• Home
  • Membership
  • Awards & Contests
    • ACN Communication Awards
    • Andy Markwart Horizon Award
    • Fellows of the AAEA
    • Distinguished Service
    • Lifetime Achievement
  • Events
    • Ag Media Summit
    • AAEA 100
    • IFAJ Congress
    • Regional Workshops
    • AMS Virtual Career Fair
  • Foundation
    • Donate to PIF
    • Apply for a Grant
    • Internships
    • Scholarships
  • Member Resources
    • Committees
    • Ethics
    • Job Bank
    • Freelance Resources
    • Member Directory
    • Special Interest Groups
    • Student Résumés
  • Professional Development
    • Topics
    • Programs
    • Webinars
    • Podcast

Join Our Newsletter

Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox.


Agricultural Communicators Network

Agricultural Communicators Network

  • Home
  • Membership
  • Awards & Contests
    • ACN Communication Awards
    • Andy Markwart Horizon Award
    • Fellows of the AAEA
    • Distinguished Service
    • Lifetime Achievement
  • Events
    • Ag Media Summit
    • AAEA 100
    • IFAJ Congress
    • Regional Workshops
    • AMS Virtual Career Fair
  • Foundation
    • Donate to PIF
    • Apply for a Grant
    • Internships
    • Scholarships
  • Member Resources
    • Committees
    • Ethics
    • Job Bank
    • Freelance Resources
    • Member Directory
    • Special Interest Groups
    • Student Résumés
  • Professional Development
    • Topics
    • Programs
    • Webinars
    • Podcast

Back in Black

August 9, 2019News, The ByLine

By Gil Gullickson, Successful Farming, AAEA 2019-2020 President

Gil Gullickson, 2019-2020 AAEA President

Rich Fee was my next-door neighbor at Successful Farming for seven years before he retired in 2012. Over the years, we swapped stories about work, farming, family, and just about everything else. (Except sports. Rich is the least sports-minded man I know. Mention Tom Brady to him, and he’d probably say, “Isn’t he that guy who started strip tilling in southern Minnesota about 25 years ago?)

Through it all, though, burned an enthusiasm for agriculture and agricultural journalism as bright in year 32 of his career as year one. The biggest thing he left me with, though, was this mantra with which he approached every story— “Tell me what I don’t know and how it will make or save me money.”

Most of the time, when folks say it’s not about the money, it’s about the money. We experienced that in the Agricultural Communicators Network this past year. Last August, I strode into the board meeting and saw a couple numbers on our balance sheet that…..well, didn’t look completely encouraging. “Inside, I thought, ‘So is this president gig in a year going to be such a good deal?!

Good news—it is! I’m looking forward to serving you as your president for 2019-2020.

It turned out that as an organization, we weren’t immune to the agricultural economic downturn of recent years. AAEA’s two major income sources—the Ag Media Summit and corporate sponsorships—fell short of expectations in 2017-2018. The result was a $24,000 deficit.

We have and will continue to do many great things in this organization. But in the end, it’s about money. We can’t do them without financial stability.

So, your board swallowed hard and made some decisions—many with great member feedback—to get us back in the black.

We aren’t out of the woods yet. But, it appears that we will end the year with a slight positive income of $3,400.

So how did we do it?

Well, members played a big part of it. We are all shelling out more for dues—the first dues increase since 2011. Membership committee co-chairs Mike Wilson and Amy Roady and committee members beat the bushes for more members. We hiked fees for our awards contest. Some administrative duties were switched, and we became smarter about how we do business. In April, the board met via Skype rather than shelling for a meeting in person. We continued to beat the bushes for sponsorships. And we’re hopeful that our recently concluded (and successful) Agricultural Media Summit in Bloomington, Minnesota, will resume the monetary flow that AMS supplied a few years ago.

Fiscal responsibility will be an on-going battle until agriculture turns around. But financially, we are on track for a successful year.

Post navigation

← Story Behind the Story: Jennifer Latzke
Agricultural Media Summit is headed to Kansas City in 2020! →

Archives

  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • June 2010

Contribute to the ByLine

Share your expertise and endeavors in our official weekly newsletter!

Submit a Story
  • About Us
  • Sign Up to Receive Updates
  • ACN Communication Awards
  • Contact Us
  • Ethics
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Past Presidents
  • Professional Improvement Foundation
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sponsorship
Member Log In
Donate

© 2023 Agricultural Communicators Network All Rights Reserved.