By ACN “Above the Fold” Podcast Host Holly Spangler with Special Guest ACN Board Member Kenna Rathai
It takes a whole lot of work, a small amount of magic, and a dash of good luck to prepare—and pull off—the Agricultural Media Summit.
Kenna Rathai is an ACN Board Member and a
member of the 2022 AMS Steering Committee.
When she’s not volunteering her time with ACN,
Rathai is VP of Public Relations with broadhead.
(Courtesy: Kenna Rathai)
However, ACN Board Member Kenna Rathai has memorized the recipe for success.
She’s a part of the 2022 AMS Steering Committee, but for more than a decade. Rathai volunteered as a staff member to create a memorable AMS experience for fellow colleagues and attendees.
Listen as Rathai tells Podcast Host Holly Spangler how the committee anticipates attendees’ needs a year in advance, and why the 2022 conference will be right “on point.”
Click here to register for the 2022 AMS July 16-20 in Raleigh, North Carolina!
Holly Spangler has covered Illinois agriculture for more than two decades, bringing meaningful production agriculture experience to the magazine’s coverage. She currently serves as editor of Prairie Farmer magazine and Executive Editor for Farm Progress, managing editorial staff at six magazines throughout the eastern Corn Belt. She began her career with Prairie Farmer just before graduating from the University of Illinois in agricultural communications.
An award-winning writer and photographer, Holly is past president of the American Agricultural Editors Association. In 2015, she became only the 10th U.S. agricultural journalist to earn the Writer of Merit designation and is a five-time winner of the top writing award for editorial opinion in U.S. agriculture. She was named an AAEA Master Writer in 2005. In 2011, Holly was one of 10 recipients worldwide to receive the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Ag Journalism award. She currently serves on the Illinois Fairgrounds Foundation, the U of I Agricultural Communications Advisory committee, and is an advisory board member for the U of I College of ACES Research Station at Monmouth. Her work in agricultural media has been recognized by the Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn, Illinois Council on Agricultural Education and MidAmerica Croplife Association.
Holly and her husband, John, farm in western Illinois where they raise corn, soybeans and beef cattle on 2,500 acres. Their operation includes 125 head of commercial cows in a cow/calf operation. The family farm includes John’s parents and their three children.
Holly frequently speaks to a variety of groups and organizations, sharing the heart, soul and science of agriculture. She and her husband are active in state and local farm organizations. They serve with their local 4-H and FFA programs, their school district, and are active in their church’s youth and music ministries.