By Aisha Liebenow, Hoard’s Dairyman
The value that you take from any experience is measured by how much you put into it. At Ag Media Summit 2017, I was amazed by the opportunities to become involved at any level of skill or experience. And even more so, the support and community created for anyone involved at all life stages from student to seasoned professional and anywhere in between.
I was also grateful for the variety in types of sessions. There were the more gritty, in-depth sessions like “Creating Exciting Layouts Faster in InDesign” that left me utterly confounded on how I’ve been surviving without GREP InDesign codes my entire life. And then the more personal development discussion sessions like “Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials – Can’t We All Get Along?” that created a glimmer of hope for the multi-generational teams of today and the future. This multi-dimensional approach presented a very real reflection on what it’s like to be in ag communications today, and the balance between hard and soft skills that are needed to succeed.
And to say that this group of professionals has seen success is an understatement. The dedication to share the story of agriculture, and the incredible work that was featured as a result of this life-long mission, was an inspiration. A true celebration of rock star level work. And then even beyond that, was the honor of interacting with these role models as we all set aside this time to reflect on how far we have come and the work that we have ahead of us as communicators.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this world. I recommend this conference to anyone who wants to be empowered by those who are pushing boundaries to make a difference in their work every day. I personally aim to return for many years to come.