GreenStone Farm Credit Services found itself in the winner's spotlight with the Michigan FFA Foundation when they received a National Agri-Marketing Association Best of NAMA award.

The duo, GreenStone and the Michigan FFA Foundation, were presented the award in late April during the Best of NAMA national awards ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri, for the unique "License to Lead" promotional brochure used to help promote the Michigan Agricultural Heritage fundraising license plate.

GreenStone representatives, Jack Kelly, Executive Vice President ofCustomer Delivery, and Jim Nowak, Vice

President of Marketing and PublicRelations, accept the Best of NAMA award during the April 21, 2010 Bestof NAMA National Award Ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri.

The in-kind creative concept and design work GreenStone provided to the Michigan FFA Foundation competed against these national finalists who were each supported by an adverting or public relations agency: DECCO, Novartis Animal Health, Ohio Soybean Council, BASF Canada, U.S. Meat Export Federation, Hyland seeds, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Kinze Manufacturing, Inc., Beef Checkoff, and Syngenta Crop Protection.

GreenStone was also a national finalist for its outdoor billboard, "United We Stand," which was seen throughout Michigan and northeast Wisconsin during the spring of 2009.  The brochure and billboard advanced to the national level after receiving a first and merit award, respectfully, at the regional level.  This was the first year GreenStone earned top honors at the national Best of NAMA awards competition.

The Best of NAMA, sponsored by the National Agri-Marketing Association, honors the best in agricultural marketing communications.  Both companies and agencies submit their work for this competition, which evaluates creative marketing communications and public relations success in the agricultural industry.  Over 460 entries competed nationally for the top honors out of more than 1,165 regional entries.  The National Agri-Marketing Association is an organization comprised of members from across the nation representing agriculture's marketing, advertising, public relations and media sectors.

The cover of the award-winning brochure used to promote the AgriculturalHeritage license plates.

The Michigan FFA Foundation is the fundraising arm for the Michigan FFA Association that consists of over 5,300 members from 111 chapters.  Funds generated through the Agricultural Heritage license plate sales benefit the Glassbrook Endowment, which seeks to provide every Michigan citizen a basic understanding of the food, fiber and natural resources segment of our economy.  In addition to training youth for jobs, the endowment works to enhance the academic preparation of every student by providing educational experiences related to leadership development, problem solving and decision making.

GreenStone Farm Credit Services, based in East Lansing, Michigan, is Michigan and northeast Wisconsin's largest agricultural lender and the country's sixth largest association in the Farm Credit System. With more than $5 billion in assets, GreenStone serves some 19,000 customers with 37 branch locations in Michigan and northeast Wisconsin.

The "United We Stand" billboard was a national finalist in the NAMAcompetition. It was seen on roadways throughout Michigan and northeastWisconsin.