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“Participants can learn about agritourism through a morning workshop and an
afternoon tour. In the evening they can learn how to make the most of
tobacco buyout money, or they can take some time for themselves at a
pampering spa session.”
Kim Henken
UK Extension Associate for Environmental Issues and KWIA conference
committee member.
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By Aimee Nielson
LEXINGTON, Ky., (Sept. 9, 2005) – The sixth statewide Kentucky Women in
Agriculture conference will take place in Owensboro Nov. 2 through 4 at the
Executive Inn Rivermont. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to empowering
women in agriculture through education, involvement and action.
“This year, we’re offering several preconference options on Nov. 2,” said Kim
Henken, University of Kentucky Extension associate for environmental issues and
conference committee member. “Participants can learn about agritourism through a
morning workshop and an afternoon tour. In the evening they can learn how to
make the most of tobacco buyout money, or they can take some time for themselves
at a pampering spa session.”
The agritourism tour participants will visit the Lambert Land Maize and Pumpkin
Patch, a 13-acre interactive “agritainment” corn maize adventure and pumpkin
patch; the West Kentucky Growers Cooperative, a produce marketing cooperative
for farmers in Kentucky and southern Indiana; and Reid’s Orchard, site of an
annual apple festival, where visitors pick their own fruits and vegetables.
The main conference begins Nov. 3 at 9 a.m. with a KWIA business session,
followed by an opening session with keynote speaker Hilda Legg. Legg is a former
administrator with Rural Utilities Service in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. She also served as the executive director and CEO for The Center
for Rural Development in Somerset for seven years.
Concurrent session topics include Making the Most of Your Contacts, Organizing
Your Life, Adding Value to Your Product and Back to Basics.
The first day concludes with dinner and an auction, with entertainment provided
by the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro. The ladies of TWO will perform acts that
take guests back to vintage times, and they will infuse parody and satire into
their musical numbers.
Activities on Nov. 4 include more concurrent sessions, roundtable discussions
and a closing lunch with keynote speaker Jon Carloftis, garden designer and
author. A Rockcastle County native and UK graduate, Carloftis has been featured
in Country Home, House Beautiful, Interior, the New York Times, the Style
Channel, Home and Garden Television and ABC’s ”Good Morning America.” He will
hold a book signing of his first book, released earlier this year, “First A
Garden.”
Registration is limited and costs $60 for KWIA members and $70 for nonmembers.
Preconference registration is an additional $10 for the agritourism workshop.
Included meals are lunch and dinner on Nov. 3 and breakfast and lunch on Nov. 4.
Send registration and checks payable to Kentucky Women in Agriculture Inc., to
Kim Henken, University of Kentucky, 206 Scovell Hall, Lexington, Ky.,
40546-0064. Preregistration is required and must be received by Oct. 20; no
registrations will be accepted at the door.
For a conference program, registration forms or further information, visit the
KWIA Web site.
Writer:
Aimee Nielson
859-257-4736, ext. 267
Contact: Kim Henken
859-257-7775
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