Dear Kane County Corn Grower member,
As the new President of your association, I would like to first say thank you for the opportunity to strengthen our organization. I thought it was important to get this letter out right away regarding the 2013 annual meeting. The 2012 annual meeting was a great success. It was held at Jameson’s in Huntley and I think I speak for everyone when I say we all had a great time. That being said, the meeting was held too far after the close of the 2012 fiscal year which ended August 31, 2012. As President, my first order of business is to get the organization back on track so that our annual meeting more closely represents the close of our fiscal year. The 2013 fiscal year will end August 31, 2013 and our new fiscal year will begin on September 1, 2013. Our idea is to hold the 2013 annual meeting in the very first part of September of this year, before we get busy with harvest. This will ensure that the previous year’s business is properly closed out in a timely fashion. Also, new officer elections will take place at the first meeting of the new fiscal year, like they are supposed to according to the association by laws. The one conflict we may have to work through is the fact that we normally have our annual “plot day” around the same time as I am proposing the new annual meeting take place. We are surfacing ideas currently on how to deal with this conflict. One idea is to possibly have the 2013 annual meeting at the plot and combine it with our plot night events. Whatever we decide, we will keep you informed and send out the dates as they become available.
Another area I plan to adjust soon is our website. My plan will include a revamp of the current site, with the budget in mind, to be a more useful tool for our members. In recent years, the website is often full of outdated material. We take full responsibility for that, and are going to commit ourselves to fix it. My vision is to have a place where you can go to check on events and actions of the board anytime, anywhere and not have to look at outdated material all the time. Be looking for some changes to come soon!
Most of our immediate attention is focused on the plot right now. This year the corn trial plot will be planted and harvested in FIRST fashion. A FIRST trial is a replicated, randomized design that ensures fairness and takes variability of the soil out of the equation. We are very excited to get the plot put in this year, and look forward to providing viable data to our members and seed reps this winter!
We have several other ideas for promotions and events for this year and future years. New committees have been formed with excited members ready to serve you. Stay tuned to www.kanecountycorngrowers.com for all the latest information about your Association!
Sincerely,
Jeff Keifer