CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE

On this Fourth of July weekend, take a moment to remember those who have fought for and continue to fight for our lives, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In recognition of the Fourth of July holiday, the NAMA office will be closed on Monday, July 5.

On behalf of the National NAMA Staff, we wish you a safe and happy holiday weekend!

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NOMINATION DEADLINE
Deadline for submitting nominations is July 15

Remember to submit your nominations for the 2004 Professional Development Awards of Excellence to the NAMA office by July 15. These awards will be presented at the 2004 Agribusiness Forum, November 16-17 at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

These awards honor NAMA members based on outstanding achievement in each of the Professional Development Areas (PDA). Awards of Excellence will be presented in the areas of (1) Marketing Communications, (2) Product/Species Management, (3) Public Relations and (4) Sales. Nominees must be NAMA members. Nominees should be solicited from agribusiness and related companies targeting individuals with direct planning and execution responsibilities in the respective Professional Development Areas.

If you have any questions regarding these awards, please contact Eldon White at eldonw@nama.org.

To download the nomination form in an Adobe .PDF format, visit http://www.nama.org/awards/2004PDAapplication.PDF. You can also fill out the form on-line at http://www.nama.org/awards/pdaonlineform.htm.

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IOWA RACES TO RAISE MONEY
hosted by Iowa NAMA

Runners dash through the field at Pioneer Hi-Bred International.

The 2004 Field to Food Run, sponsored by the Iowa NAMA chapter, was a successful event with strong participation from runners, walkers and volunteers.

A beautiful evening provided the perfect setting for the 174 participants who completed the 5K Run/1 Mile walk in Johnston, IA on Friday, June 18th.

The Field to Food Run is a very unique race in central Iowa. It starts in the corn and soybean fields at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, winds through the city streets and finishes in the parking lot north of Hy-Vee Food Store and west of The Nest Bar & Grill. The event is designed to increase awareness about the interdependence of food production from our Iowa farm fields to the quality of products consumers enjoy from our grocery stores.

Runners and their families enjoying the Iowa grown food after the run.

At the finish line, several NAMA members participated in providing an "Iowa grown" meal for runners, walkers and their families. The meal included turkey tenderloins, lamb brats, pork patties, beef patties, soy nuts, yogurt, fudge bars, chips, fruit and orange juice drinks. Food items were donated by: Iowa Turkey Federation, Iowa Sheep Industry Council, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Beef Industry Council, Lee Seed Company, Wells Blue Bunny and Anderson Erickson.

Prizes were presented to the top two male and female finishers in each age category as well as the top three overall winners among men and women. A variety of door prizes were also awarded to those in attendance. Prizes for the run were donated by: Garst Seed Company, Firestone Agricultural Tire Division, Solutions, Inc., The Meyocks Group, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, Stine Seed Company and Living History Farms.

For the past nine years, the Field to Food Run has generated $47,000 in donations for agriculture related causes. This year's benefactors included two non-profit organizations, The Iowa FFA Foundation and Farm Safety 4 Just Kids. Funds given to Iowa FFA Foundation will support the Food Science and Technology career development event and Enrichment Center. Proceeds given to Farm Safety 4 Just Kids will support their efforts to promote a safe farm environment to prevent health hazards, injuries and fatalities to children and young adults.

Janet Wilwerding (center) stands beside the overall top female winner (far left) while Lori Thomas (right) announces the award.

The success of the Field to Food Run would not have been possible without the support of our corporate sponsors, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Kinze Manufacturing, DeeZee Manufacturing, Garst Seed Company, Firestone Agricultural Tire Division, The Integer Group and Fitness Sports. Their generosity and support allows us to promote the importance of Iowa agriculture to a consumer audience in a fun and distinctive way.

A special thanks to the 2004 Field to Food Run committee who invested many hours of planning to ensure a successful event. Committee members included: Mindy Williamson, Farm Safety 4 Just Kids; Doug Reynolds, Solutions, Inc.; David Thompson, Stine Seed Company; Carrie Jorgensen, Pioneer Hi-Bred International; Andrea Grube, John Deere Ag Management Solutions; Jana Rieker, Successful Farming; Joe Baitinger, Successful Farming; Lori Thomas, Garst Seed Company; Janet Wilwerding, The Integer Group; Tom Flynn, Lessing Flynn and Steve Bobenhouse, Fitness Sports.

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GOLF OUTING HELPS STUDENTS

The Harvester Club House in Rhodes, IA.

The Harvester Golf Course

Perfect weather, a great golf course and 53 enthusiastic golfers combined to make the Iowa NAMA golf outing at The Harvester a terrific event and a very successful fund-raiser for the student scholarship program. The winning team in the four-person best shot competition was an out-of-town group of ringers from Omaha, headed by Jeff Kahler of Ayres Kahler, who posted a sparkling 15 under par 57!

The big winners, though, are the students at Iowa State University and the AIB College of Business, who benefit from the scholarships awarded each year by the Iowa NAMA chapter. The annual golf event is the largest contributor to the scholarship program, and the support by NAMA member companies is always outstanding. This year's income was $2,635.

The golf committee would like to acknowledge and thank this year's hole sponsors and underwriters of the beverage cart and putting contest. Some of these same generous organizations also donated door prizes. Thank you!

