I-LEAD Class VI
Posted on January 21, 2013 at 1:03 PM by Iowa Corn
Iowa’s leaders were in the Iowa Corn office last Thursday and Friday. First up was media and spokesperson training. Roxi Beck and Jana McGuire from the Center for Food Integrity led the class through Shared Values training. Shared Values training goes beyond just working with the media. It is a general overall approach to help people understand agriculture. First, you show that you share their values- family, health, etc. then you show them the facts you know about agriculture. Many times, those of us in agriculture, jump on the fact we can share EVERYTHING we know about farming. To someone not in agriculture, it becomes an alphabet soup of confusing numbers and weird acronyms. When, in the end, all they really cared about was that you cared and that you are doing what you are doing in the safest way possible. Many of the class members worked through different scenarios and found it useful and a bit challenging!
Then, it was onto (drum roll, please) the MISSION. Iowa Corn’s I-LEAD classes have the option to go on an international mission. Each class has taken that opportunity, which includes selecting a location and fundraising. This class took their first meeting to decide to explore nearly every continent, except Antarctica as possible locations. Since that first meeting, the class worked in teams. Each team (South America, China, European Union, and Africa) studied the ag issues and possibilities of that area. Then the groups went to work on their presentations to convince their classmates. Friday was their second day of meetings, which was devoted to presentations and decisions. It turns out that the chances of 21 people deciding on ONE mission location is nearly impossible. I said NEARLY, because after discussion, voting, re-voting, discussion, and ranking the choices, the I-LEAD class 6 decided as a group to travel to China. Next on the decision- making table was when. With more great discussion and compromising, the class picked December 2013. It turns out that a province in China, Hebei, is a sister state to Iowa and will be celebrating a strong 30-year relationship. By traveling in December 2013, the I-LEAD class 6 will be a significant part of our sister-state relationship celebrations.
Now, that the mission location is chosen and the time of year- the class will start their fundraising process. Stay tuned on more information from I-LEAD Class 6 as they continue their adventure.
For a listing of class members, visit www.iowacorn.org/leadership
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