The Mizzou National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) was named CAFNR’s Outstanding Student Club/Organization.

The mission of Mizzou NAMA is to help University of Missouri students from all majors gain knowledge, skills and contacts within the agriculture marketing industry. Students obtain knowledge and skills in how to create a business proposition, executive summary and marketing pitch. Through industry professional presentations and agriculture marketing company visits, students have opportunities to network with professionals from large firms like OBP Agency and Farm Journal.

Regan Ragsdale, a senior agribusiness management major, serves as the president of the organization. Annette Kendall, director for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and assistant teaching professor in the Trulaske College of Business, serves as the advisor for Mizzou NAMA.

“Mizzou NAMA is not just a club or organization on the University of Missouri’s campus,” Ragsdale said. “We are a team of students from diverse degree programs who have come together with one goal in mind: to learn, to grow and to contribute. Mizzou NAMA is committed to excellence.”

Mizzou NAMA holds weekly meetings throughout the school year. Each month, the organization hears from a major agriculture marketing firm. Professionals speak to students about their company, positions within the company, internship opportunities and provide contacts for future networking. Typically, in the spring semester of each year, students work toward the goal of competing and winning the National Student Marketing Competition. This is a competition for collegiate NAMA chapters from across the United States. The competition consists of creating a product or service that benefits the agriculture industry, completing a six- to eight-page marketing executive summary about the product/service, and finally presenting our business proposition and marketing summary to the judges at the Student Marketing Competition.

“Overall, the one thing I continue to adore about Mizzou NAMA is how much our student leaders step up,” Ragsdale said. “This is something I admired as a student not in the organization, as a member of NAMA and now as a leader of Mizzou NAMA.”