NAMA chapters celebrate Ag Day.

This year many NAMA chapters held Ag Day events. Below is a brief description of some of those chapter programs.

Gateway NAMA

In honor of Ag Day, the Gateway Chapter of NAMA, in conjunction with the St. Louis Ag Business Club, invited members to participate in a luncheon at the National Postsecondary Agriculture Student (PAS) Organization Conference. Several members served as judges for the student events, which included employment interviews, public speaking and career planning, and then all members were invited to the closing luncheon for the conference. It was a chance for ag professionals to network and mingle with future members of the ag industry--and to reinforce that this is a vital industry to enter.

Mo-Kan NAMA

The Mo-Kan NAMA chapter was a key level supporter of this year's Kansas-Missouri National Ag Day Pizza Party. Nearly 600 students from the greater Kansas City area came to the event, held March 28th at the National Agriculture Center and Hall of Fame. The fourth-grade students rotated in groups to information stations covering the states' grain, oilseed, produce, machinery, livestock, and dairy industries; learning about the key processes and ingredients it takes to bring the pizza they enjoyed at lunch. (It's amazing to see 200-some pizzas delivered!) They also learned about the "Magical World of Agriculture" thanks to magician Rex Getz, who pulled all the messages and information together in an entertaining setting.

Mo-Kan NAMA supported the event through financial and professional resources, developing and distributing information for media outlets. Media onsite included The Kansas City Star, the Bonner Springs Chieftain, and Kansas City's WDAF-TV/Fox-4.

Cornbelt NAMA

On March 23, the Cornbelt Chapter participated as part of the coordinating committee of the Celebration of Ag Dinner in Cedar Rapids, IA. Over 600 farmers, agri-business representatives and friends of agriculture attended. The speaker for the evening was Bob Dinneen, head of the Renewable Fuels Association. The evening was a success, with extremely favorable comments on the food and speaker. Also, over $1800 was raised for a local food bank.