By Pam Caraway, ACN President
Perspective.
That may be the word for 2024.
As I write this I’m exhausted from texting with friends and family who live in central Florida, talking to my grown son – our youngest – off and on through the night and binging on the weather channel for the last several days. He and his family are ok. Our youngest grandchild flexed his one-year-old muscles and scared away ol’ Hurricane Milton.
All of this on the heels of Hurricane Helene, with nearly 200 lives lost (as off the most recent count, and billions of dollars in destroyed property.
So, I’m not overwrought about not even having a “save the date” out for our fall regional workshop, even though it’s just barely a month-plus down the calendar. (Write it down: Nov. 19 in Omaha, Neb. Consider this your invitation. Watch your email for more details.)
Why am I not stressed? Well, you might be thinking “because exhausted is the normal state for this woman.” Fair point.
But I suspect it’s more because these truths are self-evident: Journalists do amazing work on deadline. Communicators constantly churn out fabulous content – on deadline, of course. Ag Communicators Network puts on the most valuable continuing education events of any organization in our business. And we’re always pushing deadlines.
Finally, this workshop will continue that tradition of professional development. And you will show up.
Here’s a couple of teasers for you:
- A panel on biofuels and how farmers can benefit
- Insight on bumping up engagement using headlines and SEO
- A nuts-and-bolts video session
- And some insight into storytelling
Plus, one or two more sessions. With speakers still not confirmed for those, I’d rather under promise and overdeliver. After all, we still have five weeks, our youngest and his family are ok. And you will be there.
You will be there. And we will laugh and learn together. – Caraway is editor of Farm Futures magazine