The Student NAMA Chapters are back in school and working hard on their plans for the Student Marketing Competition (sponsored by Monsanto) at the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 16-18 in Kansas City.

The Student NAMA Chapters can always use help from their local professional chapter. Encourage your chapter to support Student NAMA by inviting them to chapter meetings, helping them with fundraising events to support their trip to the Agri-Marketing Conference in 2008 or by helping them with their marketing presentations for the competition. Contact your chapter for any ideas on helping Student NAMA – it’s a great way to network with your future employees and colleagues.

What have some of the Student NAMA chapters near you been up to? Take a look below:

University of Nebraska – Lincoln
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln NAMA Chapter is off to a grand start this year. Members worked diligently at recruitment by having a NAMA booth at the annual Welcome Back Club Fair on East Campus. Fundraising efforts have already begun for the group through participating in a partnership with the local bookstore, which gives back a percentage of sales from NAMA members’ textbook purchases. The first meeting of the year was well attended where members showcased the benefits of the club, discussed goals for the year, and enjoyed socializing over pizza.

Illinois State University
To conclude a very successful year for their student chapter, ISU NAMA held an end of the year cookout for all Agriculture students and members of Heartland NAMA, their sponsoring professional chapter. The cookout featured a video slide show showing the accomplishments of the chapter throughout the year and a presentation showcasing the trip to the National Agri-Marketing Competition in Dallas, Texas last April.

Michigan State University
After leaving the Dallas conference, MSU NAMA went to the DaShazers Cattle Company in Texas. This was an incredible opportunity where they were able to see the operations of a very prestigious Hereford seed stock ranch.

Last spring Deanna Nelson received the Outstanding Senior Award in Agribusiness Management given within the MSU Department of Agricultural Economics. Members had a wide array of internships this past summer, interning at ADM, Syngenta Seeds, Best Buy, AgriGold, Liberty Renewable Fuels, and Wilbur Ellis. After an enjoyable summer break, the MSU NAMA chapter is gearing up for a very promising year!

Sam Houston State Unversity
Sam Houston State University is starting the new school year off with a bang. They are conducting their first meetings of the year and recruiting new members to the team. One of the main goals for the year is to become further involved with the Texas professional NAMA Chapter. They also plan to hold may activities such as hosting the first annual career fair for the department.

University of Wisconsin – Madison
For the second consecutive year University of Wisconsin-Madison NAMA students will raise funds for travel to the national marketing team competition and other student activities by helping harvest grapes at Botham’s Vineyard and Winery near Barneveld, Wis. The vineyard is owned by Peter and Sarah Botham. Sarah is also the UW-Madison NAMA and Marketing Team advisor as well as a faculty associate in the Life Sciences Communication department at UW. The harvest is usually completed in one weekend with the help of approximately 50 volunteers per day from NAMA and the local community. Everyone works eight hour days pending cooperation of the weather.

Purdue University
The Purdue University student NAMA chapter has began the new year with outstanding new membership numbers. The club is working on its annual Resume Book to pass out to companies at the College of Agriculture’s Career Fair. The club is also beginning to organize the NAMA Mentor program for members to have a NAMA professional mentor and introduce them to the business world.

University of Wisconsin – Platteville
UW-Platteville NAMA started the year early this summer by hosting a brat sale at Cabela’s “Kids Fishing Day” event in Prairie Du Chien, WI. Kids were able to “fish” in a small pond set up in front of the store. The UW-Platteville NAMA Chapter provided brats, burgers, hotdogs, and even ice cream cones to the families. Thanks to local sponsors and Cabela’s the brat sale was a big success.

Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University student chapter of NAMA had an exciting spring semester. It had one of the largest chapters it has had in years. It had a class of over twenty students. The product that the students chose to compete in Dallas with was Catfish Crisps. NAMA was actually able to make a trip out to the processing plant to see the actual process of how catfish were processed and filleted. The NAMA team also had several fundraisers over the course of the semesters such as raffles of season tickets to different Mississippi State University sporting events and various other items.