NAMA is pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Professional Development Awards. Each year, NAMA recognizes industry leaders at the very top of their respective fields. These prestigious awards acknowledge excellence in the areas of marketing communications, product/species management, public relations and sales.

The 2017 Marketing Communications award recipient is Linda Frerichs, Head of Global and North American Communications at Arysta LifeScience. Linda’s attention to detail, vast agricultural knowledge and extensive network of industry professionals make her an invaluable asset to the marketing communications team. Linda plays a leading role in the day-to-day internal and external communications. Her farm roots and career path influence her daily as she plans about strategies and tactics with the farmer’s perspective in mind. Linda is a member of the Carolinas/Virginia NAMA Chapter. She gets involved on a local level by participating in professional development opportunities; and at the national level by attending multiple conferences a year.

The Professional Development Award for Product and Species Management goes to Jill DeLucero, Senior Director, Association Marketing at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Jill manages one of the beef industry’s premiere projects, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP). The ESAP program recognizes seven regional winners and one national winner. Jill has ensured the program is legitimized through the rigorous selection process that includes experts in various fields of range and pasture enhancement, wildlife habitat development, and beef industry experts. Jill has served as the treasurer and president of the Rocky Mountain NAMA Chapter and attends many conferences. She also encourages her staff to attend chapter and national events.

Kelly Schwalbe is awarded the Professional Development Award for Public Relations. As Partner and Public Relations Director for Sage, Kelly is actively involved in the development, direction and execution of all public relations programs for the agency’s clients. As a member and participant of many industry clubs and associations Kelly has nurtured and grown relationships throughout the agriculture and animal health industries. During his 35+ years in the agricultural public relations business, Kelly has served in corporate, freelance and agency public relations roles. Kelly is an active member of the Missouri-Kansas NAMA Chapter. He regularly attends meetings, has served on committees, and has judged for the National Best of NAMA Awards program.

The award recipient for Sales is Dave Korbelik, Vice President of Go-to-Market Solutions at Beck Ag. Dave has worked closely with Multimin USA to design and implement customized go-to-market solutions. He created a customized and measurable marketing strategy to build Multimin USA’s presence in the marketplace. Dave has built a solid relationship with the client by understanding their sales and marketing goals and existing struggles and building scalable strategies to address them. Dave has been involved with NAMA since he was a student and is currently part of the Missouri-Kansas Chapter. He encourages his employees to be involved in NAMA by sending them to Boot Camp and other national events.

The professional development awards of excellence will be presented at the 2017 NAMA Fall Conference in Milwaukee. The honorees will receive their awards during a morning session on Thursday, September 21 at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center Hotel. For more information on the NAMA Fall Conference, visit http://www.nama.org/fall-conference/2017-home.