Hole Sponsors included: Bock & Associates, DTN, Eastern Iowa DMA, Farmakis, Farm Journal Media, Farm Progress Companies, Garst Seed Company (sponsored two holes), Hoard's Dairyman, Iowa Farmer Today (hole sponsor and putting contest sponsor), McCormick Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Solutions, Inc., Stine Seed Company, Successful Farming, and The Meyocks Group. The Beverage Cart Sponsor for this year was Farm Industry News (thanks, Dave!)

Thanks also to the golfers from five different NAMA chapters who made the effort to come out and support the Iowa Chapter's Student scholarship program.

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LEADER WORKSHOPS GIVE INSPIRATION

Region II Directors, Don Schultz and Drew Wenner lead the Leader Workshop in Kansas City.

Reigon III attendees - from left to right: Iowa President Jana Rieker; Northern Prairie President Becky Peterson; North Central President, Jessica Lamker; Lori Wohletz, North Central Best of NAMA; Cornbelt President, Louann Hausner; Region III Director, Bret Kealy.

The Region II Leadership Workshop was held Wednesday, June 16 in Kansas City. Leaders attending this workshop included: Don Schultz, MoKan; Ken Dean, MoKan; Drew Wenner, Southwest; Jennifer Pickett, NAMA; Leigh Ann Cleaver, MoKan; Sue Derscheid, Gateway; Michael Whitmer, Gateway; Jeff Jackson, MoKan; Pete Weil, Great Plains; Brian Markwardt, Southwest; Colleen Gerke, MoKan; Steve Tomac, MoKan; Melissa Sanders, MoKan; Kathi Conrad, NAMA; and Dawn Foster, NAMA.

Don Schultz and Drew Wenner, led group discussion on membership retention and recruitment; the Region II Best of NAMA program; meeting programming; and the benefits of NAMA membership. The group even came up with an advertisement for the region to sum up the organization: "NAMA is a highly exclusive professional resource comprised of people with like interests in agricultural communication, public relations, product development and/or sales." The group also set a date for their Regional Best of NAMA Ceremony which will take place on Thursday, January 6, 2005.

After a BBQ lunch, speaker, Bob Merrigan, president, Merrigan & Company, led the group on a discussion of membership and the goals and benefits of running a successful membership campaign.

The Region III chapter leaders came together on Thursday, June 24 in Buffalo, Minnesota, looking for information, some inspiration, and a lot of useful discussion sparked by fellow leaders.

Bret Kealy and Lori Strum, Region III Directors, developed the workshop keeping the best use of the leaders' time in mind. As facilitator of the group, Bret Kealy led the chapter leaders in discussions of membership, programming, the Region III Best of NAMA, developing a Region III 2004/2005 program year theme and chapter goals and timelines. The group also reviewed NAMA 101, an introduction to NAMA that can be utilized with board members as well as with prospects.

The attendees included: Jana Rieker, Iowa President; Becky Peterson, Northern Prairie President; Jessica Lamker, North Central President; Lori Wohletz, North Central Best of NAMA Chair; Louann Hausner, Cornbelt President; Bret Kealy, Region III Director.

Note: Many chapters do not have all of their leaders selected yet. If you are interested in becoming a leader in your chapter or would just like to volunteer more, please contact your local chapter president. If there is not a president in your chapter, contact your regional director and ask how and when you can start creating your successful team.

For a list of chapter leaders and regional directors visit, http://www.nama.org/chapters/chapters-index.html

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STUDENT NAMA NETWORK
Advisors: Please pass this information along to your students!

HELP FUTURE AGRI-MARKETING PROFESSIONALS! We have launched a Job Network for Student NAMA Members who will be graduating or needing an internship. If you have any internships or entry level positions available, feel free to e-mail those as well to Kathi Conrad at kathic@nama.org.

Job Openings

Company: Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Job Title: Territory Manager

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THE NAMA NETWORK
Career Opportunities Available

If you have career opportunities available, please send them to Kathi Conrad at kathic@nama.org. This service is available free of charge.

Job postings will stay on the NAMA Job Network for 4 issues (2 months) of the National NAMA e-News. If you want them removed before then or if you wish for them to stay on longer, please indicate when e-mailing your posting.

Company: Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Job Title: Territory Manager

Company: National Corn Growers Association
Job Title: Director of Development

Company: archer<malmo
Job Title: Account Executive

Company: IRON Solutions, LLC
Job Title: Vice President of Sales & Marketing

Company: USA Rice Federation
Job Title: Director of Communications

Company: Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications
Job Title: Account Executive - General Agriculture

Company: ABG, Inc.
Job Title: Business Development Manager

Company: Fruehling Communications
Job Title: Senior Account Manager

Company: Lee Publications
Job Title: Editor

Company: Fastline Publications, Inc.
Job Title: National Accounts Manager

Company: Osborn & Barr Communications
Job Title: Senior Account Supervisor

Company: Brighton USA
Job Title: Public Relations Account Supervisor

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UPCOMING CHAPTER EVENTS

If you would like to have your chapter's events (past or present) in the NAMA e-Newsletter or on the NAMA Web site, send your information to Kathi Conrad at kathic@nama.org.

Chapters are currently planning their programs for the year. Stay tuned for upcoming chapter meetings in your area. If you are a chapter leader and have an event planned that should be on the calendar, please contact Kathi Conrad at kathic@nama.org.

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NAMA CALENDAR
Remember to visit the NAMA web site for a full list of upcoming chapter events and meetings.

If you would like to list your event on the NAMA calendar, please e-mail the meeting details to Kathi Conrad at kathic@nama.org.