Mark your calendars for September 25 – 26, Minneapolis, Minnesota –  Graves 601 Hotel.  If you can’t get enough of the Agri-Marketing Conference, then we’ve got great news for you.  NAMA is launching an all-new Fall Conference inspired by everything members love about conference:

• Killer keynoters
• Practical breakouts
• Ample leadership development opportunities
• Ag Tour sponsored by North Central Chapter
• Unequalled networking
• And, of course, good times!

Sessions and speakers to be announced soon, but add this event to your calendar today!

Special Note – This meeting replaces the “Trends” meeting typically held in November.

The annual MO-KAN Golf Outing had a total of 28 players that survived the 94° heat and helped raise funds to support our student NAMA chapters.  BCS Communications stepped up to be the beverage sponsor and all the players took advantage of their support.  We hope even more can join us next year.

Here are the winners from our outing:

Closest to the Pin (par 3):
Shannon Powell
Ken Dean

1st Place Team:
Bob Brunker
Dennis Bryant
Jeff Jackson
Daniel Cordray
 

2nd Place Team:
Steve Schram
Tom Apple
Jim Glassford
Scott Lynn

Thursday, June 21 – 1:00 p.m. (central time)

Mobile Marketing’s Past, Present, and Future:  Trends for 2012 and Beyond

Presented by Mike Craig, Co-founder & Vice President of Marketing, Ruxter Marketing, Kansas City, MO

Mobile is no longer an optional marketing channel for businesses large and small, but how does the mobile channel work and what do marketers need to know in order to leverage mobile marketing opportunities?

In this presentation, we’ll look at the past, present and future of mobile marketing tools, techniques, and technologies – reviewing campaigns incorporating apps, mobile web, location-based-services and QR codes – to better understand and apply fundamentals of mobile interaction as we look towards exciting new and emerging technologies impacting mobile communications.

Register now for the webinar online at the link below or call the NAMA Office at 913-491-6500: http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=46.

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. This year the Boot Camp will take it to a new level expanding on marketing and agriculture basics.

Join the National Agri-Marketing Association for the 9th annual NAMA Boot Camp, August 21 – 23, at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City.

All attendees will receive a notebook packed with agricultural terminology, facts, case studies and speaker presentations.  This notebook has become one of the most popular aspects of the Boot Camp experience.

Boot Camp is hosting two networking sessions including a group dinner at the Sheraton Crown Center and a reception at Boulevard Brewing.  Meeting sessions include:

       Producer Panel
       Row Crop 101
       Deformed Frogs, Oil Spills and Pink Slime: Lessons Learned from
           a Career in Crisis Management 
       Livestock 101
       Social Media: Beyond Facebook and Twitter
       The Importance of  the Media Mix
       From the Farm and Back Again – Ag Careers On and Off The 
          Family Farm

Come in early and attend the optional MoKan Ag Tour!  The tour is an on-farm experience where attendees will tour as well as learn about different operations.  The tour includes a stop at Jowler Creek Winery.

For more informatin on the NAMA Boot Camp and hotel information visit http://www.nama.org/programs/index.html.

To register for the NAMA Boot Camp and/or the MoKan Ag Tour, please visit http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=45.

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 email at [email protected].

The 2012 Badger/Chicago/Cornbelt Golf Outing was a rousing success at Hawk’s View in Lake Geneva!

Forty-eight golfers from five states participated and spirits were high in spite of low temps and rain. The outing featured the first-ever Hack N’ Slash Par 3 Scramble, a first golfing experience for many of the participants.  After the golf, both groups met up again in the clubhouse for cocktails and networking before dinner and awards.  Hole Sponsors included Ascentives, Bock & Associates, Charleston|Orwig, DTN/Progressive Farmer, East Central Select Sires, Equity Creative, Farm Progress Companies, Grade A Strategies, Hoard’s Dairyman, Iowa Farmer Today, Morgan&Myers, The Mosaic Co., and World Dairy Expo.  The beverage cart was again sponsored by Penton Media this year.  All players received a sleeve of balls from World Dairy Expo and a Badger NAMA umbrella.  This year’s winning team was a threesome of Randy Groff, Pat Konen and Ralph Brocks.  

Plans for the Midwest NAMA Golf Challenge and Hack N’ Slash 2013 are already underway!

On Friday, May 11, the North Central NAMA Chapter made its annual outing to a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field. A representative from the Twins’ group ticket sales division addressed NAMA members before the game.

With a focus of  how to sell tickets when the Twins aren’t winning (which was the situation when they had this outing), the director of group sales said it was about selling the experience of the game rather than selling tickets based on the team’s record. The focus of the group sales department is to develop strong relationships with groups and organizations so they buy tickets year after year regardless of the team record.

Despite a two-hour rain delay, North Central members enjoyed food, beverages and a good visit while the rain poured down.

Molly Toot, Land O’Lakes, was presented the Outstanding Professional Award by the advisors and a student from Iowa State University at the May Iowa meeting.  The Iowa State student chapter nominated Molly for this award in appreciation for the support she gave them throughout the year.  She was chosen by NAMA’s Careers Committee as this year’s recipient.  Since she wasn’t able to accept the award at NAMA’s recent conference, the student chapter representatives surprised Molly with the award during the chapter meeting.