NAMA welcomes Jennifer Pickett as the new Executive Vice President/CEO of the organization. Pickett is an accomplished not-for-profit professional with more than 16 years of executive leadership experience and a comprehensive understanding of the agricultural industry.

The NAMA Search Committee conducted an extensive search for the new NAMA Executive Vice President/CEO that resulted in a highly qualified pool of 70 applicants. It was Pickett’s combination of skills, experience and forward-thinking ideas that made her the most convincing choice for the position. The NAMA Staff and Leadership are excited to work with Pickett in her new role and believe she can help the organization adapt as we continue to focus on the changing needs of our members.

“I plan to capitalize on the foundation that has been built for over 50 years,” says Pickett. “I will work closely with the NAMA Leadership to move the association into the future,” adds Pickett.

Pickett was most recently the Chief Operating Officer for NAMA. Her previous responsibilities with NAMA included budget oversight, staff management and primary responsibility for Ag Day, NAMA Boot Camp, Best of NAMA, Membership and Careers Committees.

Pickett’s new responsibilities will include fiscal management, overseeing office staff, which is currently responsible for operations and logistics to support membership recruitment and retention, as well as local and national programming including the Agri-Marketing Conference, Best of NAMA awards program, Agribusiness Forum and NAMA Boot Camp. She will also interact with numerous volunteer committees related to these functions. Additionally, she will have the responsibility for expanding sponsorship revenues and developing relationships with agribusiness partners.

On behalf of the NAMA Staff, we want to thank the search committee and executive committee for their hard work through this selection process. We are very pleased and excited about what Jenny Pickett can deliver to the NAMA membership.

NAMA Search Committee Members:
Stephanie Gable, Ft. Dodge Animal Health (National NAMA President)
Beth Burgy, Broadhead + Company (NAMA Executive Committee)
Monte Reese (NAMA Executive Committee Secretary/Treasurer)
Tom Smull, Associations Inc. (NAMA Past President)
Greg Ehm, Two Rivers Marketing Group (Iowa NAMA Member, National Chapter Services Chair)

NAMA Executive Committee:
Stephanie Gable, Ft. Dodge Animal Health (National NAMA President)
Patty Travis, 5MetaCom (National NAMA President Elect)
Monte Reese (NAMA Executive Committee Secretary/Treasurer)
Beth Burgy, Broadhead + Company
Ken Anderson, David & Associates
Carol Anderson, Anderson/Fallon
Vicki Henrickson
Kyle Bauer, KFRM Radio
Barry Nelson, John Deere

The Region II Leader Workshop took place August 8 in Kansas City. Special thanks to Michele McCawley, PBI/Gordon Corporation, MoKan Careers Co-Chair; Amy Bugg, Two West, MoKan Communications co-chair; Colleen Gerke, John Deere, MoKan President; Kyle Bauer, KFRM Radio, Great Plains Treasurer and Executive Committee Member; Dave Furbeck, VML, MoKan Professional Development Co-Chair; Ken Dean, High Plains Journal, MoKan Membership Chair; Melissa Sanders, AdFarm, Region II Director; Dallas Ford, Alpha Scouts, MoKan Careers Co-chair; Melanie Acklin, Osborn & Barr Communications, MoKan Vice President; Stephanie Gable, Ft. Dodge Animal Health, National NAMA President; Jamie Linn, Husker Sports Network, Midland President; Kenna Rathai, Kenna B. Rathai Communications, NAMA Staff representative; Kathi Conrad and Jenny Pickett, National NAMA Staff for attending the workshop.

These incoming leaders discussed ideas regarding student NAMA chapters, chapter planning, leadership, programming, membership, and the Region II Best of NAMA Banquet to be held in January, 2008. The banquet will take place in Kansas City, Missouri and those chairing the Regional Best of NAMA committee will decide on an exact date and location in the near future. Each chapter is responsible for providing a representative to serve on this committee.

Notes from all of the Leader Workshops are available in an Adobe .pdf format at www.nama.org/leader/2007RegionalWorkshopNotes.pdf.

Chapter Leaders
Just a reminder to submit your chapter meetings to Kathi Conrad in the NAMA Office at [email protected] to ensure they are placed on the calendar.

NAMA would like to welcome Barry Nelson, Manager, Public Relations for John Deere Agricultural Marketing Center, to the Executive Committee. Nelson replaces Joy Watson, formerly with BASF Corporation, on the committee.

Other members of the Executive Committee include:

President
Stephanie Gable, Ft. Dodge Animal Health

President Elect
Patty Travis, 5MetaCom

Secretary/Treasurer
Monte Reese

Members
Ken Anderson, David & Associates
Carol Anderson, Anderson/Fallon
Vicki Henrickson
Kyle Bauer, KFRM Radio
Beth Burgy, Broadhead+Company

The Region III Leader Workshop took place June 21, prior to the North Central Golf Outing, at the Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville, MN.

Special thanks to Leslie Shuler, CHS, Inc., incoming North Central Best of NAMA co-chair; Jill Wenzel, Adculture, incoming North Central President; Teri Otte, CHS, Inc., incoming North Central Student Careers Chair; Leah Brakke, AdFarm, Northern Prairie Secretary/Treasurer; Jennifer Deppe, Morgan&Myers, incoming Cornbelt President; Russ Parker, J.L. Farmakis, Region III Director; Cliff Meyer, Farm & Ranch Guide/Minnesota Farm Guide, Region III Director; Kenna Rathai, Kenna B. Rathai Communications, NAMA Staff Representative; and Kathi Conrad, National NAMA Staff, for participating in the workshop.

These incoming leaders discussed ideas in chapter planning, leadership, programming, membership and the Region III Best of NAMA Banquet to be held in January, 2008. The banquet will take place in Minneapolis, MN and those chairing the Regional Best of NAMA committee will decide on an exact date and location in the near future. Each chapter is responsible for providing a representative to serve on this committee.

Notes from the Region III and Region IV Leader Workshops are available in an Adobe .pdf format at www.nama.org/leader/2007RegionalWorkshopNotes.pdf.

Region II Leader Workshop
Region II will host their leader workshop on Wednesday, August 8 at 10:00 a.m. Stay tuned to the NAMA e-News for the latest information on this workshop.

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 [email protected].

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.

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 [email protected].

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 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 [email protected].

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.

Two of three regional leader workshops have been scheduled for this summer. If you are a leader in your chapter, you will benefit by attending a regional leader workshop. The workshop is considered a “must attend event” for chapter leaders and committee chairs or anyone who may be interested in joining your leadership team. You won’t be disappointed in the time you invest.

The leader workshop is an interactive workshop. Chapter leaders will spend time discussing topics relevant to their chapter. Programming, membership, and communication are just a few of the topics that will be discussed.

The Region IV Workshop has been scheduled for Thursday, May 31, prior to the Badger NAMA Golf Outing at Hawk’s View Golf Club in Lake Geneva, WI. The workshop will take place from 8:30 – 10:45 a.m.

The Region III workshop has been scheduled for Thursday, June 21, prior to the North Central Golf Outing at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville, MN. The workshop will take place from 8:30 – 10:45 a.m.

Region II has not yet set a date for their regional workshop.

If you have any questions feel free to contact the NAMA office at 913-491-6500.

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.

Note: Chapter Presidents, if you have your leaders selected for the upcoming 2007-2008 program year, please submit them to Linda Schaefer at the NAMA office at [email protected].