By Mindy Ward, ACN President
My husband often wonders why any car manufacturer would bother to put a rearview mirror or backup camera display in my vehicle. He claims I never look at them. Instead, I just put it in gear and go.
In my defense, I live in the country the only thing between me and my destination is the garage door. Admittedly, I’ve nudged it a time or two as I’m more of a forward gear person anyway. Still, there are times we need to look at where we’ve been before we head off to where we want to go.
The same is true for the Ag Communicators Network. As we come out of 2021, I want to share a little information from the board about how the year ended and how we are faring so far in 2022.
Financials. The Ag Communicators Network ended 2021 in the red by close to $7,000. Costs associated with in-person AMS contributed to much of the overage. Your board is working to shore up expenses and increase sponsorship to right the ship this year. If all works as budgeted, ACN should be back in the black.
Membership. We wrapped up our early bird membership renewal period and as of Jan. 20 there are 397 dues paying members, up from last year at 341 members. This is great news as we are heading in the right direction. In just the last 90 days, 23 new members signed on! Please consider sharing our Ag Communicators Network site with those in your ag communication circle.
Sponsorships. ACN has volunteers Kelly Schwalbe and Jamie Cole set a goal of $55,000 in sponsorships, which is up from $41,000 realized in 2021. The duo already tipped over the halfway mark with the goal thanks to commitments from Syngenta, Wyffels, and BASF. If you know or represent a company that would make a great sponsor, reach out to these two.
Programs. Thanks to a coordinated effort with your president-elect, Bill Spiegel, the Ag Communicators Network was able to secure PIF funds for a Regional Workshop in 2022, the awards program and a new Learning Management System (LMS), which allows us to put webinars, videos and other learning materials on the ACN website. We are working through the details surrounding the Regional Workshops and Learning Management System so stay tuned.
On behalf of the ACN board, thank you for putting your trust in us. We will continue to work to provide the quality professional develop you want in your organization. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at [email protected].
Mindy Ward is the Senior Content Director with Farm Progress. She is also Editor of the Missouri Ruralist magazine.