Congratulations Best of NAMA Regional Winners!  Your hard work and efforts have been recognized and you are now eligible to advance to Best of NAMA Judging in February.

Region I Best of NAMA winners visit http://www.nama.org/14bonreg1win.pdf

Region II Best of NAMA winners visit http://www.nama.org/14bonreg2win.pdf.

Region III Best of NAMA winners visit http://nama.org/14bonreg3win.pdf

Region IV Best of NAMA winners visit http://www.nama.org/14bonreg4win.pdf .

Region V Best of NAMA winners visit  http://www.nama.org/14bonreg5win.pdf

Region VI Best of NAMA winners visit  http://www.nama.org/14bonreg6win.pdf

Don’t forget to check out photos on flickr from Best of NAMA Awards Banquets.  Visit frequently as we are updating daily.

Winners are eligible to advance to the  National Best of NAMA Judging in February with the National Awards Ceremony taking place at the 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference in Jacksonville.  We hope to see you all there!  For conference details visit http://www.nama.org/amc/.

National NAMA will be hosting a producer panel at the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, TN.  Members & Guests welcome!

Panel:
Clay Burtrum – Stillwater, OK
Tod Fleming – Baraboo, WI
Barb Downey – Wamego, KS

Date: Tuesday, February 4

Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Location: Gaylord Opryland Hotel Nashville
Cheekwood G/H Room
2800 Opryland Dr, Nashville, TN 37214

Moderated by Kyle Bauer, KFRM

Sponsored by Great Plains NAMA & Rocky Mountain NAMA

For more information on the upcoming convention visit http://www.beefusa.org/abouttheconvention.aspx

The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) will host National Agriculture Day on March 25, 2014. This will mark the 41st anniversary of National Ag Day which is celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country. The theme for National Ag Day is “Agriculture: 365 Sunrises and 7 Billion Mouths to Feed.”

On March 25, 2014, the ACA will host major events in the nation’s capital including the Mix-and-Mingle Luncheon and the National Celebration of Agriculture Dinner. Additionally, the ACA will bring approximately 100 college students to Washington to deliver the message of Ag Day to the Hill.

These events honor National Agriculture Day and mark a nationwide effort to tell the true story of American agriculture and remind citizens that agriculture is a part of all of us. A number of producers, agricultural associations, corporations, students and government organizations involved in agriculture are expected to participate.

National Ag Day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America. ACA is a nonprofit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber community, dedicating its efforts to increasing the public’s awareness of agriculture’s role in modern society.

The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:

• Understand how food and fiber products are produced.

• Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.

• Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.

• Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.

In addition to the events in Washington, DC on March 25, the ACA is featuring the Ag Day Essay Contest as well as the 2014 Ag Day Poster Art Contest.

Keep checking www.agday.org for more information on National Ag Day in 2014.

Long time NAMA member Joe Osborn passed away Thursday, January 9th, at his residence in Portland, Oregon.

Osborn was co-founder and retired President of Osborn Barr.  He was a well-known advertising leader in the St. Louis and national advertising community, having created and directed many well-known advertising campaigns in the agricultural industry.

Fred had a long and distinguished career as a writer and a public relations professional. He retired from the National Cotton Council, where he was the Public Relations Director. He worked as a sports writer at The Commercial Appeal and as the Sports Information Director at the University of Memphis.

See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/commercialappeal/obituary.aspx?n=fred-w-middleton&pid=169086423&fhid=3714#sthash.eWx6VQmM.dpuf

Marketing Innovation at Cloud Speed

presented by Casey Niemann, Microsoft Cloud Lead, Microsoft Corporation

This past December, “Marketing Innovation at Cloud Speed” presented by Casey Niemann, shared insights into the wide world of Big Data. Niemann explained the four megatrends that will dominate the next decade: Mobility, Social, Cloud and Big Data, while stressing the importance of a marketers roll. Niemann also pushed the audience to see how these technology megatrends will enable companies to save money, drive innovation, grow business and attract and retain customers. He used examples of large companies who are capitalizing on the megatrends and utilizing Big Data, such as Skype™, Monsanto’s IFS program and a cutting edge dairy cattle heat sensor, Boumatic’s HeatSeeker II.

Greetings, NAMA Members.

As we begin a new year, we would like to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to you for being a part of NAMA.

We will continue to connect you to the people, tools, and programs you need to help position you and your organization for continued and future success.

Whether you are new to NAMA or have been a part of our organization for many years, we encourage you to continue taking advantage of the member benefits that NAMA has to offer:

•             Regular opportunities to network with colleagues, customers and prospects.

•             Top-notch educational programming, including convenient webinars.

•             Comprehensive membership directory of leading professionals in the industry.

•             Unique career enhancement opportunities, such as mentoring or volunteer leadership positions.

•             Professional recognition as part of the Best of NAMA competition and other professional awards.

•             And much more!

Visit our website (www.nama.org) often.  You can join the NAMA LinkedIn Group, become a NAMA Twitter follower, and access information on NAMA National and Chapter Events.

Please accept our wishes for health, happiness and prosperity as we begin 2014.

Contact us at 913 491 6500 or www.nama.org whenever we can be of help.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Pickett

Executive Vice President/CEO

National Agri-Marketing Association