Iowa Network For Community Agriculture

Hello Folks,

I will be working to update the blog to the best of my ability over the next couple of days.  I am Ryan Marquardt, the current board chair of INCA. I was elected to my first two year term in 2008 and will be up for election this year. INCA has been going through a lot of changes over the past two years. Many of these changes are not visible to folk outside of the board. INCA has shifted to hiring several support and program consultants, as opposed to hiring fixed staffing. We have seen many long-time members shift off of the board and are replacing them. The goal is to build our board capacity and then work outward. We are an all volunteer board and at times it makes it hard to move forward on items. We are looking at hiring a assistant to the executive committee to elevate the log jam and allow us to move more quickly on things. 

I suspect that INCA will spend much of the next 6 months focused internally on solidifying the board and making sure every one is trained. After that time, I want to nudge INCA toward more programing activities. It is these activities that have made INCA the organization that is and it is important that we get our focus back on that element as soon as possible. 

 So I apologize for the long silence from the board and look forward to the future. We want to invite folks to com out to an INCA gathering in Perry, IA on March 13th. We will be holding several workshops, share in a community potluck, conduct our annual meeting, and most important of all, network.

Thanks,

Ryan