The Best of NAMA Awards Ceremony kicked-off this year’s 2006 Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show, April 19 in Kansas City.

The Best of NAMA awards competition recognizes excellence in creative agri-marketing communications. Companies and agencies must first qualify through regional competition in order to advance to the national level.

Entries were first judged at one of six regional levels in November and the top two entries were eligible to advance to the national judging which was held in February in Kansas City. Nearly 1,300 entries were submitted at the regional levels and 502 entries were judged at the national level.

This year’s award ceremony was emceed by John Phipps with John Phipps Communications and award presenters were Colleen Parr with Fleishman-Hillard and Jim Haist with Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications.

Three Best of Show awards were given in the areas of Advertising, Public Relations and Specialty categories. Below are the Best of Show winners:

Advertising
Client: New Holland NA, Dawn Fox
Agency: Colle+McVoy, Jamie Moran
Message: New Holland is the machine for the future
Audience: Entrepreneurial livestock producers, row crop producers and rural lifestylers

Public Relations
Client: Syngenta Crop Protection, Kim Dawson
Agency: Gibbs & Soell, Inc., Caryn Caratelli
Message: To educate the media and consumers on Syngenta as leader in technology and soybean rust resources
Audience: Soybean growers and retailers

Specialty
Client: Pfizer, Inc., Dan Kramer
Agency: Brown+Associates, Sue Brown
Message: Solitude IGR is new, scientifically-advanced technology for dealing with the age-old problem of flies in horse operations
Audience: Horse owners, trainers, breeders and equine veterinarians

Look to the AgriMarketing Magazine web site for a listing of all the winners at http://www.agrimarketing.com/nama2006front.php3.