MFU Women's Conference 2016 Recap

First of all, let's acknowledge the obvious. I have a totally new blog design! What do you all think?!? 

I am IN LOVE with this design, which was created by my very talented friend, Joellyn. If you need any graphic design work done for your blog or website, definitely think about asking her! You can view her own blog by CLICKING HERE! She also does really fabulous interior design. Basically, if you need design help of any sort, ask Joellyn! 

With the new re-design and new name, I'm planning on doing a re-launch of the blog with a new URL very soon. But, I want to take a little time to plan up something special... like maybe a giveaway or two?? hmmm? yes? STAY TUNED!

Now, on to the true subject of this post: the 2016 Montana Farmers Union Women's Conference! 

The Conference was held a few weeks ago, February 5-7, at Quinn's Hot Springs Resort in Southwest Montana. This was the Fourth Annual MFU Women's Conference, and I'm happy to say that I've made it to all four so far! The past couple years, I've also been fortunate enough to be a member of the MFU Women's Committee, which helps plan the annual conference. Here's a photo of our committee of powerful, strong women:

Lindsey, Me, Delisa, Lisa, Mary, and Kathy.
Audra is also on our committee, but she couldn't make it to the conference.

I can't remember if we had officially decided on a theme for the conference during our planning sessions or not, but to me, the definite theme of the weekend was "Community." Many of our speakers talked about building and strengthening community, particularly in rural areas, and how strong communities can help us all reach our goals. We also grew the community of Farmers Union Women by getting to know each other better and meeting new people over the weekend. The conference did end up selling out, with quite a few registrants attending for the first time ever, and at least 2/3 of all attendees were not already Farmers Union members. I know I met some new people this year that I'm really looking forward to keeping in touch with. 

I also enjoyed having around some familiar faces. My friend Adria joined me again this year, for her third Women's Conference. This year, we were also accompanied by both our mothers-in-law, Carol and Lynn, and a few other friends- Glenda and Mary. With six of us making the 5+ hour drive, Rudyard made a very strong showing at Quinn's! 

Quinn's Hot Springs Resort is situated in a lovely canyon along the Clark Fork River, North of Missoula, near Plains, MT.
All the cabins on this side of the highway are brand new. It would be a wonderful venue for a wedding or reunion, if you ask me!

I think the success of this conference every year lies in simply bringing women together. As Delisa always says, "When you bring women together, magic happens." Magic happened again this year, too. There is a yearning for women to build community-- one that I think is lacking sometimes in our day-to-day lives. This year's group was very diverse, both in age and background. While most all women in attendance were involved in agriculture somehow, that wasn't true of everyone. We had many, many positive comments on our evaluation sheets, both from farmers and non-farmers. The conference held something for everyone, and community was indeed built in Quinn's.

The lovely Kriss Marion of Wisconsin Farmers Union and Soil Sisters spoke about community organizing and the snowflake model. She advocated for building community one pot-luck at a time, and bring cookies!

I believe that one of the greatest strengths that Montana Farmers Union possesses is its ability to bring people together from diverse backgrounds. We often find that we have much more in common than we have apart and when it comes down to it, we're all in this together and we need each other more than we need to divide one another. 

MFU Women's Committee Member Lisa Schmidt speaks about, well, public speaking.

Justene Sweet, an herbalist, spoke about native Montana plants in the context of how the plants are part of our community, and how we can use some of these plants to build our own communities. Lovely presentations!

And yes... I even led a session at the Conference. Something I've never done before! 

My session was a "Hack-a-thon" wherein we were "hacking" out solutions and ideas to grow/enhance/create vibrant rural communities. I began with about a 10 minute presentation in which I attempted to explain what a Hackathon is and how we were going to go about doing it, and also discussed Creativity and how it is necessary and useful when talking about building community. Basically, I described Creativity as being sort of like a muscle. Take the bicep muscle, for example. Everyone has a bicep-- some of us have stronger biceps than others, but we can all strengthen that muscle. Creativity is the same way. Each of us has the capacity to be creative-- we just may have to work out that "muscle" a bit. I led the group through a few Creativity exercises, then everyone split off into small groups of 4-6 people and strategized ideas that could help in rural communities. Groups presented their ideas the next day in a sort of show and tell session. Man, were there some excellent ideas!!! I hope people actually follow through on some of them! For example, a "Tour de Montana" style bike ride with stops at farms all across the state! How cool would that be?!

All in all, even though I was nervous for the hackathon, I think it was a success. It got people thinking in a different way, and mingling with people they maybe didn't already know, which were my goals at the outset. I am satisfied with that.

This is the Event Center- where the Conference was held.

Now, I just want to write down a few notes that I had jotted down during the convention. Things that got me thinking...

• Build your capacity through people and connections. Be leaders and make leaders of those around you.
• "I really think it's all about the food!" ~ Kriss Marion, on the importance of food and potlucks!
• "I want my farm to be loud and alive!" ~ Kriss Marion, when discussing keeping our farms and lands healthy and sustainable for future generations.
• Gather in diversity- with that comes wisdom. Gather to cultivate community.
• "What's growing in your own backyard?" ~ Justene Sweet, during herbalism presentation
• "I build confidence in others." (My own elevator speech-- thanks Lisa Schmidt!)
• "Feel the fear and do it anyway." ~ ??? Not sure who said this during the conference, but I wrote it down!

