Community Agri-Business Alliance (CABA) will meet on November 17 at 6 p.m. at the Mill Spring Agricultural Development Center in Mill Spring, located at 156 School House Road.

Guest speakers Eric and Lynn Turner of Turner HD Media will offer a short presentation and lead a discussion on Creating Engaging Video To Tell Your Story. The discussion will include a brief background of Turner HD Media and how they create video content, including the recent Meet Your Polk County Farmer video that will be shown during the presentation. The event is free and open to the public, with food provided in potluck style.

CABA is a membership organization for the support and development of Mountain BizWorks Alumni in Polk County and surrounding areas in partnership with the Polk County Office of Agricultural Economic Development. For the past 20 years Mountain BizWorks has been committed to celebrating the spirit of small business ventures in Western North Carolina, with the fundamental commitment to economic empowerment. The focus of this particular alliance has a special emphasis on agriculture, but the friends of agriculture are also encouraged to participate.

The purpose of the CABA is to support the business aspirations of its members within the framework of best business practices, develop and maintain positive relationships with the business, government, and education communities in Polk County and surrounding areas, and for the purpose of networking. Other objectives are to initiate and support new approaches for business success in Polk County, and to sponsor networking and educational opportunities for small, developing businesses in our region.

Mountain BizWorks is a non-profit organization that provides training, loans and coaching to enhance business development throughout the Western North Carolina Region. The mission of Mountain BizWorks is to inspire entrepreneurs who have viable business ideas and the discipline to follow through and to build economic opportunities through business training and capital. The intention of the CABA is to build a more vibrant local economy in Western North Carolina through agriculture.

The Polk County Office of Agricultural Development is focused on both creating new agricultural businesses and enhancing existing operations as part of a rural development and community strategy. CABA is a critical forum for achieving these goals.

Lynn Sprague, Polk County agricultural economic director, remarked, First, the successful work we have done with Mountain Biz Works and the agriculture community is now being modeled throughout western North Carolina. The recently established collaboration with Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project (ASAP), Mountain BizWorks and the Organic Growers School will further enhance the opportunity to serve Western North Carolinas Agricultural Community in a really meaningful way. Secondly, the video by Turner HD Media has had a fantastic response from all over the country, including Canada. We are pleased that the Turners teamed up with Polk County farmers for this effort.

Turner HD Media is a full service video and audio production company that creates content promoting a positive image for businesses and organizations. Turner HD Media also builds and maintains small business websites.

Based upon their own experiences growing up on farms and with the recent release of the Meet Your Polk County Farmer video, the Turners say they are committed to working with the agriculture community to help tell their stories in a fun and positive way. Through the process of creating the video, they learned how vital sustainable agriculture is to the economy of the region and they will continue promoting that cause. If you would like a sneak peak of the video visit: www.polkcountyfarms.org.

Agricultural businesses can vary from on-the-ground farm operations to value added products and agri-tourism to services for equestrian operations. CABA is part of an effort being made to reconnect the residents and local businesses to an agricultural and economic heritage. Agriculture, including the equestrian and viticulture operations, is the biggest business in Polk County. With the current trends to buy local healthy foods and encourage small businesses, the number of agri-businesses is expected to increase over the next several years.

Everyone who is interested in learning more about the use of video in todays challenging marketing environment is encouraged to bring a dish and enjoy the peer group environment and networking session on Wednesday, November 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the ag-center in Mill Spring.

For more information call Jo Ann Miksa-Blackwell at 828-919-1000 or Lynn Sprague at cell 919-414-7840.