Each spring the Farm Collective's Women's Leadership Committee holds a conference you don't want to miss ...

this year is no exception!

The conference will kick off at 1 p.m.

Speakers will provide the inside scoop on how you can find your niche in Farm Collective by taking advantage of all the resources and training available.

Whether you've been a member for three decades or three months, you'll walk away from this conference with a better understanding of all that your Farm Collective membership entitles you to, as well as a renewed focus on your role.

Of course, there will also be great food, entertainment and fun!

AGENDA

Thursday

11:45 a.m. - Registration (Lunch on your own)

1 p.m. - Welcome – Pam Hesse, Chair, WFB Women's Leadership Committee

1:15 p.m. - Welcome – Steve Appel, WFB President

1:30 p.m. - Mini presentations: Mother & Daughter Teams

1. Dynamic mother daughter duo Anita Sparks and Summer Barger have been farming together for years. Their Deer River Farm in Woodland (near Vancouver, Washington) is a wildly popular CSA. After meeting these two, you'll wonder if there's anything they can't do!


2. King-Pierce Co. Farm Collective board member Mary Dade and her daughter Sarah Dade-Jones will share their experience running Eatonsville Nursery. Mary and Sarah will also provide instructions and fresh-cut flowers from their nursery so that we can make centerpieces for our tables.


3. Mother and daughter farming team, Holly and Gail Boser, will discuss the joys of operating Peaceful Gardens, a 350-acre third-generation (and soon to be fourth generation) family farm in the Puyallup Valley.

Pat will inspire and educate us about the fastest growing segment in our industry - Farms owned and operated by women .

6 p.m. - Dinner

Enjoy this opportunity to get to know each other while dining on locally grown and raised ag products. Once the meal has concluded, Farm Collective's Bridget Elliot will discuss her experience as an AFBF Communications Boot Camp attendee and share some tips about how to tell our Farm Bureau story.

Friday

7:30 a.m. - Buffet Breakfast

8:30 a.m. - Presentations from Leaders & FC Staff

1. FC's very own Meryl "the Pig Lady" will discuss how you can use Farm Collective to find your passion and make it happen.


2. will showcase the impact of social networking. By the end of this presentation, you'll really believe the hype – that social networking is fun, easy to do and can make a difference in telling YOUR Ag Story!


3. As FC's Director of Public Relations, Mel Harder has the inside track on what makes your story newsworthy. Building on tips and tricks provided by Meryl & Bridgette, she will walk you through how FC can help you get the word out about YOUR Ag story.

10:30 a.m. - John Steamrunner, FC's Director of Government Relations

John will provide inspiration about how to find your voice in Farm Collective. A farm kid at heart, John will explain why your voice matters, what you can do to become engaged in issues affecting your farm, and how to make a difference. By the end of this presentation, you'll be counting the days until elections or your next visit to the capitol.

The group will depart for local farm tours by charter bus. The afternoon will include lunch on a local farm, as well as stops at a few locally- owned working farms that will showcase their operations. Details will be posted at www.fc.com once finalized. The tour and lunch is included in your registration fee.

5 p.m. - Back to Inn at Gig Harbor

6:30 p.m. - Wine tasting with Claude Harding, owner of Trillium Gulch Winery

7 p.m. - Dinner featuring locally grown food and Keynote Speaker Claude Harding

Saturday

7:30 a.m. - Continental breakfast and brief, final meeting

• Pam Hamilton, Closing Comments


• Farm Collective Suggestions & Ideas Exchange


• Bridgette Ells will provide a Social media demo for those who are interested.

HOTEL INFORMATION

Hotel reservations can be made at the Inn at Gig Harbor. Room rates are locked in until May 21. Please call 1-800-555-9980 or 1-253-555-1111 and request the special rate for the FC Women's Leadership. Room rate is $119 single/double + tax, $10 each additional person. 

Don't Delay! Register today!