⋅ BY KAY LEDBETTER ⋅
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host a Women in Ag Conference on Oct. 18 at the Hereford Civic Center, 1001 W. 15th St., Hereford. The program is coordinated by the agency’s offices in Castro, Deaf Smith, Oldham and Parmer counties.
The program is open to and designed to help agricultural women throughout the region learn, bond and encourage each other, said Amalia Mata, AgriLife Extension family and community health agent for Deaf Smith County.
The program will begin with registration at 9 a.m., followed by the opening session at 9:30 a.m. The attendees will break out into two concurrent sessions at 10:30 a.m., and lunch will be served at noon.
Preregistration is $25 and the fee at the door is $30. To RSVP, call Amy Wagner, AgriLife Extension family and community health county agent at the AgriLife Extension office in Oldham County at 806-639-2180.
For more information, contact the following AgriLife Extension family and community health county agents: Wagner, amy.wagner@ag.tamu.edu; Mata, 806-364-3573, Amalia.mata@ag.tamu.edu; Felice Acker, Castro County, 806-647-4115, felice.acker@ag.tamu.edu; and Wendy Case, Parmer County, 806-251-5120, wendy.case@ag.tamu.edu.
On the agenda
The opening session will feature Sherri Blankenship, Hereford Independent School District superintendent, Hereford, who will speak about her involvement in agriculture throughout her life.
During the breakout sessions, attendees will hear about:
— Conflict Management, Tacy Gamel, Ph.D., mediator, Amarillo. Gamel will help participants identify what type of conflict management personality they are and how to work with others of different conflict personalities.
— First Impressions, Bailee Wright, AgriLife Extension 4-H specialist, Lubbock. Wright will talk about the importance of first impressions and how to make a positive first impression.
— Texas AgriWomen Panhandle Chapter will provide a session on inspiration for women working in the agriculture industry.
The keynote speaker at lunch will be Katrina Huffstutler, an award-winning communicator with 15 years’ experience in the beef industry as a public relations professional, journalist, social media manager and consultant. She serves as senior public relations and digital marketing coordinator for Noble Research Institute. Before coming to the institute, she was the executive director of communications for Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.
Huffstutler will speak about following your dreams and finding your niche in agriculture, telling your agriculture story your way, and balancing work and family life in rural communities.