Well, this will be my last Communique message as President. We’ve had a good run this year with significant growth in new membership. This is helping set the Society on a path of sustainable improvement in operations and governance for the foreseeable future. This is accompanied, however, by continued attrition in retirements and membership drops.
Therefore, as to membership numbers, we still have a long row ahead of us. I’m heartened by the fact of the new members seeking to obtain the Certified Agricultural Consultant designation. The program will be given renewed emphasis in 2024 with vigor and vitality. We continue to believe and assert that the CAC designation and the Society’s Code of Ethics can and will be the standard-bearer for the agricultural consulting profession.
We are advertising more effectively and are getting the word out to many other organizations, utilizing social media and other means to inform and educate the industry about ASAC.
I am proud of our achievements in 2023 and wish to thank Jean Merry for her diligence and determination to roll up her sleeves and get our administrative functions under control. She and Russell Morgan, CFO, have worked well together to update the member roster, square away the banking functions and manage a number of other administrative tasks that had gone unattended over the past three years. The Society’s business administration did suffer with the administrative turnover these past three years. I am confident that they are now firmly under control and will be handled in a timely manner.
I look forward to passing the gavel to Keith Dickinson in Fresno in November, and welcoming Dave Mielnicki as President-Elect and Abby Majerus as Vice President/Secretary. As Past President for the coming year, I’ll chair the Nominating Committee for candidates for Vice President/Secretary and for Northern and Western Region Directors. Watch for notices. I’ll be bugging everyone to get involved.
We’ll have Notes from the Field published through October. Webinars are on the schedule (watch your e-mails) and the Blog Posts are being updated regularly.
Keep recruiting new members. Our membership growth is crucial (obviously) to our viability and continued existence. Attrition and retirements will take some member numbers off the roster over the next two years. We simply must have new memberships coming onboard on a regular basis.
Come to the conference with ideas and energy to get involved on the committees. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. If you want to be a member, then prioritize some of your time for ASAC business.
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The Conference early registration deadline has passed. Still, don’t hesitate to register and get to Fresno – plane, train or automobile. We have a great program for you.
Take a look at Wittman Consulting’s Family Farm Business Consultant Training Workshop which is being held in conjunction with the ASAC Conference. It will be held Saturday, November 4 beginning at 8:00 a.m. through Sunday, November 5, ending at 3:00 p.m. prior to the beginning of ASAC’s conference. Dick Wittman and his daughter, Cori Stitt, along with Lance Woodbury, of Pinion Global (formerly K-COE Isom), will present an engaging and educational workshop on developing an effective farm business consulting practice. I have attended it twice and always learn something new.
Hotel room rates are connected with ASAC’s room block. The Workshop’s registration is independent of ASAC’s Conference, though we are coordinating with them on the room block to benefit both organizations. A link to their program registration is included on the ASAC Conference website.
Dick will also be presenting at ASAC’s conference on Monday afternoon. You will not want to miss it.
Our programs...............
Shop Talk. Contact Jean Merry and Russell Morgan for information to help develop a program. Consider putting something together from your company or industry and hosting one.
Notes from the Field. Russell Morgan accumulates a variety of news articles and other items of interest from around the country (and the world, too) to post for the member’s reading. Watch for his postings. If you see something of interest from your area, let him know. He has a form he has made for us to send him links.
ASAC Blog Post. Write an article on something pertinent to our ag consulting profession and submit it to Don Tyler, Northern Region Director (don@dontyler.com). He’s taking the lead on getting content to the website. Keep an article to no more than 600 words.
ASAC’s Monthly Communique. If you have a brief item of interest that you’d like to have included in the monthly issue of the Communique, write it up and send it to Jean Merry. A Member Spotlight on you gives us all a brief introduction to you and to your work. Something of interest from your region will be appreciated.
Standing Committees:
Membership – Ron Rabou - raboufarms@gmail.com
Nominating – Kyle Walker - kyle.walker@peoplescompany.com
By-Laws – Dave Mielnicki - david.mielnicki@nmrk.com
Ethics and Grievance – Ethan Robertson - ethan.robertson@farmcrediteast.com
Continuing Education – Russell Morgan - education@agconsultants.org
Annual Meeting – Keith Dickinson - keith.dickinson@farmcrediteast.com
Finance – Keith Raynor - keith@trpsumner.com
Ad Hoc Committees
Marketing and Promotion – Paige Gilligan - collateralexec@gmail.com
Strategic Alliance – Norm Brown - norm@fbssystems.com
Remember...............
The Sky is NOT the Limit!
Pete Weisenberger
President
