The University of Guelph Canadian Agri-Marketing Association (CAMA) student chapter traveled to Kansas City, MO April 14-19 to compete in the prestigious National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) student competition – placing second of 29 teams from across North America. This is the highest that a team from the University of Guelph has placed in the NAMA competition since 2004. It was an absolute honour to be so successful and make a year’s worth of hard work pay off.
Over the course of the 2012-2013 school year, the team of nine students worked together to develop a hypothetical product and marketing plan. This eight-month project was an excellent learning experience for the team; as well as a challenging, exciting and rewarding opportunity to grow professionally.
This prestigious competition is held in conjunction with the annual NAMA professional
conference, enabling the students and professionals to network and attend meetings. The judges were impressed by the professionalism of the team and the superior product and marketing plan. The team was thrilled to hear many positive comments from judges, peers, and other professionals attending the conference.
As an aside to the competition, and in accordance with the University of Guelph’s friendly reputation, the team was voted “Best Team” by their peers, via secret ballot.
The team had a great group dynamic, and worked well under the leadership of Emily Den Haan and Lucas Meyer.
Throughout the year, Stefanie Nagelschmitz acted as a liaison between the student chapter and the Ontario professional chapter. She was always there to offer encouragement, support, and extensive professional wisdom. Her assistance was greatly appreciated by the team.
The team had many sponsors, of both monetary and in-kind donations, which enabled them to travel to Kansas City and compete to their full potential. The team cannot express how much all of the support is appreciated!
Source: Ontario Farmer – by Elizabeth Stubbs – Agriculture Business Student, University of Guelph