ARA Rising Stars

Invest in and develop emerging leaders by nominating them for the ARA Rising Stars award program.

The purpose of the ARA Rising Stars program, sponsored by Atticus, is to provide a way for member organizations to reward top performers through unique professional development and networking. This year's award program theme is Empowering Leadership through the Next Frontier.

Nomination Requirements

• More than one individual from the same company may be nominated;
• Nominee(s) must have 15 years of experience or less in the ag sector; and
• Nominee(s) must be employed by an ARA member company in good standing.

The nomination window is closed for 2024, but will reopen late spring 2025.

Why Participate?

When you invest in your team's professional development journey, you increase the likelihood of retaining that top talent for years to come.

• Hone skills tailored to your company with the ARA NAVIGATOR 360° online assessment, completed by Rising Stars at no cost;
• Attend the ARA Conference & Expo at a reduced rate;
• Create a video to share on social media and compete in the video contest for a chance to win a trip to the Atticus headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., and experience another side of ag retail;
• Gain industry-wide recognition beyond the 600+ ag professionals cheering on Rising Stars as they take the main stage at ARA Conference;
• Display an award at your company's facility for customers & communities to appreciate;
  Harvest applicable takeaways from Conference sessions on biofuels, carbon intensity scoring, AI and more;
• Explore a first-class Expo with the latest innovations;
• Expand their network among industry thought leaders at Conference receptions; and
• Get more involved with ARA as the association representing your needs in Washington.

As one of the first programs in the ARA Professional Development Pathway, the Rising Stars program introduces emerging leaders to ARA, shows them you value their contributions to the team, and prepares them to become future leaders at your company.

Important Details

• Rising Stars must submit a video to participate in the award program.
• Rising Stars will be invited to a private dinner Tuesday evening during the ARA Conference to receive their awards; spouses will not be invited in order to encourage networking among Rising Stars.
• The 2024 ARA Conference & Expo will be held Dec. 3-5 in Houston, Texas.
• Rising Stars will be announced via an ARA news release prior to the Conference; Rising Star companies will be encouraged to send their own announcements at this time.
• Accepted Rising Stars will be notified by early October.

2023 ARA Rising Stars

The theme of the 2023 Rising Stars award program was “Next-Level Leadership: Always Navigating Forward." Learn more about the award program in the video here and news release below.

NEWS RELEASE

The 2023 participants created videos telling their story. Scott Birth with Rocky Mountain Agronomics was named the winner of the video contest sponsored by Atticus.

VIDEO WINNER

View all of the video submissions from the 2023 ARA Rising Stars!

VIDEOS