By Mike Wilson, AAEA President
It’s hard to believe that my year leading this great organization will soon be over. I want to thank everyone for their great ideas and hard work. When I first came on to the board two years ago as vice president, I never would have dreamed that my year in leadership would include implementing a sweeping new strategic plan, working with outstanding first-year managers Samantha Kilgore and Courtney Jackson, and overseeing an unexpected management change in our all-important writing contest.
But we got it done. There was never been a dull moment, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
It’s been a positive year, and yet, some things have caused us to think about what we are doing and if we are headed in the right direction.
With all these changes, we’re still tasked to figure out that big question: What is the return on investment for your membership dollars?
In years past that question was, well, rarely asked because most of us had a company budget earmarked for membership dues. Today we have a lot of members – many more freelancers, for example – who need to think long and hard about writing out that check to AAEA each year. Corporate budget cuts and retirements are a big challenge to membership growth.
These circumstances push AAEA to become more and more accountable for member needs.
We remain focused on the things members tell us they love most: professional development and networking. You’ll get both of those things at the next Ag Media Summit, when hundreds of folks journey to Snowbird Resort in Utah to network, not just with each other but also with agribusiness professionals in the InfoExpo. Sessions on design software, SEO, writing, photography and interview techniques are just a few of the professional improvement sessions on tap. Newsmaker panels will provide plenty of fodder for those hunting down a story to bring back to readers.
So what else have we done in the past 12 months to boost ROI?
Our incoming president, Julie Deering, led a special task force focusing on young member needs. We began holding webinars to help members with professional improvement questions, and we expect more of those events in the coming year.
AAEA launched the weekly Byline-in-Brief email newsletter last summer to help keep members more informed and energized about their profession. It was a big hit! In September, the AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation co-sponsored the first-ever agricultural journalism learning mission to Cuba. Several members spent a week with some of Cuba’s top ag and trade officials, and reported back to thousands of U.S. readers and viewers. That event may become a model for future journalism missions.
Meanwhile we have started a rebranding process, a key component of the strategic plan. Going forward you will see fewer references to American Agricultural Editors’ Association, and more references to our new brand and logo, AAEA – The Agricultural Communicators Network. This simple phrase describes the organization we aspire to become — an all-encompassing, inclusive, leading voice for excellence in Ag Communications.
In addition, we are revamping our website and will be introducing a new home page, www.agcommnetwork.com, at Ag Media Summit. In coming months we will launch Special Interest Groups, where professionals can learn from each other in mini-peer groups.
Looking ahead, the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) will join AAEA, LPC and the Connectiv Agri-Media Committee at AMS 2018 in Phoenix. AAEA has also been chosen to host the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists world congress in 2019.
These are just some of the things we hope will boost ROI for member dollars. The best way to keep improving ROI is to get feedback from you on what you’d like to see AAEA involved in.
I would like to thank our management team, Board of Directors, the Professional Improvement Foundation, volunteer leaders, and sponsors for their support and hard work during this transition in our organization. We have a long way to go, but I’m confident the changes we’re making now will make a big impact on our profession.