62 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2018 FOR THE FIRST time in 135 years, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) closed the door on its annual convention. In June, ASTA opened the doors to its inaugural Policy and Leadership Development Conference in Washington, D.C., bringing in members and students from California to Vermont, and from the Dakotas to Mississippi. “We looked at what we were really trying to accomplish with this event in June,” shared Jennifer Crouse, ASTA director of meetings and services. “We knew there were some traditions that meant a great deal to members that still needed to be upheld.” But other than that, ASTA’s strategy was on policy and developing new lead- ers for the industry and hopefully for the association as well, she said. “We have completely thrown out the old schedule and created a new one,” Crouse said. “You don’t see ASTA commit- tee meetings back-to-back; we do have some, but it’s a totally redesigned schedule based on four tracks.” Three of those four tracks are policy related: innovation, sustainability and inter- national/trade. The fourth one is leadership development. Additionally, there were “PL/ DC Lightening Talks,” short, 15-minutes talks about topics of interest during coffee breaks and in between sessions. With the new design, Crouse said attendees are able to attend all the ses- sions or hone in on one track. The American Seed Trade Association reinvented its annual convention with the inaugural Policy and Leadership Development Conference, creating new opportunities and keeping some traditions. Alex Martin, Julie Deering This year, ASTA offered a “Leadership Development” registration that was offered at a discounted rate, so that employers could nominate rising stars within their companies to come to the conference and participate in the leader- ship development sessions. Also in attendance were two student delegations: six undergraduate students from the Future Seed Executives’ Campus Connections program and a group of five graduate students from the American Seed Research Foundation’s Operation Student Connection. Additionally, there was a group from FFA in attendance. The leadership sessions built upon one another throughout the conference, and the conference concluded with Storm the Spotlight on ASTA’s Policy and Leadership Development Conference