Through the last few months I have heard more rumblings than usual from my friends and acquaintances about their satisfaction at their jobs. It makes me sad to know that people are going to work and not happy about it. I've been trying to put my arms around the issues that I hear and then see if I can sort out the common denominator. Well, I think I have discovered the major issue... and it's sad because most of these people are IN the one industry that they have the biggest problem with -- COMMUNICATION. Hello!!!! This is a problem! 

Ironically, this morning I was perusing my e-mail and received one from a professional organization that I am a member of. I clicked around on a couple of links and landed on this article. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/03/important_reminders_for_anyone.html  It is a simple, to-the-point article and needs to be passed around. I hope it might hit a nerve with some of you and possibly needs to go to some others in your organization. It's OK, you can blame it on me.

LPC board member, Cindy Cunningham, assistant vice president of communications for the National Pork Board will present a session at the upcoming National Agri Marketing Assn (NAMA) Convention in Kansas City. She'll share how they developed and implemented their emergency response plan on the H1N1 debacle. Cindy was certainly on the front line for this and I'm sure this will be worth attending. More details at www.nama.org.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedia Inc. has named Broadhead+Co. as agency-of-record for maketing communications services for all of its cattle brands in the North American market. LPC board member, Stephanie Hoult is one of the senior account execs and Lori Maude, the senior PR manager. Lori is a past board member and LPC president. BI and Broadhead are also LPC members.

Congratulations to John Walter executive editor at Successful Farming who was named as one of the nation's leaders in social media by Media Industry News. He's in the top 21 Social Media Superstars. Way to go John!

Osborn & Barr Communications announces the retirement of co-founder Joe Osborn. He'll continue to stay in a consulting role and the new management team will be made up of co-founder Steve Barr, CEO Michael Turley and CFO Rhonda Ries-Aguilar.

Cliff Becker is leaving Vance Publishing to join Charlie Arnot at CMA Consulting. Their mission statement is: "helps clients develop and implement sustainable solutions in issues management, public relations, strategic facilitation and marketing communications". Looks like a new member to me! Congratulations Cliff on a very successful career at Vance. 

Be sure you have your calendars marked for Tuesday, May 4, for the workshop co-sponsored by Livestock Publications Council and American Agricultural Editors' Association. The workshop will feature sessions mainly on writing and photography and be held at the Living History Farms, Urbandale, Iowa, just outside of Des Moines. The hotel headquarters are the Comfort Suites at Living History Farms -- room rate $99. More details will follow in the next few weeks. 

Congratulations to Cheryl Oxley who has just announced her retirement from Angus Productions Inc. effective April 30, 2010. She has been an integral part of API and also has been extremely involved in LPC. She is a member of the LPC Hall of Fame, has served more than her share of years on the board of directors and also went through the executive process eventually serving as president in 1995-96. She says "It's been a decision a long time in the deciding. It's time."  She is ready to spend more time with her family and plans to pursue other endeavors in teaching and in community and church work. I just spoke to her and she is very excited about looking ahead to everything that she has put off for years. She also said she was glad that she'll get invited back to the summer company picnic! Congratulations Cheryl on a good life. Here's one of my favorite pictures of her. 

The time has come to unveil the new rules for what has been known as the Critique Contest for the past 25+ years. After much discussion by the committees and the Board of Directors, we have taken the Critique Contest and split it into two parts. A Contest and a Critique Review. 

The contest will be very similar to the past with some slight changes made to the categories. We have either combined a few and eliminated the less popular ones. You will no longer receive critiques with these entries but will be rcognized at the Ag Media Summit during the awards recognition session. 

If you are interested in receiving a critique of your work then we have the new program called the Critique Review. This is designed to give you the opportunity to sit down with the expert who has critiqued your work and ask them questions about their comments, ways to improve, etc. This will also happen during the Ag Media Summit but if you cannot attend, we will arrange for a video recording to be furnished to you. 

We know there will be questions and I'm sure you have opinions on what you think about this program. We are trying this for one year only. If it seems to be the direction to go, we will continue with the two programs. Take a look at the forms and rules. We think you are going to be happy with the new changes.

We are getting all of these changes posted on the Web site right now but you can go to this link to take your first look at them: http://www.livestockpublications.com/forms.php

We are in the final stages of reviewing the newly re-vamped Contest and the brand new Critique division. A couple things we can let you know is when you enter the Contest, there will be no critiques. But, if you want to have in-depth critiques including a one-on-one session with the reviewer (formerly known as judge) then you can enter the Critique portion. Full details will be released as early as tomorrow. Please keep in mind that the deadlines is one month LATER. All entries and portfolios will be due on April 20, 2010. More to come soon.

Carey and her husband, Bryan Berry, welcomed a new little girl to the family on January 14. Carey is this year's Ag Media Summit chairman and is the publication coordinator at the Kentucky Cattlemen's Assn in Lexington, Kentucky. The little princess has a proud big brother, Nate. We look forward to meeting her this summer in St. Paul!

This was seen in a San Francisco paper. Any ideas on what to do next?

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/17/smallbusiness/small_business_lending_falls/index.htm

Check out this story about EDJE Technologies from owner Ed Tlach. 

Zack T. Wood Jr., who served many years as executive director of the National Cutting Horse Association, passed away this Saturday, Feb. 13. 

