Welcome To San Antonio Reception
Friday, February 8, 6:30 p.m – 7:30 p.m.
Don’t miss this special corporate-sponsored event where you can greet old friends and make new ones. There will be an open bar and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Sponsored by
Americot; Amvac Chemical Company; BASF; Bayer Crop Science; Corteva Agriscience; Farm Press Publications; ICE Futures US Inc.; Lummus; Netafim USA; Samuel Strapping Systems; Syngenta; Tama USA; and Valent USA Corportion
Special Presentation at Welcome to San Antonio Reception
Representative Mike Conaway (R-TX)
Ranking Member, House Agriculture Committee
Friday, February 8, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Serving his eighth term in the U.S. House, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) represents 29 counties in Texas’ 11th Congressional District, including the cities of Midland, Odessa and San Angelo. Rep. Conaway believes in the principles of lower taxes, smaller government and a secure nation. His background as a CPA gives him a unique perspective on fiscal responsibility and ensuring every taxpayer dollar is being spent wisely. Rep. Conaway is ranking member of the House Committee on Agriculture and serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is a deputy Republican whip, a position held since the 112th Congress.
A native Texan, he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from Texas A&M University-Commerce in 1970. After serving in the Army at Fort Hood, he returned to the Permian Basin with Price Waterhouse and settled in Midland, later working with George W. Bush as the chief financial officer for Bush Exploration. An ordained deacon in the Baptist church, Rep. Conaway and his wife, Suzanne, live in Midland and have four children and seven grandchildren.
Keynote Address at Program Committees: Joint Meeting and Economic Outlook
Representative Filemon Vela (D-TX)
Chairman, House Agriculture Committee’s
General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee
Saturday, February 9, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Filemon Vela represents Texas’ 34th Congressional District, which includes Brownsville, its largest city, and the King Ranch. A South Texas native, Rep. Vela was the only Texas Democrat appointed to serve on both the 2014 and 2018 farm bill conference committees. For the 116th Congress, he was named chair of the House Agriculture Committee’s General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee. Vela also has served as the top Democratic Member of the Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. As co-chair of the Congressional Border Caucus, he leads efforts to reform the nation’s immigration laws and works to expand investments in border communities and infrastructure for strengthening trade. After graduating from Georgetown University, Vela attended University of Texas’ Law School and was an attorney for more than 20 years in South Texas. He is married to Rose Vela, a former Justice on the Texas Court of Appeals, and they reside in Brownsville.
Sponsored by
Signode Packaging Systems
Saturday Luncheon with A.B. Stoddard
“Current Political Outlook”
Saturday, February 9, Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Hear political commentator A.B. Stoddard provide her insight on the most relevant news and the latest happenings between Congress and the White House, ongoing budget battles, and the electoral prospects for the two parties. Stoddard, an associate editor and columnist with RealClearPolitics – a political news site and polling data aggregator – frequently meets with sources and politicians of all stripes and keeps her finger on the pulse of Washington, DC, as she offers detailed and smart political and electoral analyses.
Stoddard also shares her insight by being a contributor and guest host for SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel and by appearing regularly on Fox’s Special Report with Bret Baier, as well as other shows on the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, CNN, and MSNBC.
Stoddard began her journalism career as a reporter for the Potomac News in northern Virginia and has covered Congress since 1994 as a reporter at The Hill newspaper and as a Senate producer for ABC News. She returned to The Hill as a commentator and columnist in 2006. Her column there won first place Dateline Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Washington, D.C. chapter in 2010 and 2011.
Tickets are $60 per person.
Sponsored by
Bayer Crop Science
Prayer Breakfast
Sunday, February 10, 8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Prior to the General Session, please join us for the 43rd Annual Prayer Breakfast. You will enjoy a plated breakfast followed by an inspirational message from our guest speaker, Dr. Royce Smith. Dr. Smith, pastor of the Senior Adults at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, grew up planting crops before eventually turning to planting churches. Come expecting a refreshing of heart, mind, and spirit in the presence of God.
Tickets are $40 per person.