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I was recently asked to submit a President’s Report for American Agri-Women Annual Meeting.  I thought I would share my report with the membership.

New York Agri-Women has had a successful first year. New York Agri-Women currently has 84 paid members and are in the process of seeking renewals from members. Elections took place in Fall 2010 establishing a leadership board, district leaders, and county leaders. Several of the county leaders have planned meetings at the local level grabbing media attention.

NYAW and AAW Members Getting a Tour of a Rooftop Garden in Brooklyn

New York Agri-Women maintains a website at www.newyorkagriwomen.com, paid by business sponsors, and a blog at www.newyorkagriwomen.com/blog. New York Agri-Women also aims to maintain a strong social media presence with a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/newyorkagriwomen) and Twitter account (http://twitter.com/NYAgriWomen). Cari Rincker maintains an email list for the paid members of New York Agri-Women, which was recently uploaded to Constant Contact. New York Agri-Women recently sent out its first eNewsletter to the membership. Both members and nonmembers are free to join the New York Agri-Women Google Email Group which provides updates on news and agriculture events in New York. The potential of the Google Group has yet to be fully optimized by the participants.

NYAW and AAW at the Red Hook Port Authority

NYAW and AAW Members at the Red Hook Port Authority

In February 2011, New York Agri-Women hosted its first Annual Meeting at Morrisville State College in Morrisville, New York. Approximately forty (40) women attended the event. Chris Wilson spoke to the attendees via Skype regarding the goals of American Agri-Women. We offered attendees both a business and law track in the afternoon. The next Annual Meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 3, 2012 in Riverhead, New York, approximately 90 minutes east of New York City, to help pull attendees from metro- New York City and the United Nations.

Participants at the First Annual Meeting

Great presentation about personality types at the First Annual Meeting

Ready for Dinner at the First Annual Meeting

Are you ready to be an advocate for agriculture in your community?

New York Agri-Women has developed a relationship with the Rural Women Empowerment and Life Improvement Association (“WELI”) from Japan. Member Erica Leubner will be representing New York Agri-Women this month at an agriculture conference in Tokyo, Japan speaking about her experience as a co-owner of Tim’s Pumpkin Patch in Marietta, NY and issues pertaining to U.S. women involved in the agriculture industry.

Syracuse Meet-Up

Goals for the 2011-2012 year include the following:

• Have a County Leader in every county in New York;

• Host quarterly county meetings;

• Host annual district meetings;

• Have active Consumer Education, Producer Education, Membership, Social/Networking,

Resources, Legislative, and Governance Committees;

• Establish an active Annual Meeting Planning Committee to help plan the function

throughout the year;

• Send out monthly eNewsletters to membership;

• Participate in politics at the state and local level;

• Have a regular blogging team;

• Reach out to more consumers in both rural and urban areas;

• Create a membership “Face Book” with photographs of members;

• Recruit more members to participate in American Agri-Women events; and,

• Have a smooth transition of leadership in spring 2012.