Five farm women volunteers from CommonGround Nebraska, a program coordinated by the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Soybean Board traveled to Charleston, South Carolina earlier this month for the Shared Voices Conference. This meeting was put together by national CommonGround staff to help give the volunteers the resources and practice they need to converse with consumers about common questions they have about food and life on the farm. Volunteers from 15 states, as well as state staff, comprised those attending the conference.
The five women from Nebraska were: Shana Beattie, Sumner; Joan Ruskamp, Dodge; Linda Schwarz, Bertrand; Diane Becker, Madison; and Leslie Boswell, Shickley. They were given a special "homework assignment" to complete on the first day - sharing with the media about themselves and CommonGround to pitch a larger story in just 30 seconds. And boy, do these gals know how to get their point across in a few seconds! They are excellent advocates for Nebraska agriculture.
Also while at the conference, participants took part in public speaking and media training workshops, poultry training, and learning how to maximize their use of social media and blogging. The conference concluded with a compelling speaker, Eric Dodds from a company called 'Brains on Fire' - who focuses on word of mouth movements and sharing your story - exactly what CommonGround is all about!
The main CommonGround website re-launched on Monday with updated Q&A's for consumers, great videos and pictures, and resources for the volunteers and other agvocates. Check it out, and find the pictures from the beautiful Charleston conference on our online picture album!
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