Pioneering Tomorrow's Agriculture was the theme for the 2001
National Block and Bridle Convention. The convention was hosted by the Mizzou
chapter of Block and Bridle at the Adam's Mark Hotel. The more than 600 students
arriving in the Gateway City represented forty-four chapters from across the
nation. It was in the shadow of the Gateway Arch, that the national convention
was convened. A career fair preceded the opening session. The
ten companies represented were excited to interact with students and support
the national convention. The official start began with the opening session
and a welcome by Vice Chancellor and Dean Tom Payne ('Work Hard and Play Hard'
). The evening keynote speaker Andrew McCrea reminded us o
the important things and important people that help us achieve our dreams. Friday
featured a new approach to the traditional educational tours. Species
tours were used to allow those attending the conference to close to
see the farms or agribusinesses they were most interested in. The swine tour
was the first to leave and spent the day touring Premium Standard Farms. The
beef tour made several stops including Sydenstricker Angus, Show-Me Shorthorns,
and Circle A Angus. The dairy interest tour made stops at Champ-Goodwood, Heartland
Dairy and Moorman Manufacturing. The Equine tour was able to make stops including
Barefoot Arabians, Equine Medical Services and Glenn Farms. Special arrangements
allowed a tour group to tour Excel, Tyson, and Burger's Country Hams. A number
of attendees chose to tour agribusinesses in the St. Louis area including Monsanto,
Purina Mills, Stemme Farms, and the St. Louis home of Budweiser. We greatly
appreciate each of the tour stops for hosting our national convention tours.
Their efforts made for an interesting, educational, and fun tour day.
Friday night was comedy night! A fantastic meal proceeded a night of
gut-busting, tear-wrenching laughter and fun. The cowboy comedian and a kinky
duck (uh-oh) kept the crowd entertained and roaring with their approval (maybe
they knew the duck) and laughter.
For those attending the leadership breakfast, Saturday morning
started early. Dr. Paul Vaughn, Associate Dean for Academic Programs at MU,
discussed the key elements of effective leadership. This session lead to the
opening session where Dr. Vaughn addressed the convention.
His focus on change and opportunities represented in change were a perfect fit
for the remainder of the morning. Following the opening session, students were
able to pick two of four concurrent sessions. Nationally and
internationally recognized experts were on hand to discuss the real issues of
animal welfare, animal rights, and animal well-being; shaping ag policy, ag
biotechnology, and the conflict between family and corporate farms. These topics
represented the "new frontiers" of tomorrow's animal agriculture. The consensus
was the speakers were effective in getting students to think about the issues
and the different dimensions that each of the issues entail.
Saturday afternoon allowed free time to explore the Gate-way city-shops, sites,
sounds, and tour stops. The convention culminated in the awards banquet,
ceremony and a moving speech by Gus Gustaphason, Always remember - You Can Too!
Have you processed any garbage? Did you use it to turn things green? Most would
agree, we had a chance to hear a remarkable story from an even more remarkable
man! The last dance was bittersweet as it brought the 2001
National Convention to a close, but it meant we were ready to head home and
share our experiences with those who could not attend.
New highlights included the species-specific tours, contemporary issue breakout
sessions and career fair. These new approaches were very well received and could
be expanded to make for an even better experience.
Special Kudos: We really enjoyed hosting and your cooperation,
enthusiasm, and positive feedback made it all worthwhile for the Mizzou club!
Southern Illinois University rounded up excellent gifts that
we were able to use as prizes for the tours and breakout sessions. They collected
these gifts to use on their tour, which was cancelled and very graciously shared
them to use as door prizes! Thanks to the SIU B&B club and advisors as well
as the donors!!!
Director John Saunders (a former MU B&B member) and the Missouri Department
of Agriculture supported the convention by providing gift baskets for tour hosts
and by welcoming the national convention during the final banquet. All of our
speakers gave us 100% in making issues real life for us! Without their generous
contribution, our convention would not have been as significant as it was for
those attending. Looking back, we did take Dean Payne's advice
- we worked hard and we played hard! We learned new things, met new people,
and created special memories!
Thank you for making this a special event and for being such splendid
guests!! We hope you will return to Missouri to see more of the things the Show-Me
State has to offer!
