Applications are being accepted until Dec. 13 for the popular Almond Industry Leadership Program. This well-received program, presented by the Almond Board of California and DuPont Crop Protection, will begin its third year in February 2011.

This leadership development experience offers opportunities for professional and personal growth for young, diverse, almond-invested individuals through leadership training, industry education and hands-on learning.

Through the leadership program, participants will learn about all aspects of this major agricultural industry and its constituents, as well as the important role that the Almond Board and committees play in contributing to its overall well-being. The Almond Industry Leadership Program is a year-long mentored program consisting of leadership training seminars, comprehensive industry education, hands-on educational opportunities, field experience and a firsthand view of how the Almond Board and its committees work, in order to prepare participants for more active roles in the almond industry and agriculture as a whole.

“The Almond Board’s leadership program is a great way to meet, learn and share with a variety of people from all aspects of the California Almond industry,” says John Varni, Varni Almonds, a 2010 leadership program participant.

Another participant, Christian Vellanoweth, Courtland Farming, adds, “The Almond Board leadership program is a great program tailored toward enhancing one’s leadership qualities to further their career goals in the almond industry. You literally get a firsthand look at the industry from farm to fork, as well as establish contacts and friendships along the way.”

The Almond Industry Leadership Program will assist participants in achieving their full leadership potential, supplying knowledge, skills and confidence to provide capable industry leadership, a well-rounded education in the almond industry, an enhanced understanding of industry issues, a wide range of professional contacts within the industry, a valuable addition to a professional resumé and exposure to the expertise of a wide range of industry experts. Preparing young and diverse individuals for future leadership roles within the almond industry is what the Almond Industry Leadership Program is all about.

Applications and information are available for online submission at AlmondBoard.com/leadership.

Almond Board and DuPont representatives will be available to answer your questions about the Almond Industry Leadership Program at the annual Almond Industry Conference <> , Dec. 8–9, at the Modesto Centre Plaza, or you may call Lori Gerhardt at (209) 343-3245 or email her at [email protected]. You can also follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/almondboard for up-to-date information about the Almond Industry Leadership Program.

Consumers all over the world enjoy California Almonds as a natural, wholesome and quality food product, making almonds California's leading agricultural export in terms of value. Almond Board of California promotes almonds through its research-based approach to all aspects of marketing, farming and production on behalf of the more than 6,000 California Almond growers and processors, many of whom are multigenerational family operations. Established in 1950 and based in Modesto, California, the Almond Board of California is a nonprofit organization that administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. For more information on the Almond Board of California or almonds, visit AlmondBoard.com.