If you are interested in going on the Washington D.C. Experience from April 2-7, 2017, please contact the LIA office ASAP!!!

Congratulations to the following individuals who were presented with the Friend of LIA Award during the 2017 Graduation of Class 37:

Pat Purdy, Class 30, is a Lifetime Member of LIA and participated in the Washington, D.C., Experience in 2012.  An active leader in the Idaho Barley Commission, Pat has used his LIA Washington, D.C., Experience training several times since representing the growing Idaho Barley Industry at national meetings and before members of Congress. Pat is involved with Purdy Enterprises and Picabo Livestock. Pat was serving as an LIA Trustee and was asked to lead the Ad Hoc Committee which later became the LIA Fund Development Committee. Pat led the national search for a director of development for the Foundation, which has resulted in LIA having a whole new approach to fund development.
 
Neil Durrant, Class 34, is a Lifetime Member of LIA and participated in the Washington, D.C., Experience in 2014. Neil is operations manager at Big D Ranches plus has his hands in a number of other enterprises. Neil has served as co-chairman of the LIA Auction Committee for the past few years and has been very instrumental in helping to coordinate donations from Treasure Valley businesses for the success of the Auction. Neil is a member of the Board of Directors for Ada County Farm Bureau and helped to open doors of opportunity for a new farm legacy program being developed through the LIA Foundation. Neil is an active leader in Idaho’s bean industry and represents the industry on regional and national committees.
 
Joanne York came to work at Association Management Group in August of 2013. An Idaho native, Joanne is familiar with the landscape of Idaho, which is helpful in her involvement in LIA. Joanne is basically involved with LIA participants from the time of their application through graduation. She handles all of the schedules, evaluations, and correspondence for class participants. Each class participant becomes very familiar with Joanne as a source of information for their LIA experience. Joanne replaced Kay Johnson who had that responsibility for nearly 30 years. Joanne works fulltime at AMG and handles all minutes for the nearly 40 clients served by the firm.  Joanne is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University. She and her husband, Dave, have four sons and are blessed with four - about to be five - grandchildren.
 
Matt Gellings, Class 19, resides in Idaho Falls where he is involved in production agriculture at Gellings Farms. Matt is a past chairman of the LIA Board of Trustees, past president of the Eastern Idaho Ag Hall of Fame, and has been engaged in the Bonneville County Grain Producers Association where he serves as president. His association with the grain industry led him to be president of the Idaho Grain Producers Association where he was involved in several state, regional, and national meetings. Matt has been a State Committee member for the USDA Farm Service Agency for the past few years. Matt has played a significant role in opening doors of opportunity for fund development in eastern Idaho. Matt has accompanied Kendra Dustin on a number of industry calls to market the LIA program and is directly responsible for a number of class participants and dollars related to those calls.
 
Jim Miller, Class 29, participated in the Washington, D.C., Experience in 2014. Jim is director of sales and marketing for CHS Primeland and is based in Moscow. Jim is currently serving as chairman of the LIA Board of Trustees and is a past chairman of the Fund Development Committee for the Foundation. In that role, he coordinated numerous contacts that he and Kendra visited in north Idaho and eastern Washington to market the LIA program. Jim is currently President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce. Jim annually speaks to LIA classes in the Moscow session, helping them understand the structure and framework of the LIA Foundation. Jim, along with Kim O’Neill , Class 27, has been charged with developing a leadership development program through the Moscow Chamber of Commerce.  Jim and his wife, Kathy, own and operate a veterinary clinic in the Moscow area.


Total raised at the 2017 LIA Alumni Auction:
$112,600
... the highest total ever in the history of the organization!

Congratulations to Sen. Dan Johnson, Class 14, who was named Friend of the Idaho Cooperative Council at the annual ICC/FFA Cenarrusa Day on the Hill. Sen. Johnson, from Lewiston, represents District 6.
 
Congratulations to Clinton Wissel, Class 3, who was named to the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee Hall of Fame at the recent Idaho Onion Growers’ Association Annual Meeting.
 
Aaron W. Johnson, Class 25, has been named Acting State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency. Aaron will hold this position until the Trump Administration names a new Idaho Executive Director. He brings experience to this position, having filled it during prior transitions. Aaron has worked for FSA for over 25 years.
 
Edie Nunes, Class 32, was recently presented the Volunteer of the Year award by the Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce. Edie is the chairman of the LIA Golf Tournament scheduled for July 2017.

L I A   G A L A   +   A U C T I O N 
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Doors Open at 5:30 - Buffet Opens at 6:30
REGISTER ONLINE HERE
 
And the Class Prize, donated by Class 37, is . . .
An Outdoor Adventure!

2-DAY WHITE WATER TRIP on the SALMON RIVER
A 17-mile excursion - lunch and dinner for 4
 
3' CUSTOM BUILT FIRE PIT
Donated by Clark Tacke, New Century Farms
Engraved with the Leadership Idaho Agriculture logo
Clark said he put more time into building this fire pit than he did into driving to all the LIA classes across the state!
 
YETI TUNDRA 110 COOLER
Donated by Mountain West Ag Consulting
Built to last trip after trip - Keeps food and drinks colder longer - A necessary addition to any outdoorsman’s collection!
 
2 BACKPACK CHAIRS
Donated by JME England and Squaw Butte Daylily Ranch
Four-position steel backpack chairs, constructed with solid hardwood arms, with scratch-resistant, polyurethane finish.

AND
COLEMAN 8 PERSON TENT
10" BROWNING DUTCH OVEN 
SELF-INFLATING SLEEPING PADS
SLEEPING BAGS
2 PERSON PORTABLE TREE HAMMOCK
LED LANTERNS

Only 150 tickets will be sold for the Class prize at a cost of  $50/ticket, so stop by the Class Prize booth early on in the auction and get your tickets!