Thank You and Important Dates

Thank you to the MARL Alumni who have answered the MARL Pre-Harvest Funding Appeal that was mailed in September. This is an important time for MARL to receive funding. The the needs are great as MARL Class VII prepares for the November MARL Seminar in Moorhead, the December MARL Seminar in Rochester and Class VII looks forward to their international study tour in Ecuador. It is at this time that bills come in to support these activities. There is still time for you to respond to the funding appeal. Thank you to those who have already stepped forward to help Class VII move successfully towards graduation.

A special thank you goes out to MARL Class VII Participant Chelsea Russell who helped secure a $2,000 contribution from the Midwest Forage Association for MARL. Many organizations continue to fund MARL on an annual basis. Thank you for your generosity and willingness to help us develop ag and rural leaders in Minnesota.

Important Dates for your calendar:

November 4         MARL Board of Directors Meeting
November 12-14  MARL Seminar-Moorhead "Community Big and Small"
November 13       MARL Leadership Banquet-Moorhead, Speaker Carl Peterson,
                             Owner Peterson Farms Seed-Entrepreneurship and Life Lessons
December 11-13  MARL Seminar-Rochester "Rural Minnesota's Future"
December 11       MARL Leadership Banquet-Rochester, Speaker Jason  Gilman,
                             Winona County Planning and Environmental Services Director-The
                             Impact of Frac Sand Mining
January 1- March 14, 2014   MARL Class VII applications accepted
March 28, 2014    MARL Class VII Graduation


Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the leadership banquets whenever you can. It is an important part of the MARL experience for the current class and you will enjoy being involved also.

2014 MARL Alumni Tour-Alaska Announced

The June 16-26, 2014 MARL Alumni Tour-Alaska has been announced and the tour brochure and sign up form have been sent to MARL Alumni. The tour is packed full of learning opportunities and ways for MARL Alumni to reconnect and grow. Thank you to tour committee members Jim Checkel, Deb Chute and Doug Hoffbauer for their time, guidance and dedication to assemble a top notch MARL Alumni Tour.

We expect the tour to fill quite quickly after the very positive alumni experience in New Zealand.