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April 2024
Happy Spring!
Wow, these last several months have flown by! I cannot believe it is already April!
First, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to our Kansas Agri-Women for putting on a fun and successful 2024 Mid-Year meeting and for making us all feel so welcome in Manhattan, Kanas.
On February 15th, I spoke to the California Association of Standards and Agricultural Professionals (CASAP) in Redding, CA, on overcoming barriers. On February 17th, I spoke at the Montana Agri-Women’s Annual Meeting in Billings, MT. On March 6th, I spoke at the Valent headquarters in San Ramon, CA, for International Women’s Day. Valent is one of our valued sponsors. From March 17th through 21st, I was in Washington, DC, with the Farm Journal Foundation. While in DC, I attended The Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit and the House Ag Committee hearing on “The danger China poses to American Agriculture.” We also talked to representatives on the hill about funding for agricultural research.
Our exceptional leadership team has worked hard behind the scenes these last few months. Our First Vice President, Kim Bremmer, has been working on vital issues, planning our convention and 50th anniversary. Jen Goslin, our Vice President of Education, has worked on planning our successful Mid-Year meeting and is getting ready for “Ag in the classroom” on June 24th -27th in Salt Lake City, UT. Our AAW secretary, Arlene Kovash, has been working on Policy and Procedures and the Greenbook. Past President Heather Hampton+Knodle has been working on fundraising and sponsorships. Chrissy Wozniak, our Vice President of Communications, has launched AAW’s new integrated web platform with an upgraded website and a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Chrissy and our Treasurer, Kathy Goodyke, have worked hard to update our payment processing system within the CRM. The CRM will replace our current membership database and help us streamline communication with members. These changes will help us improve the flow of information and add value for our affiliates and members. We will have a special “Lunch with AAW” Zoom event on Thursday, April 18th, at 11 PST, noon MST, 1 CST, and 2 EST to discuss our new CRM membership system.
Join us for our first-ever expanded Fly-In in Washington DC, June 2nd-4th! We are excited to announce the expansion of our annual Washington, DC, Fly-In. For the first time, we are opening our Fly-In to all women involved in the agricultural and natural resource industries! The 2024 American Agri-Women Fly-In will be a historic gathering offering a unique opportunity to unite women from across the agricultural and natural resource sectors to come together and advocate for critical issues affecting their industries. Don't miss this chance to unite as one voice in our nation's capital from June 2nd to June 4th, 2024.
Lunch With AAW
We try to keep our “Lunch with AAW” events on the second Wednesday of each month around 11 am PST, noon MST, 1 pm CST, and 2 pm EST. However, these times may have to change due to scheduling. The lunchtime event is a 45-minute presentation via Zoom on a topic affecting agriculture. These seminars will also be available in our website's “Members Only” section. On February 14th, we started our series of "Lunch with AAW" Webinars. Our first webinar featured Debbie Bacigalupi discussing “What is Agenda 21?”. On March 13th, our webinar featured Rusty Rumley, a Senior Staff Attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center. Rusty gave us a broad overview of the current legal issues affecting Agriculture. As I said above, our April “Lunch with AAW” webinar will feature our VP of Communication, Chrissy Wozniak, explaining our new CRM & membership platform.
AgBites
On March 25th, we sent out our first “AgBites.” It was titled “Why are hairy legs important to Agriculture?” The “AgBites” went out to all US House and Senate offices and AAW members. This is a fun way to get our AAW name and logo out there. We invite our affiliates to co-brand the “AgBites” and send them to your State House and Senate members. If you didn’t receive it you can view it HERE.
I look forward to seeing you all at Fly-In June 2nd- 4th in Washington, DC!
Rose Tryon
President
American Agri-Women