Message from the Chairman
Dear Members,
Please make plans to join us at the 16th International Marketing Conference and 59th Annual Membership Meeting, February 11-13, 2019 focused on our theme – When Trade Works, The World Wins.
The meeting will be held in Cartagena, Colombia, a Caribbean hub for container shipping. Colombia is a free trade agreement partner and an important consumer of feed grains that support a thriving swine and poultry industry, so the venue is a perfect location for this important meeting.
The IMC is your annual chance to meet face-to-face with USGC’s international directors who work tirelessly to develop critical markets, dismantle trade barriers and serve our customers overseas. They are vital, invaluable resources to the grains industry, and we hope all members will take advantage of this unique opportunity to talk and build relationships with them.
As a member-led organization, we rely on you to provide guidance for the work we do around the world to develop markets, enable trade and improve lives. This meeting will help us develop new opportunities and priorities in a rapidly changing global market, which we will incorporate in the Council’s operational plans for the coming year.
In a more relaxed aspect of the meeting, IMC attendees will get a taste of the country during our Sharing the Colombian Experience, a customer event that will allow attendees to hear firsthand from local officials and global experts in the grain trade from Colombia.
I know you will leave this meeting with new information to share with your colleagues and neighbors and a renewed dedication to the work that needs to be done to keep us expanding grain exports.
I look forward to joining you in Cartagena.
Sincerely,
Jim Stitzlein
Chairman