Begin Thursday, April 21 with a hearty continental-plus breakfast courtesy of High Plains Journal. After breakfast, you’ll be ready to hear a selection of dynamic achievers who have jazzed their way throught their respective fields. The Opening General Session will begin with the presentation of the Agribusiness Leader of the Year award. This award, NAMA’s highest honor, will be presented to George Thornton, President & CEO of Agriliance, LLC. This award honors an outstanding leader in agribusiness, education, government service or other agribusiness related area.

Following the presentation of the Agribusiness Leader of the Year award, will be our Opening Session speaker, Dr. James Canton. Canton opens the general session with The Extreme Future: Top Trends that will Reshape Business and Society. Dr. Canton will provide a strategic overview of the top changes that will shape tomorrow’s leaders, businesses and the economy.

The Second General Session will kick-off with the presentation of the NAMA Marketer of the Year Award, sponsored by AgriMarketing Magazine. This award will be presented to Tom Davis, Group Publisher of Meredith Corporation’s Men’s Brands. This award is NAMA’s most prestigious honor awarded to active members of the association and honors outstanding accomplishments in the field of agri-marketing. Following the award presentation, Second General Session speaker, Laura Ries, President of Ries & Ries, will discuss The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR. “Advertising doesn’t build brands, publicity does,” says marketing expert and bestselling author, Ries. She fervently believes it’s only the credibility of public relations that truly builds a brand in the minds of consumers.

Ries will also lead the Senior Management Workshop after the Trade Show Luncheon, courtesy of Farm World Newspaper, with The Immutable Laws of Branding in the 21st Century. This power-packed session will explore the most important issues facing marketing managers today: brand names, positions, line extensions, second brands and divergence. Entry into the Workshop is limited and requires a ticket from those who pre-registered. (Listen to an interview with Laura Ries by Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman, ZimmComm New Media, LLC)

In addition to the Workshop, attendees will be Jazzed about the four breakout sessions. The breakout sessions have been extended this year to give the speaker and attendees more time for comments and questions. Don Ranly, Missouri School of Journalism, will present Ethics in Advertising-When is an Ad an Ad? He will draw on more than 30 years of experience in journalism and media to help clarify the boundaries, give examples and help us put all this in perspective. Karen McMahon, Farm Industry News, and representative of the American Agricultural Editors Association, will also be on hand to discuss AAEA’s latest standards of integrity. Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, Kansas State University, will lead a panel discussion on Market Oriented, Cost Conscious, Technology Savvy-Understanding the Next Generation of Producers. Find out the key features of this younger set and hear firsthand from a panel of progressive young farmers as they discuss key factors that go into their business and purchasing decisions. Kevin Clancy, Copernicus Marketing Consulting, will present Your Gut is Still Not Smarter Than Your Head: Three Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Marketing Performance Tomorrow. Dr. Clancy will describe three best practices for developing financially-optimal marketing strategies that marketers can use to dramatically improve marketing ROI. Finally, Abe Goldstien, Trilex Marketing Group, will encourage you toTake Your Mind Out for a Jog-Exercise Your Creative Thinking. Creativity is really no more than stretching our minds-viewing situations from different perspectives, having a healthy attitude about your ability to generate ideas, and having a problem solving philosophy that “anything is possible, anything can be!” This interactive session is the Richard Simmons workout program of mental aerobics.

You won’t want to miss the Connection Point Closing Reception, courtesy of PaperChain and the MoKan NAMA Chapter, on Thursday evening from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Enjoy the sounds of jazz bands as you walk through the trade show and network with your peers. Don’t forget to dance your way through the ABEF Silent Auction and bid on your favorite items. Several drawings will be held in the Connection Point area as well. Another iPod drawing will take place, as well as a drawing for a video iPod, courtesy of ZimmComm New Media, LLC. The ABEF raffle winner will also be selected at this time, so make sure you buy your raffle tickets from one of the many students selling them, the raffle prize is a Dell™ 37″ HD LCD TV, courtesy of Prism Business Media!

For more information on the 2006 Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show visit, http://www.nama.org/amc.

To register for the conference visit, https://nama.org/amc/register.html.