NAMA leader's message. (National NAMA News).

Are you ready for some fresh ideas? As we head into a fresh NAMA year this fall, a key platform of our organization is the Best of NAMA Awards program. These awards, along with the Golden ARC competition for Public Relations, recognize the excellent communications work all of our members offer the agricultural community.

And the agricultural community is far reaching. This extension of our community has been recognized by Best of NAMA with new categories of competition focusing on companion animals and turf and ornamental communications. There is a new definition of agriculture around the U.S. today and accomplishment of creative and effective ideas in these new arenas, as well as traditional agriculture will be addressed in this year's Best of NAMA/Golden ARC competition. Through the competition, members go head to head against the best in the industry. What a great way to improve our own efforts--by placing our work on a level playing field and being judged against strong competition.

The achievement of winning a Best of NAMA or Golden ARC award will be recognized more than ever among your fellow NAMA membership and to the advertising community in general. New ideas are being implemented to offer broader recognition of winners on a local, regional and national basis. Press releases, listings in Agri Marketing and web site postings are just a few ways that NAMA will promote the good work of our community. This more intense public relations effort for winners offers more value to each entry submitted to the Best of NAMA/Golden ARC competition.

And this competition can be a vital part of individual chapters. Programming offering recognition of local winners lends even greater awareness and prestige of the work being done in the agricultural communications arena. It offers your local members a solid event for networking and professional development and recognizes the winners who have earned the honor of moving on to regional or national awards competition.

You've recently received the first Call for Entries for Best of NAMA/ Golden ARC. Pick your potential prize-winning entries and submit them among all the Fresh Ideas that grow from our fertile agricultural communications garden. We look forward to hearing your name announced as a winner locally, regionally and nationally! Good Luck.