NAMA hosts inaugural boot camp.

On October 5-6 NAMA hosted its inaugural Boot Camp in Kansas City. Over 100 attendees participated in the event which was geared toward entry and mid-level industry professionals.

"Overall, the event surpassed our expectations in terms of attendance," said Beth Burgy, Broadhead + Company and chair of the Boot Camp Committee. "We feel like this demonstrates a need in the industry for this sort of training."

This event was attended by some to absorb more about agriculture and by others to learn more about marketing basics. Still others attended for a refresher course on one or both.

"My goal was to identify resources for training employees on agriculture," said Scott Rasch, communications manager for CNH Capital.

Attendees learned about ag basics the first day, and were able to choose two of three breakout sessions to attend; Livestock 101, Specialty Crops 101 and Row Crop 101.

One of the most popular sessions was the producer panel, moderated by Ken Root of NAFB. The producers that participated were Daren Furbeck, Karen Pendleton and Kirk Sours. These producers gave candid feedback on their purchasing habits.

The second day was dedicated to marketing, kicking off with Ag Marketing 101, taught by Bob Cline, instructor at the University of Iowa.

Attendees were able to choose two breakouts; Agency 101, Understanding Media Research and Planning, and How to Write a Marketing Plan.

Understanding B2B Marketing, presented by Gene Brown, University of Missouri-Kansas City, closed the Camp.

In addition to education, this event gave some attendees their first taste of networking.

"I learned a great deal regarding effective communication to my audiences and was able to meet several people in my industry," said Chris Toebben, assistant account executive, Osborn & Barr Communications.

Attendees also received a binder of speaker presentations, industry information and other resources.

"The resource binder contains great resource material. The growth and development maps, the web site listings and speaker presentations are wonderful tools that can he used and shared with our staff," stated Julie King, Fastline Publications.

Special thanks to event sponsors: Associations, Inc., Broadhead + Company, Brownfield Network, Fastline Publications, High Plains Journal, Hoard's Dairyman, Rhea & Kaiser and Successful Farming.