2009 Letter from the President

Hello!

Once again, the annual NATGA meeting in January was a great time. We had wonderful speakers, a successful truffle hunt and delicious food. I think a good time was had by all. Our attendance grew this year and the venue was really comfortable and enjoyable. My thanks to the Brookstown Inn and Cottonmill Restaurant in Winston-Salem, NC for all they did to make our meeting a success.

It takes a lot of hard work to build an organization and ours feels so much more solid this year with new and returning members and sponsoring businesses coming onboard to support our efforts. Still, clearly our biggest challenge continues to be just getting the word out that gourmet truffles are indeed grown and distributed in North America.

We made some changes to our by-laws, increased the dues amount so we can continue to grow, re-elected the President, Vice President, Jack Ponticelli and Treasurer, Bud Chaney and elected a new secretary, Debbie Ponticelli. I’m sure I can speak for all the officers when I say, we are very excited to be here and encourage all members who are interested in playing a part in the organization to let us know.

I do hope that all of you will join us at the first annual National Truffle Festival in Asheville, NC, March 5-8, 2009 (www.nationaltrufflefest.com). I certainly look forward to being there and I know that this premier event will serve to raise the awareness around the world of our position in the gourmet truffle market.

Please encourage everyone you meet who has an interest in truffles to join our organization and help us spread the word. Simply asking for them whenever you do business with upscale restaurants will help a lot.

Think Truffles!

Jane Morgan Smith, President
keepyourforkfarm@gmail.com