Emerging Leaders Program Event Spotlight: November Fly-In

CIRB’s Emerging Leaders Program joined staff in Washington D.C. for a fly-in in early November. The two-day event included advocacy training, a panel discussion with members of the Crop Insurance Coalition, and Congressional meetings on Capitol Hill. Members of the 2018-19 class weighed in on their experiences:

Chelsea Abrahamson of Farm Bureau Financial Services shared, “I really appreciated hearing from Jen McPhillips [Marsh & McLennan Companies], Lauren Sturgeon [CoBank], and Robbie Minnich [National Cotton Council] during the Crop Insurance Coalition Panel the morning of our Hill visits. They helped our group understand the impact we have through these visits and how to best educate Members of Congress and their staff.”

“Our preparation meeting before we went to the Hill was fantastic.” said Kevin Boeckenstedt of Crop Risk Services. “It gave our group the confidence to state our message, to stay on point and leave an impact. The biggest take away for me was learning what the heart of advocacy looks like.”

“Our ELP class has such a solid and diverse understanding of the crop insurance program, which helped us give insight to the Congressional offices we met with,” explained RJ Brinkmeyer of Farmers Mutual Hail “In Senator Klobuchar’s office, one of the staffers had a question about the prevented planting that farmers experienced in Southwest Minnesota this year. I explained how prevented planting is handled in a claim scenario, and how AIP’s held meetings this spring to help advise agents and producers in the affected area.”

The Emerging Leaders Program will hold for their next event in Kansas City on January 6-7. They will meet with industry leaders at the Risk Management Agency and the National Crop Insurance Services.