OTA Hospitality Lounge

10:00 AM - 6:00 PM   ::   Expo East Show Floor

You can stop by OTA’s exclusive lounge anytime to grab a cup of organic coffee, check your e-mail, and chat with the OTA staff, or you can kick back and stay a while for some organic entertainment and inspiration.

Members Only Conference Session:
Live Media Pitch Slam - Do’s and Don’ts for Reaching Eco-Moms Through the Press

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM   ::   Room 208

This is an OTA members-only opportunity you don't want to miss! OTA will bring national editors and reporters from top media outlets together to hear your best story and product pitches. You’ll get firsthand advice on how to reach today’s journalists and what their readers really care about.  Start practicing your 60-second pitch for editors from top magazines and daily newspapers. Speakers include Frances Largeman-Roth, Senior Food & Nutrition Editor, Health Magazine and Karen Cicero, Special Projects Editor, Parent's Magazine. The session is moderated by Sylvia Tawse, Chief Fresh Officer, Fresh Ideas Group.

Annual Meeting: Cheers to OTA’s 25th Anniversary

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM   ::   Room 210AB

You may or may not make it to the Cheers Boston bars while you are in town, but you can certainly go “where everybody knows your name” and enjoy some refreshments and catching up with fellow OTA members at OTA’s Annual Meeting.  During a brief program, OTA’s Board of Directors and staff will present the highlights of the past year and review OTA’s strategic goals and new initiatives. Come have a beer and learn more about OTA’s work on your behalf. We'll be glad you came! Please pre-register.

The first 75 members to arrive at the meeting will receive a commemorative OTA 25th anniversary beer glass and a complimentary organic beer.

Members Only Conference Session: 
Crisis Communication Boot Camp

11:30 AM - 12:50 PM   ::   Room 208

Is your company prepared should there be a food safety recall or other type of PR crisis? Though no one likes to think about it, it is essential to be prepared and know how to maneuver quickly and calmly through such an event. Hear from companies that know first hand how to turn a crisis into an opportunity and leave with a toolkit from your trade association designed to guide you through your next crisis. Speakers include Samantha Cabaluna, Director of Communications, Earthbound Farm; Sonja Tuitele, Vice President of Communications, Aurora Organic Dairy; and Laura Batcha, Chief of Policy & External Relations, Organic Trade Association. The session moderator is Sylvia Tawse, Chief Fresh Officer, Fresh Ideas Group.

Fair Food: Field to Table Movie Screening

1:00 PM   ::   OTA Hospitality Lounge on the Show Floor

Join us in OTA's Hospitality Lounge for a movie, popcorn and thought-provoking conversation. We will host a screening and facilitated discussion of the documentary Fair Food: Field to Table. Through the stories and voices of farmworkers, growers, businesses and fair food advocates, viewers will learn about the harsh realities of farmworker conditions and the promise of improved farm labor practices in American agriculture. Research and Project Coordinator, Alida Cantor, will be on hand to help participants explore questions related to fair labor conditions in American agriculture.

What's Organic About Organic? Movie Screening

4:00 PM   ::   OTA Hospitality Lounge on the Show Floor

Join us in OTA's Hospitality Lounge for a movie, popcorn and thought-provoking conversation. Filmmaker and former OTA Board member Marty Mesh will be available after the screening of What’s Organic About Organic? to discuss the film. With charm and humanity, What’s Organic about “Organic” leads viewers to examine how organic farming has evolved in recent years from a grassroots movement into a multi-billion dollar international industry. The film takes the discussion beyond “eco-label shopping” and gives a firsthand look into the root of production. From farm fields to government meetings to industry trade shows, viewers are exposed to all of the hidden costs of conventional agriculture and how personal health, the health of our planet, and the agricultural needs of our society are all intimately connected.  The film illustrates how the organic food debate extends well beyond personal choice and into the realm of social responsibility.

OTA's U.S. Government Affairs Forum

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM   ::   Room 207

For networking and discussion of topics related to United States federal and state legislation and regulation having an impact on organic trade and agriculture. For more information contact Tessa Young.

OTA Annual Dinner & Dance

7:00 PM - 11:00 PM   ::   Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama, 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA

Take a night to eat, drink and be merry in Boston with your organic industry friends and colleagues. Hosted by OTA for twenty years, the organic industry dinner is always filled with great organic food and fun. This time around OTA is celebrating its 25th Anniversary and honoring two recipients of the 2010 Organic Leadership Awards. Throw on your dancing shoes and join us! Tickets are available for purchase. OTA is also offering a variety of sponsorship opportunities for this event. Contact Karen Ammann for more information.