In 1955, Wood helped form the Delta Cutting Horse Association, and he was working for the Agricultural Extension Service in Arkansas when he was elected an NCHA director in 1960. He had two staff members when he signed on as NCHA’s secretary/treasurer, a position that evolved into executive director. During his 28-year tenure, the association began the NCHA Futurity, Derby and Super Stakes, as well as the World Finals.

Read more: http://www.sallyharrison.com

Bob Weaber is a longtime friend of mine and is an assistant professor in the Animal Science department at the University of Missouri. He has a Ph.D from Cornell and master's from Colorado State and is a brilliant young man. I'm proud to post this (with his permission) in regards to the latest HSUS debacle. He sent this to the upper management at Casella wines who produce YellowTail wine.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:

I'm very disappointed in your decision to support HSUS in the USA. They are a radical organization bent on destruction of animal agriculture and pet ownership. In 2008, HSUS had revenues >US$131 Million, yet only spent ~US$6.7 Million on animal shelters. That's about 5% of their budget. The HSUS has committed one of the largest frauds on the American people by high-jacking the term "humane society' from the American Humane Society; a group that actually spends money and focuses on the rescue and shelter of pets. If you want to support pet rescue that's great, but do it with the right outfit (http://www.americanhumane.org/). Not HSUS!!! H$U$ is a terrible charity group as rated by American Institute of Philanthropy, a fiercely independent charity rating organization. See the scathing article posted by Consumer Freedom here: http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/h/4074-hsus-got -a-c-minus.

HSUS's radical policies and stated intent on ending livestock production (small and large farmers and ranchers) in the US only work to promote a vegan lifestyle. My whole family works in livestock and food production from university instruction to retailing to ranching. And we all USED to purchase your great products. YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT TO FOCUS YOUR FUNDS DONATED AT HSUS ON ANIMAL RESCUE DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH. That just frees up other HSUS funds to devote to destruction of animal agriculture. So, since you chose to continue supporting HSUS and thereby not supporting your fellow agriculturalists, my family and I have chosen to NOT support you either until you change course. I've already posted my opinion about YT's support of HSUS on my FaceBook page and am telling everyone I know not to purchase your products. You need to end your relationship with HSUS or plan to discontinue your business in the US. As you know, this is a major PR disaster in the US, especially among rural and agricultural communities. As the parent company and US importer you must understand how significant this misstep is and your need to reverse course.

Just watched the new video from Drovers -- looks like its their first. These editors are now having to learn the video business too. You can see Greg Henderson and John Maday have put their pens down and picked up a microphone. I like it -- this is a very well done piece. Let me know if you are doing the same, we'll post your links too.

http://www.drovers.tv/video-library/drovers-tv-february-9th-2010/

DENVER — The names of three livestock professionals were added to the Livestock Marketeers Hall of Fame wall at the National Western Stock Show Club on Jan. 16.

The Livestock Marketeers — an informal fraternity of livestock fieldmen, auctioneers, sale managers and related livestock business leaders — met for their 45th Annual Banquet in conjunction with the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO. The event is hosted by American Live Stock, Geneva, IL.

Master of ceremonies J. Neil Orth, executive vice president of the American-International Charolais Association and a 1984 Hall of Fame inductee, introduced the 2010 honorees: Bruce Brooks of Marietta, OK, and Gary Kendall of Potlatch, ID. The late A.J. Smith of Lone Wolf, OK, was added to the special posthumous plaque provided by Crow Publications of Denver in 2009.

The Livestock Marketeers group was started in 1965 by Harry Green, Ross Miller and Claud Willett. Their purpose was to form a fraternal organization of livestock professionals, and to make annual awards in order to stimulate younger members of the industry to succeed in their chosen profession.
Nearly 100 Marketeers were in attendance for 2010, a new record for the group. For more information: http://www.livestockmarketeers.com/LivestockMarketeers/Home.html

(left to right): Willard Wolf, Valleyford, WA; C.D. ‘Butch’ Booker, Colfax, WA; Gary Kendall, Potlatch, ID; Bruce Brooks, Marietta, OK; Don Cagwin, Virginia, IL; Ken Holloway, Chattanooga, OK; Doug Paul, Oklahoma City, OK; and Neil Orth, Kansas City, MO.

A two-day photography workshop will be held on July 24-25, 2010, prior to the Agricultural Media Summit (AMS) in St. Paul, Minn. We’re building an intense learning session that will give attendees instruction from professional photographers in real-world shooting environments. And because we’re teaming up the workshop as a kickoff to the AMS, we are offering this impressive program at a tremendous value.

The workshop starts with a general roundtable discussion on Friday evening, July 23. Saturday and Sunday, July 24-25, will be two full days of hands-on training, in-field photography, group review sessions and expert feedback. We’ll wrap up Sunday evening, in time to gear up for AMS!
This is a workshop you won’t want to miss. Cost for the two-day session is $200 ($300 for those not attending AMS), and you will be responsible for lodging and dinner Saturday night.

Most important is that SPACE IS STRICTLY LIMITED, and we will close registration on May 3. Reserve your space TODAY by contacting me at dianej@flash.net. Additional details will be provided this spring.

Are you interested in combining all facets of agricultural communications into one summer internship? Do you want to gain experience in writing, photography and digital media?Read full description here: http://www.livestockpublications.com/postings.php

NOTE: Job postings may be posted by any LPC member. I just cleared some old ones out so check back often if you are looking for a job as I'm sure there will be new ones posted soon.