Above is a photo of all the attendees of the conference. That's a lot of powerful people and WISDOM in one place!!! I hope everyone took something back to their own community, or that everyone was affected in some way, and will make a positive impact.

If you missed the conference this year but may have wanted to attend, next year we will be back at Chico Hot Springs, near Yellowstone National Park. The weekend will be the weekend after the Superbowl this time, but before Valentine's Day. It should be another fantastic event to look forward to!

Speaking of Community and organizing, a friend of mine linked to this article on his Facebook page recently--
Where Have All the Members Gone?
If you're a farmer, or married to a farmer, or if you like farmers, or like food, or live in a rural area, or live in a city but appreciate farmers and food, than you should consider joining a farm organization. If you are a farmer, then you DEFINITELY should join one. Our voice is small, but it is important. If we want our voice to be heard on a national level, it needs to be done through farm organizations, such as Montana Farmers Union/National Farmers Union. Please consider joining. If for no other reason, then to get on the mailing list for the next Women's Conference! ;)

Thankful Thursday ~ MFU Women's Conference 2015

If you've read my blog this week, then you will not be surprised to read that this week's Thankful Thursday post is all about the Montana Farmers Union Women's Convention that I attended this past weekend. I am thankful for the entire experience and humbled by the amazing women I met or got to know better over the short weekend. In today's post, I am going to call out some of the women specifically and thank them for something I learned from or shared with them over the weekend.

Adria- Thank you for again this year joining me on this weekend adventure! You are truly a great friend, filled with empathy and kindness. You are as loyal as they come! I also really admire you for the mother you are. Love you!

Stephanie- What a great compliment to me and MFU as an organization that you would want to start your visit to Montana early and kick it off with this crazy weekend at the convention! Thanks for travelling so far to see me and my farm, and meet some of my friends! Your continued friendship means so much to me.

Stephanie, Me and Adria.

Lisa- As our first speaker of the weekend, I need to thank you for your reminders to cut through the distortion. Your advice of "learn to receive a compliment," "everything you want is on the other side of fear," and "I am going to be courageous for this moment," all rang true for me and were all part of a message I needed to hear! Thank you!

Lorrie- Thanks for the reminder to put my bloomers on! You have no idea how timely your message was. Thanks also for encouraging me and all of us to find our passion and make goals to achieve it. My passion is encouraging confidence and leadership in myself and others, and one of my goals is to start a 5K on the Farm Fun Run! 

Kyla- I met you for the first time when I sat next to you as a speaker on our speakers panel! I was immediately impressed and humbled to be seated next to you. You are so powerful and intelligent, and possess some of the same passions as I do- exercise, teaching children, rural life. You helped show me that the three can go together! 

Mary is moderating a panel discussion, with Courtney, Me, and Kyla as speakers.

Courtney- Thank you for all your writing and marketing tips. I plan to put them to great use! More than that, to echo what I wrote next to Kyla's name, I was honored and humbled to be part of a speaker panel with you! I was so impressed with you this weekend and you made a definite impact on me, and others, too, I'm sure! You are so brave and strong and I thank you for sharing your story with all of us.

Courtney is giving us pointers on sharing our stories using writing.

Kim- As always, thank you for wearing your emotions boldly! Your smile truly does light up a room and I always know that I will enjoy every moment that you are in that room with me! Your advice "lean in. get down. let your light shine. life. simply. real." is true on so many levels and I thank you for sharing your wisdom!

Kim and Kyla presenting, Adria looking on.

Christy- Thank you, thank you, thank you for running with me on Sunday morning! You are so strong and lovely, and a wonderful advocate for running and ranching! Your encouragement during our run was just what I needed. I thank you for your conversation and friendship throughout the weekend!

Kim shares her story and some of her work.

Mary- Thank you for continuing to share of yourself with me and everyone you meet. I know that whenever I see you, I'll have a friendly hello and a conversation with someone who knows what it is like to move into the small towns we live in! 

Elaine was my partner in our photography workshop. 

Delisa- You are our fearless leader and a constant source of amazement and inspiration to so many of us! Thanks for starting the first MFU Women's Conference three years ago and for keeping the tradition going. You are changing peoples lives for the better by doing so!

Audrey and Keay.

So many others that I could thank or call out-- Audrey, Keay, Jami, Maren, Quinn, Maggie, Pamala, Joan, Elaine, Laura, Laura, Connie... the list could go on and on!

Lorrie reminds us to put our bloomers on!

If you are thankful for someone in your life, take time to tell them. It only takes a moment or two to spread joy, practice gratitude, and tell someone how much you appreciate them, but the rewards will last a long time for both of you! Never let a moment pass without telling someone what you feel. 

