Thursday, July 06, 2006

SUSTA Welcomes New Executive Director

This July, the Southern U.S. Trade Association welcomes new Executive Director Jerry Hingle to its staff.

Jerry is a native of New Orleans and comes to SUSTA with extensive experience in international marketing and agriculture. Prior to joining SUSTA, Jerry spent 10 years with the Southern Forest Products Association, a trade association representing the U.S. lumber industry. He directed the association’s $1 million international marketing and trade policy program in 22 countries. He also served as an appointee to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Forest Products, where he advised U.S. government trade policy negotiators on issues affecting the industry.

Jerry also worked previously with the American Forest & Paper Association in Washington, D.C., managing international marketing and research programs for wood products in Taiwan, Korea, China, Mexico, and the European Union. Before joining AF&PA, Jerry conducted market potential studies for U.S. agricultural products in Europe as account manager of public relations and research for A&MV Public Relations International in Brussels, Belgium.

Jerry obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Loyola University, with a major in marketing. He also holds an MBA from the European University in Brussels, Belgium, specializing in international management.

Monday, June 05, 2006

MAP Branded Year Changed

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has informed SUSTA that the MAP Branded program year 2006-2007 will begin on January 1, 2007 and conclude December 31, 2007. Eligible suppliers may apply now to request funding for that time frame. Applications may be downloaded at www.susta.org/services/map_application.html.

The current program year, which was set to end on September 30, 2006, will be extended through the end of 2006. Additional funding will be available for new and returning Branded participants wishing to request funds for activities conducted between October 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006. Current Branded program participants should contact SUSTA's Branded Department to submit an amendment to their 2005-2006 application. New applicants should complete the 2005-2006 application online by signing in to www.susta.org and choosing "Branded Links" from the main menu.

If you have any questions, please contact SUSTA at (504) 568-5986.

Double Your Marketing Budget with MAP Branded

Beginning June 1, 2006, U.S. suppliers of food and agricultural products can apply to participate in the 2006-2007 Market Access Program (MAP) Branded and receive up to 50% reimbursement for their international marketing expenses. Due to ongoing upgrades to SUSTA’s online system, this year applicants will complete a paper application to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible.

Starting June 1, new applicants may download a copy of the application from www.susta.org/services/map.html. Returning applicants from the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 program years will receive a copy of this year’s application, as well as a copy of their application from last year, via email. If you have questions about this year’s application process, please contact SUSTA at (504) 568-5986.