Andrew Skadberg, AdventGX, Inc.
Dr. Andrew Skadberg is Chief Knowledge Officer and a co-founder of AdventGX, Inc. His professional career and experiences have involved many roles and responsibilities in the tourism industry. Over time, Dr. Skadberg has gained recognition as an expert on rural tourism, the development of technology tools and the use of the Internet for tourism and in the development of information and educational resources to support business development. Before joining AdventGX full-time he was a professor and Extension Specialist with the Department of Recreation, Park & Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University. His primary aims are to assist people in rural areas to realize their dreams and aspirations; to enhance people's quality of life; and to create opportunities for people to have meaningful travel experiences.

Yongxis Skadberg, Texas A&M University
Dr. Yongxia Skadberg is an Extension Associate for Texas Cooperative Extension at Texas A&M University in the Dept. of Recreation Park & Tourism Sciences (RPTS). Dr. Yongxia Skadberg provides the programming and database system development expertise necessary to successfully deploy a number technology solutions and distance learning resources for the RPTS Department. She single-handedly engineered the software behind the pilot "TexBox" travel information system project that was created for the Texas Dept. of Transportation. Dr. Skadberg has also developed several online tools that are being offered collaboratively through Texas A&M designed specifically to empower community tourism development through technology solutions.

Andrew Smiley, Sustainable Food Center
Andrew W. Smiley is originally from south Louisiana, where he worked for several years in sustainable agriculture and direct marketing with small farmers. Andrew now lives in Austin, where he works with farmers in central Texas through Sustainable Food Center on the Farm Marketing program. Andrew is also a contracted staff member of Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) on their Internet Based Services training and marketing project.
  www.sustainablefoodcenter.org  

Mark Smith, Farm Aid
Market Smith is the campaign director at Farm Aid and oversees PR and communication strategies for Farm Aid throughout the year.
 www.farmaid.org

John Stanley, John Stanley Associates
John has been in retailing all his life. His father was a drug store manager in Birmingham, England and John grew up literally above the shop. He has Degrees in Horticulture and taught horticultural retail management for ten years at Merrist Wood College in Guildford, England.
   In 1976 John won the Nuffield and Fruiterers Scholarship to study marketing in the USA. It was on that study tour that John became aware there was a need for someone who could interpret broad international trends to help businesses worldwide adapt to changing economic and political situations. By focusing and capitalising on the
opportunities that change presents, John has ensured his clients expand their markets and grow their organisations.
   John’s retail experience covers hands-on retailing in supermarkets, hardware stores, garden centres, farmers’ markets and drug stores. He has the uncanny ability to assimilate international political, economic and consumer lifestyle trends, translate the macro to create appropriate strategies relevant to the local conditions and culture of
his clients. This skill maximises the opportunities for his clients that changing environments present.
   John’s retail talent is obvious in his best selling retail management books Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know and Think FOR Your Customer.
John Stanley’s winning ideas in consultancy and charismatic presentations are reflected in the huge successes achieved by his many globally diverse clients. John is now one of the most soughtafter conference speakers on the planet.
   Professional qualifications
        • National Diploma in Horticulture, Royal Horticultural Society
        • Advanced Diploma in Horticulture, Essex University
        • Competency Based Training Certificate (IV)
        • Workplace Assessor Category (III)
        • Train the Trainer Certificate UK
www.johnstanley.cc

Loy Sneary, Sogomi
www.sogomi.us

Andrew Stout, Full Circle Farm
 www.fullcirclefarm.com

Bill Varney, Fredericksburg Herb Farm
  www.fredericksburgherbfarm.com

Mary Vollmer, Vollmer Farm
Mary lives in Bunn, NC with her husband Russ and three children, Jacob, John and Margaret. She married into a farm family and until that time 14 years ago had no agricultural experience. The Vollmers have a strawberry and pumpkin farm in Bunn, which is 30 minutes east of Raleigh, NC. They grow approximately 6 acres of strawberries on plastic and retail them at their farm market along with 5 neighboring satellite stands. In the fall, the Vollmer’s host a Fall Harvest Festival. They open “the Back Forty” for family entertainment activities to the public as well as approximately 8000+ children for educational tours.

Bertie Wells, BC Association of Farmers' Market
Bertie sat on Armstrong Farmers' Market board of directors and served as Secretary/treasure from 1996 until 2002. In 2000 she was nominated to sit on the first board of directors for the BC Association of Farmers' Market. She is currently the Executive Director for the BC Association of Farmers Market. This position allows for her to visit the farmers' market and meet the board of directors and market managers of each market. She promotes advocates and consults with all the farmers' markets in BC. At the NAFDMA conference in Boston she was elected to sit on the North American Farmersâ' Market Coalition and is presently attending meetings to form a Canadian Farmers' Market Coalition. Bertie has a passion for farmers' markets. Bertie is currently enrolled in Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in marketing.
  www.bcfarmersmarket.org

Randy White, White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group
Randy White is CEO and co-founder of the White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group. He is considered to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on feasibility and design/production of community-based family and children’s entertainment/leisure facilities.  
    The White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group has worked for over 300 entertainment/leisure clients worldwide in North and Latin America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Projects the company has produced have won many awards. In addition to its consulting and design/production of family and children’s entertainment projects, the company is considered the world’s foremost designer/producer of children’s edutainment centers and children’s discovery farms. The company has worked for some of North America’s leading agritainment attractions.  
    The company also has a division that specializes in the design of children’s learning and play facilities, including child care facilities, playgrounds and children’s discovery play gardens.
    Randy is very involved in industry education. He has authored over 80 articles which have been published in leading entertainment/leisure and early childhood education industry magazines and journals. Most of these articles are available on the company’s website at  www.whitehutchinson.com/leisure/articles/index.shtml. His company publishes two monthly ezines: Leisure eNewsletter and Children's Learning Environments eNewsletter and the quarterly Agritainment Today e-newsletter. Randy has been a featured speaker and presenter at regional, national and international conferences including NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), IAAPA, FunExpo, ARVC (National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds), IPA (International Play Association), World Water Park, RSA (Roller Skating Association), NAFDMA (North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association) and TiLE (Trends in Leisure Entertainment). He served as a Regent and taught at the Oglebay Entertainment Management Institute and was previously Education Chair for IALEI and a member of the FunExpo Seminar Committee. He is presently a co-Regent and presenter at Foundations Entertainment University. His company also runs the Early Childhood Facilities Design Institute and the Child Care Business Institute.
www.whitehutchinson.com

Kate Zurschmeide, Great Country Farms
Great Country Farms was started in 1993 by Kate and Mark Zurschmeide with a CSA business plan and now feeds over 800 families via weekly CSA deliveries. For the first several years of start-up, Kate worked in corporate america but joined the farm full time in 1999. Kate has applied her background in marketing and product development to all areas of the farm expanding the Farm's offerings with a Farm Market, School Tours, Festivals, Weddings while still focusing on CSA Customer Care and Communications. The farm now hosts over 100,000 visitors during its season from April through October.  www.greatcountryfarms.com

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