Luncheon Program

• Presentation of Colors
  FFA State Officers
• Welcome and Opening Remarks
  John Tilt, Vita Plus Corporation, 2025 MABA Chairman
  Jon Rush, BASF, 2025 MABA Past Chairman
• State of Michigan Update
  Dr. Tim Boring, Director, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
• CCA Program Update and Presentation of 2026 Certified Crop Adviser of the Year Award
  Michigan Certified Crop Adviser Chairman Tim Schaub
  Lara Bryant, American Society of Agronomy
• Presentation of 2026 Nature Conservancy Agribusiness Award
  Ben Wickerham, The Nature Conservancy
  Remarks from Awardees
• Keynote Remarks: The Power of &, with Matt Elliott

  Matt Elliott helps leaders and their teams thrive in a world of accelerating change by upgrading how they think, decide, and work together. A former Bank of America senior executive and President of Bank of America Michigan, he brings more than 35 years of experience leading large, complex organizations while delivering strong business results alongside high employee and customer satisfaction.

  Today, Matt is the Founder of Blue Lake Ideas LLC and the creator of The Power of &™ and the & Intelligence™ practice—a practical leadership discipline that helps individuals and teams move beyond limiting binary thinking to build clarity, connection, and confident action in fast-moving environments. He advises boards and CEOs and serves in board and civic leadership roles, including Co-Chair of Michigan State University’s Green & White Council.

  Matt holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA with Honors from the Michigan State University Broad College of Business.