ARA Celebrates 2023 Rising Stars

Today the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) recognized a group of top performers and emerging leaders as part of its Rising Stars award program at the 2023 ARA Conference & Expo in front of more than 600 attendees.

Through participation in ARA Conference educational sessions and networking events such as the Chairman’s Reception, ARA Rising Stars expanded their network to include industry thought leaders such as ARA board members and learned new approaches to apply to their work. 

“Each year we look forward to recognizing a new class of Rising Stars for their impactful work in the ag retail industry,” says ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “We hope these top performers will remain engaged with ARA as we work together to advance our industry for years to come.”

The Rising Stars program, sponsored by Atticus, is a meaningful way for ARA retailer member companies to nominate emerging leaders to be recognized for their work in front of hundreds of industry professionals and to explore new ways to hone their leadership skills. 

“We continue to be amazed at the caliber of professionalism and energy exhibited by the Rising Stars and this year’s group did not disappoint,” shares Randy Canady, Atticus founder and CEO. “We are proud to recognize these future leaders for their passion, drive, and initiative to navigate challenges as they strive to become the best.”

The theme of this year’s Rising Stars award program is “Next-Level Leadership: Always Navigating Forward” and many of this year’s participants created videos telling their unique story. Scott Birth with Rocky Mountain Agronomics was named the winner of the video contest sponsored by Atticus. View the winning video.

As part of the program, each Rising Star also completed the ARA NAVIGATOR 360° online leadership assessment to identify their own strengths and areas to improve as it relates to their company’s unique needs. Developed specifically for agricultural leaders by NuVue, LLC, this ARA tool empowers organizations to thrive in challenging times through developing effective leadership. 

ARA knows that when employees are challenged and engaged in their own professional development, companies are more likely to retain a higher number of high achieving employees to tackle the challenges facing our industry. Nominations are accepted annually from late spring until early fall and are open exclusively to ARA members.

Learn more about the Rising Stars Award program in this video. View each of the videos submitted by this class of Rising Stars. See a list of the 2023 ARA Rising Stars.