New Opinions from the Old Dominion comes in six different shapes and sizes. Each one offers a slightly different list of stops and each offers a unique on-board focus framed by the pairing of tour guides and brought to life by the interests of your peers who choose the same bus as you.

There’s a tour bus for everyone. The Networking Bus Tour is NAFDMA’s School on Wheels. At its core, every bus provides a world-class learning and networking experience blended from the tried and true recipe that NAFDMA members have come to expect. With NAFDMA’s central values firmly in place, you get to take your tour selection to the next level. You can choose the themes and added value that best suit your goals and needs for your coming year.

All tour guides have engaged in rigorous training, leadership development, and tour guide orientation. The two guides on each bus work together to give you an immersion in the business, and the pleasure, of farm direct marketing and agritourism. NAFDMA is farmers inspired.

• All bus tour attendees register and meet their tour guides the evening of Friday, February 10th.
• All buses depart from Williamsburg Marriott Hotel near 7:00 a.m. Saturday, February 11th.
• Three buses spend the nights of February 11 & 12 in Charlottesville, VA while the other three overnight in suburban Washington, D.C.
• All buses come together again and return to Williamsburg Marriott Hotel no later than 5:30 p.m. Monday, February 13th.

Use the List of Stops and the following descriptions to select your tour choice.

  Bus 1 – Overnights in Charlottesville, VA; Leaders Kerry Engel & Angela Grant Saunders; Key Words: food, wine, retailing, trends, consistent messaging, managing staff, good to great, coming of age, values, excellence; "How little things can make a big difference"

  Bus 2 – Overnights in Charlottesville, VA; Leaders Anne Holcomb & Kay Hollabaugh; Key Words: retail, bakery, farm market expansion, family succession, pick your own; “Learn through laughter and honest conversation.  No topic is off limits!  You won't believe how much you'll learn while laughing so hard!”

  Bus 3 – Overnights in Charlottesville, VA; Leaders Anna Lyles & Ben Beaver; Key Words: School tours, agritourism, retail, P.O.S. and all about “employees” Little to Big – Start to Finish, we’ll cover it all!! “Coffee kick starts us and water keeps us hydrated as NAFDMA networking takes center stage.”

  Bus 4 – Overnights near Washington, D.C.; Leaders Rob Leeds & Christy Leeds; Key Words: Open-minded, Historic, Innovative, Opportunity, revolutionary interaction, agritourism, social and consumer trends, ag education, activities. Seeking the Right people in the right seats on the bus possessing candor, sense of humor, knowledge, and willingness to share to take our businesses from “Good to Great”!

  Bus 6 – HAS BEEN RENAMED BUS5! Overnights near Washington, D.C.; Leaders Martha Glass & Hugh McPherson; Key Words: "More is more!" abundance, recharge, positive energy; We explore how to grow your business and guest relationships by thinking positively that "More is more." More energy, more discussions, more marketing, more pictures, more seat changes, more challenging ideas and, of course, more FUN! 

See the list of stops on 2012 Networking Bus Tour