Stephanie, deep in contemplation. :)

I'm Not Sorry

As I mentioned in my previous post, the weekend I had at Chico Hot Springs with all the wonderful ladies the Montana Farmers Union Women's Conference, was nothing short of outstanding. It was a weekend of emotions. In fact, when I got home and was debriefing a bit with my husband, I told him that the estrogen ocean ran deep! And it was AWESOME! We laughed, we cried, we leaned on each other, and encouraged one another.

One of our speakers, Lisa Schmidt, brought up something she referred to as "distortion." Lisa is a pretty cool lady and she and I have something in common which, again, deserves its own post, so I'll get into that on another day. What she meant by distortion was that fogginess we get about ourselves when our lives get busy and we get away from staying true to who we are. It's the voice inside our head that pops up when we have ideas and says, "I"m not so sure you can really do that..." It's our own self doubt and everything that gets in the way of letting our own light shine. That's what she meant by distortion.

Lisa asked the question, "How do we undistort our distortion?" and many audience members raised their hands with excellent ideas. My contribution to the discussion was, "Stop saying I'm sorry." What I mean by that is don't apologize for being who you are. I find that so often I am saying "I'm sorry," when I have done absolutely nothing wrong. Another good example (or bad, depending on how you look at it) is when I begin a statement of sharing my opinion with the phrase "I'm sorry." For example, "I'm sorry, but I really think that this dinner would have been better with some chocolate cake!" Why should I be sorry for my opinions? I shouldn't be. Does anyone else fall into the trap of apologizing needlessly?

I just found this great video on YouTube that sums up exactly what I'm talking about. It's about a minute long and it's definitely worth a view!

So, after submitting to the group that we all stop saying sorry, I had to put it into practice for myself. Easier said than done! The first real challenge for me came when I was out for a run on Sunday morning.

Now, let me give a bit more background information. Many of you who read my blog or know me know that I love to run, and that I'm also a member of Team Beef Montana. Through the (sometimes) miracle of connectivity that is the internet, I had met a fellow Team Beef runner, Christy. Christy has been an active member of Team Beef for about four years and has a really great blog, too, called My Dirt Road Anthem at www.christyruns.com.  One day in the not so distant past, I read on Christy's blog that she, too, had signed up for the MFU Women's Conference! Awesome! I was so stoked to meet her in person!

Here's an awesome photo of Christy I snuck during the very last session of the conference! 

In addition to being a wonderful, kind, beautiful inside-and-out person, Christy is also a really good runner. And by good I mean much faster than me. Ha! Somewhere in the back of my mind when packing for the weekend, I thought to myself that it would be really cool to go for a morning run sometime with Christy while at Chico. Sure enough, on Saturday we made a plan to do just that. We decided to meet at 6:15 the next morning for a brief run.

I did mention to Christy when we were making our plans that I knew my pace was slower than hers. I also knew in my mind that she had been following my blog long enough to have a pretty good idea of what my pace was, and she had asked me to run anyway! Plus, for me, it was about getting outside, running with someone (for once!), feeling the fresh air, enjoying the scenery, and getting to know Christy better, all while getting some exercise.

When my alarm went off at 6, I foolishly looked up the temperature on my phone and found that it was a brisk 2 degrees outside. I hastily bundled up in pretty much all of the clothing I had packed that could pass as running clothes and stepped outside right at 6:15. There was Christy's smiling face waiting for me! I know that if I hadn't made a concrete plan with her, I likely would have convinced myself that 2 is too cold and just rolled over and stayed in bed. Accountability is a wonderfully effective motivator.

This was the view on our running route! Lovely, no?

I made it a mental goal when getting dressed and starting out on the run that I was not going to apologize during the run. I knew I'd be slow, and I was. My goal was to not say something like, "Christy, I'm so sorry that I'm so slow!" It would have been easy to say. The excuses I could have made were plentiful: It's really cold. I'm not used to altitude. I'm slow. I'm tired. I haven't eaten. I'm used to running on flat land, not mountains. I have a sideache. But not once did I say, "I'm sorry I'm so slow." Not once did I say, "I'm sorry I'm holding you back." What I did tell myself was, here is someone who wants to run with me, I am enjoying her company, and that's what this is about.

A bit blurry due to the settings not being quite right on my phone, not due to the photographer! 

I ignored the call-outs from Christy's phone that told us the pace we were running (slow), and focused on the conversation, the scenery, starting a new friendship, and the feeling of power that arises within me when I am running, even at a slow pace. I focused on distance covered, getting to the top of the hill, and having fun. I didn't say I'm sorry. Not once.

Later, when I saw Christy back at the conference, I said thanks again for the run and I told her that I had really needed that run that morning. It was true. I needed it for the exercise (it's hard to get a lot of movement in at conventions- lots of sitting!) and I needed it for the mental break. I also needed it to practice not being sorry for who I am. I have the pace that I have. I have the opinions that I have. I have the personality that I have. I am me, and I'm not sorry. That run that morning was exactly what I needed to show myself that it can be done. So, thanks Christy, for helping me achieve that!

I know that I will still slip and say sorry when it doesn't need to be said, but I am going to keep trying to get better at cutting through the distortion. Will you do the same?