It’s Environmental Respect Week!

There’s a country song by Kenny Chesney called “Don’t Blink,” chronicling how life tends to fly by all of us seemingly in the blink of an eye. Of course, in my book, this song aptly describes what tends to happen during Environmental Respect Week, held in Washington, DC, and the surrounding area.

For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this event, allow me to explain. Each year for the past two decades, our magazine and DuPont Crop Protection have honored ag retailers that excel in the area of environmental stewardship with state and regional Environmental Respect Awards. In recent years, this program has expanded beyond the shores of the U.S. to include retailers from other countries with the World of Respect program. Once winners are announced, the finalists all gather in Washington for one week to celebrate this achievement. The big prize, of course, is the National Environmental Respect Award winner – that one ag retailer that shines above all others in its stewardship approach and programs. This year, the DC trip takes place July 11 through July 16.

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But this week in the nation’s capital is more than just handing out hardware. There are visits with Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill, tours of DC landmarks and side trips to nearby agricultural-themed locations such as Chesapeake Farms. There’s also plenty of opportunity for World of Respect and Environmental Respect winners to mingle and learn about each other’s stewardship efforts.

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As I said, it’s an action-packed week. Blink, and you will undoubtedly miss something special.

If you are interested in knowing how Environmental Respect Week plays out, you can visit www.environmentalrespect.com and click on the Washington, DC, Trip Journal to catch some highlights and photos from the event. I will be posting regular updates from the week.

And I promise to blink as infrequently as possible. After all, I don’t want to miss a moment of this special week, where our industry has the chance to show off what it does best to the nation’s lawmakers and the rest of the world.

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