July 11, 2008

Dear Friends,

Come help us celebrate our 30th anniversary!

This year the Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural will celebrate 30 years of service. We have worked tirelessly to provide assistance to farm workers, farmers and ranchers to improve their lives and economic well being. We have also worked for equity in federal farm policy and services, and have helped thousands of farmers access USDA programs and services. We have trained thousands of farmers and farmer workers in the areas of financial record-keeping, pesticides management, and the best practices for handling fresh farm products.

On Friday evening, December 12, 2008, the Rural Coalition will take a moment to celebrate our accomplishments, and to honor the federal, congressional, business and community leaders who have been essential to our achievements. Once again, we have reserved the beautiful settings of the Ballroom at the National Press Club, located at 529 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20045 to celebrate with friends, partners and allies. The theme for this celebration Gala will be Celebrating Community-Based Organizations and Farm Bill Victories. We invite you to join us by sponsoring this event. A list of sponsorship categories is attached.

We are excited to recognize Significant CBO Anniversaries in 2008:

Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural - 30 years
Concerned Citizens of Tillery - 30 years
Sin Fronteras Organizing Project - 25 years
Farmworker Association of Florida - 25 years
Land Loss Prevention Project - 25 years
Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project - 10 years

Diversity in food and agriculture, the thrust behind our legislative advocacy, continues to be the theme that will provide the social and political energy for our work to assure our constituents have a place at the table in agriculture. Our 2008 Gala will feature a celebration of the achievements we have made in the past year in our policy work and the Congressional and other leaders who have helped us get there.

We invite you to join our distinguished list of sponsors, place an ad in our program book or purchase a table at the event. A menu of options to fit every budget is enclosed. Please note that camera-ready ad copy is due by November 14th.

We will also be welcoming a group of diverse farmers to town from December 10th-13th for a series of trainings and dialogue on how they can be more engaged in the agriculture sector and USDA programs, and more successful in caring for their land and marketing their crops. All funds raised will help support these important training activities.

We look forward to your participation in Celebrating Community-Based Organizations and Farm Bill Victories.

Sincerely,

John Zippert Chairperson	Lorette Picciano Executive Director
Georgia Good Vice Chairperson and Chair, Gala Committee	Rudy Arredondo Board Member Co-Chair, Gala Committee