Registration & Guest Services

Check-in with Western Growers staff to collect your badge and Annual Meeting materials.

Featured Session #2

Chair’s Lunch and Keynote

Amy Trask is a trailblazing sports executive and analyst. As the NFL’s first female CEO with the Raiders, she shattered glass ceilings and set new standards in sports leadership and commentary. Now an analyst with CBS Sports, Amy will share insights from her groundbreaking 30-year career in the NFL at the Western Growers Annual Meeting Chair’s Lunch.

Jim Carroll

Keynote Speaker

Jim Carroll

Keynote Speaker

The future of farming is happening faster than we might think. Through the power data analytics and machine learning, AI has many potential applications for agriculture ranging from crop monitoring and management to precision farming to autonomous robots and vehicles. And the role of AI-powered systems in agriculture will only continue to accelerate. Spending on AI in agriculture was $2 billion in 2022 but is expected to grow to $75 billion by 2025.

 

During the Chair’s Luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 14, world-renowned futurist and AI expert Jim Carroll will deliver compelling insight into how AI is transforming our industry and what your company can do to stay ahead of this emerging megatrend.

 

Carroll has spent the last 30 years on the leading edge of emerging disruptive trends and innovation, sharing his crystal ball with leading organizations like the World Bank, Walt Disney, NASA, Microsoft and Mercedes Benz, as well as familiar industry faces such as Nutrien, Farm Credit and Syngenta.

 

Carroll has been featured in a number of international media outlets including the BBC, Reuters and AP news, and was named one of the top sources for innovation insight by Business Week. He was also a featured expert on the prime-time CNBC series, “The Business of Innovation.” Carroll is a prolific author, penning books like, “Now What: Reinvention and the Role of Optimism in Finding Your New Future;” “Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast” and “Surviving the Information Age.”

Award of Honor Reception

Join us for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as we take advantage of one final opportunity to socialize with our Western Growers family before heading into the capstone event, the Award of Honor Dinner Gala.

Award of Honor Dinner Gala

Western Growers will bestow The Growers Company President and CEO Sonny Rodriguez with the 2024 Award of Honor. The Award of Honor is Western Growers' highest recognition of achievement and is given to individuals who have contributed extensively to the agricultural community.

Mentalist Oz Pearlman will be this year’s entertainment during the Award of Honor Dinner. A sought-after mentalist and a true entertainer, our audience is in for a night of dazzling mind reading abilities and entertainment. Prepare for a show like no other!

Tom Papa

Stand-up comedian

Tom Papa

Stand-up comedian

With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country finding success in film, TV, radio and podcasts as well as on the live stage. He is a regular guest on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and the late night TV shows.

On May 12, Tom released his second book, You’re Doing Great!: And Other Reasons To Stay Alive, a collection of essays on how people really live in modern America and what’s truly good and wonderful about our lives. Tom’s first book, Your Dad Stole My Rake: And Other Family Dilemmas, was released on June 5, 2018 from St Martin’s Press, making “Summer Must Read” lists from Parade Magazine to The New York Post. The comedic book takes a hilarious look at the host of characters in our families with bizarre, inescapable behavior.

On February 4, Netflix premiered Tom’s fourth hour-long stand-up special, Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great! A hilarious rebuttal to our current cultural feeling of dread, Tom wants you to remember that you’re doing great; life isn’t perfect, it never will be, and that’s OK.

Tom’s new podcast, Breaking Bread with Tom Papa, premiered on May 12 and features Tom and his guest for an hour of eating, drinking and enjoying life. Listeners are invited to take a seat at the table as Tom and his guests celebrate the true meaning of breaking bread with insightful, revealing and always funny conversations.

Election Watch Party

Join us for an Election Watch Party immediately following the Award of Honor Dinner Gala! Enjoy refreshments, snacks and dessert as we gather to watch the election coverage together in real-time.