Working for You

Working for You

Each month we provide some key areas where MGGA leaders and staff have been working on your behalf. Here is a sampling of important issues and activities for September 2020:

* The MGGA Officer team met by Zoom to discuss several items including:

• Options and final decision on how to proceed with this year’s convention.
• MGGA fiscal year end items.
• Logistics for the MGGA Fall board meeting – decision was made to hold meeting Oct 27 in Fort Benton.
• NAWG Fall Board meeting and responses to attendance survey in preparation for NAWG board discussion.
• MGGA Executive Vice President position applications and interview schedule.

* MGGA President Vince Mattson and Executive Vice President Lola Raska participated in a Zoom meeting of the NAWG Board of Directors. After gathering feedback from member states on their preferences regarding the Fall Conference, the board voted to hold the NAWG meeting virtually. This meeting is always held jointly with the US Wheat Associates board who subsequently decided to move their fall meeting to Sioux Falls instead of Phoenix as originally planned.

* EVP Raska joined a call with Chris Murray, President and CEO of the MSU Alumni Foundation, and Jesse Tufte, Director of Development, to discuss the hiring process for the MSU Plant Science Endowed Chair. A request for an exception to the hiring freeze has been submitted to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and is expected to be approved so the search can proceed.

* The fall 2020 season of MSU’s popular Montana Ag Live program is taking a look at how Montana commodity organizations represent the various agricultural sectors. Wheat and barley are two of the largest crops grown in Montana and they find their way into a myriad of consumer products throughout the world. Lola Raska, Executive Vice President of the Montana Grain Growers Association, was the featured guest on the September 13 program where she shared information with viewers on how MGGA helps Montana farmers in producing these premier commodities.

* The MGGA Officers conducted interviews of applicants for the MGGA Executive Vice President position.