Letourneau completes TAL Program

Stacy Letourneau did something this year that only nine other people in the state of Kansas were chosen to do: she completed the Tomorrow’s Agribusiness Leaders (TAL) Program and traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby national representatives in support of agriculture.

“In January we trained in Topeka and learned how government works at the state and national level,” Letourneau said. “We met with all the state representatives and lobbied on behalf of ag. At the end of July we went to Washington D.C. and met with ag lobbyists and all our government representatives for Kansas, including Senators Moran and Marshall.”

Letourneau was honored to be chosen for the TAL program. It's an intensive leadership development program designed to teach members of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association and Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association about the state and federal legislative and regulatory process. The TAL program is designed to improve the leadership skills of Kansas agribusiness men and women.

A controller for the Cloud County Co-op, Letourneau has been with the company 21 years, and has been involved with ag her whole life. “It is my life,” Letourneau said. “It's what I've always wanted to do. Community service is a big part of my life, and we learned that it's important to build personal relationships with government representatives to help support agriculture.”

As for the future, Letourneau has no plans to step into the political arena herself. “Oh, no,” she said with a laugh, “that's not for me. I just want to continue to be an advocate for ag at the local, state, and national level.”