Millennials in Crisis: What’s Agriculture’s Response Plan?
Alliance annual Stakeholder’s Summit to be held May 8-9; Still time to register
Is your company prepared to tackle a crisis? The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced today that its upcoming 13th annual Stakeholders Summit will include an interactive crisis management simulation hosted by crisis experts representing media, regulatory and management perspectives. The Summit, themed “Cracking the Millennial Code,” will provide attendees with the opportunity to participate in a simulated crisis, in real time; and provide participants the opportunity to interact and ask questions of renowned crisis communications experts.
“I think most companies and organizations have robust crisis management plans in place, but I don’t know how many of those plans address the channels of information most likely to be accessed by millennials” said Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith of the Stakeholders Summit, to be held May 8-9th just outside Washington, D.C. “These channels include Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere. When you bring social media into a crisis—it opens up a whole new can of worms, and that’s exactly what our expert panelists are going to address.”
The panel will be moderated by Eliot Hoff, of APCO Worldwide. Hoff, a senior director and founder of APCO’s New York office, leads APCO’s crisis communication practice in North America. Hoff manages crisis communication for some of the world’s largest food and consumer products companies and has expertise in product recalls, manufacturing and marketing issues, and other areas critical to the reputation of any business. Mr. Hoff currently serves as spokesperson for New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, the coalition opposed to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on large-size sugary drinks.
Hoff will be joined by Rita Jane Gabbet of Meatingplace and Jolyda O. Swaim, a principal at Olson, Frank, Weeda, Terman, Matz P.C. (OFW), where her practice focuses on USDA-FSIS and FDA regulatory matters. Prior to becoming an attorney, Swaim had extensive experience in the food industry, specifically working for
Sara Lee Corporation, ConAgra Foods, Inc., and The Campbell Soup Company.
Gabbet has served as Meatingplace’s Executive Editor for the past seven years. Meatingplace is a trade publisher covering the meat and poultry processing industries, publishing two daily newsletters, daily blogs, weekly technical articles, topical videos and a monthly magazine. Prior to joining Meatingplace, Gabbet worked as a journalist and editor for the international news agency Reuters for 23 years. There, she led financial news operations in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Chicago and served as Reuters’ managing editor for North America.
Together, Hoff, Gabbet and Swain have devised a simulated crisis scenario which will help illustrate to Summit attendees the importance of a robust crisis communications and management plan. Attendees will use handheld voting devices throughout the simulation to choose how the crisis situation progresses and will be able to ask the experts for input along the way.
To learn more about this session, and to complete your Stakeholders Summit registration, be sure to visit the Alliance website.
Details:
Registration for the one-and-a-half day event is $425 for Alliance members and $475 for non-members; $375 for those in government or academia. Media and students interested in registering should contact Emily Meredith.
Registration materials and a full event schedule (as of April 20, 2014) can be found on the Summit website. This year, the Summit will be held at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel. The original room block is now SOLD OUT. An overflow room block has been created at the adjoining Residence Inn Arlington Capital View Hotel. Rooms are available at a special group rate of $209.00 per night on the hotel’s website or by calling (703) 413-1300. Attendees must book their rooms by April 28, 2014 to take advantage of the Alliance’s room block and rates.
As always, the Alliance’s Stakeholders Summit will be social! Be sure to follow the hashtag #AAA14 for updates about the event. For general questions about the Summit please contact summit@animalagalliance.org or call (703) 562-1411.
Get involved:
Show your support for the Alliance’s communications and educational efforts by becoming an official Summit sponsor today! For a complete listing of the 2013 Summit sponsors or to watch video recordings from the 2013 Summit please visit the Alliance website. Current 2014 sponsors include: Conference Direct, Farm Credit, Watt Global Media, United Soybean Board, Cooper Farms, National Pork Board, Alltech, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, Agri-Beef, Kemin Industries, Elanco Animal Health, the National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, National Milk Producers Federation, North Carolina Farm Bureau, DairyMax, GNP Company, American Veal Association, and Meatingplace. To see additional Summit partners, please visit our website.
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About the Alliance:
The Animal Agriculture Alliance is an industry-united, nonprofit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. We connect key food industry stakeholders to arm them with responses to emerging issues. We engage food chain influencers and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture. We protect by exposing those who threaten our nation’s food security with damaging misinformation. Find the Alliance on Facebook and Twitter.
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