, McCormick Company
Sue Lee, Farm Journal Media
Scott Lynn, Osborn & Barr Communications
Bob Brunker, J.L. Farmakis

Second Place honors go to:

Ken Dean, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
Jim Martin, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
Wes Lynch, Jayhawk Sports Marketing
Jason Kramer, Jayhawk Sports Marketing

And the first place team at the 2009 MoKan Golf Classic consisted of:

Laurie Langstraat, Natl. Crop Insurance Services
Mike Langstraat, Falcon Lakes Golf
Shane Weaver, Natl. Crop Insurance Services
Mike Sieben, Natl. Crop Insurance Services

Mark your calendars to check out an upcoming chapter event for the spring/summer!

If you have any write-ups or photos from your previous events, please send the information to Kathi Conrad at kathic@nama.org to get it in the NAMA e-News.

June 12 ~ Eastern NAMA
Student FFA Banquet

Please save the date June 12 on your calendars. You are invited to attend the Student FFA Banquet on June 12 where NAMA East will present scholarships to two Class of 2009 graduates of the John Bowne High School Ag Education Program. This year’s winners are outstanding achievers in the fields of plant and animal sciences. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Catherine Wang, Gibbs & Soell, at 212-697-2600 ext. 1202 or at cwang@gibbs-soell.com.

June 18 ~ North Central
Golf Outing

The North Central Golf Outing is planned for Thursday, June 18. Keep checking the NAMA Calendar for the latest information on this golf outing.

June 18 ~ Ohio NAMA
Buckeye Tour

It’s been a while since we just got together and had a fun day of networking and catching up on what everyone’s up to. We’ve been discussing this fun day for a while and we finally have some details to share with you.

1. Private morning tour of the Buckeye’s (“The Horseshoe”) football stadium (approx 9:30 am -11:00 am)
2. Afternoon business day special Columbus Clippers Baseball Game (12:00 pm)

We’ll have the tour in the morning followed by some drinks and food at the ballpark. We hope to see you all for this fun-filled day!!

The RSVP’s for tickets and other details will be coming soon. Students, you’re also more than welcome to join us. Keep checking the NAMA Calendar for more information.

June 25 ~ MoKan NAMA
MoKan Golf Classic

Join MoKan NAMA for their annual Golf Classic at Falcon Lakes Golf Course in Basehor, KS. Registration for the golf outing will begin at Noon and tee off will be at 1:00 p.m. Dinner and an awards ceremony will follow the outing.
This annual fund-raiser event helps provide additional financial support for both of our student chapters; Kansas State and Northwest Missouri State. To register visit, https://payment.nama.org/mokan.html.

August 18 ~ MoKan NAMA
MoKan Ag Tour

Join MoKan NAMA for the annual Ag Tour, prior to the NAMA Boot Camp, on August 18. The MoKan Ag Tour will begin at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri and will feature a trip to seed production facility, NECO Seeds, in Garden City, Missouri. The group will stop for lunch at The Farm, a family owned and operated facility with a dining hall. The afternoon will feature a trip to a livestock operation, then back to the Hyatt Regency Crown Center.

To register for the MoKan Ag Tour and/or the NAMA Boot Camp, visit http://www.nama.org/programs/index.html.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the Professional Development Awards of Excellence is September 1, 2009. These awards will be presented at the 2009 Trends In Agriculture meeting, November 10-11, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

The Professional Development Awards of Excellence were created in 2001 to demonstrate NAMA’s commitment to the four professional development areas.

Below is a list of the past Awards of Excellence recipients:

Marketing Communications
2008 – Paul Redhage
2007 – Pete Kovac
2006 – Steve Engle
2005 – Bev Larson
2004 – Neil DeStefano
2003 – Sarah Vacek
2002 – Ken Anderson
2001 – Doug Headley

Product/Species Management
2008 – No award was given in this area
2007 – Klaas Okkinga
2006 – No award was given in this area
2005 – Dennis Gehler
2004 – Wendy Elliott
2003 – Brian Markwardt
2002 – Tony Klemm
2001 – Tony Solon

Public Relations
2008 – Beth Andersen
2007 – Greg Smith
2006 – Barry Nelson
2005 – Janice Person
2004 – Kendal Frazier
2003 – Mike Ricciuto
2002 – David Buchholz
2001 – Ken Gordon

Sales
2008 – Vernon Benes
2007 – Bill Heffron
2006 – Anita Vanderwert
2005 – Margaret Wallace Oldham
2004 – Allen Barkve
2003 – Cliff Becker
2002 – Bob Deiss
2001 – Tom Taylor

Nominees for the Awards of Excellence 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. 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.