There are some significant changes coming to The Almond Conference this year, taking place December 6-8 in Sacramento. After reviewing the post-conference survey from last year, the Almond Board of California (ABC) has responded to feedback from attendees. Senior Director of Global Communications for the Almond Board, Daren Williams said that people wanted to see the agenda be tightened up just a bit.
“We made sure to have plenty of content for growers which is an emphasis in our educational sessions this year, really focused on increasing return on investment,” said Williams. “But also, moving the gala to Wednesday night allows us to pack a lot into that one night and hopefully give more people an opportunity to attend.”
Traditionally, the gala has always been on the Thursday night of The Almond Conference. This year, it will be taking place between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7. The event will feature the magic and comedy of Arthur Trace. Williams explained that they moved the gala as part of the overall shift in programming. This year, the educational sessions will be wrapping up earlier than years past and should be finished by 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 8. “So when you’re making your travel arrangements to come to Sacramento and your hotel arrangements, which are now open at almonds.com/conference, you will want to be sure to plan accordingly,” Williams noted.
Another change to the agenda this year is that there will only be one formal lunch. There will however be food trucks on site for all three days of the conference. The keynote luncheon will be taking place on Wednesday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Williams said that it will be a unique program for this year’s formal lunch.
“The Almond Board works with people we call ‘influencers’ on our programs to market almonds and tell the almond growing story around the globe,” said Williams. “We’re going to bring some of those influencers in to talk about what they do, their audience, how they reach them through Instagram, YouTube, and other online channels.
Registration for The Almond Conference is open now and tickets for the gala and keynote luncheon are also available.
Listen to Williams’ interview below.
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