ANNUAL RURAL CONFERENCE BEGINS SUNDAY AT SIKESTON

SIKESTON -- U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson will be among speakers at the annual Rural Restoration Conference that gets under way Sunday and runs through Tuesday at Sikeston.

Emerson will speak at a general-assembly session Monday at the Ramada Inn in Sikeston. She will share the Monday morning stage with Richard Wheeler, owner of Christian Radio Station WJLY in Ramsey, Ill.

"When we started working on the 1997 conference we knew that it would be one of the best," said Mary Myers, who helps coordinate the event. "We are so pleased to have Jo Ann Emerson with us."

Emerson's late husband, Bill Emerson, was on the Adopt A Farm advisory board and appeared at past conferences. He was on the 1996 program via telephone hookup.

The Rural Restoration Conference has attracted big names. Other headline speakers include Robert S. McGee, president and founder of Rapha Christian Hospital Treatment Centers and author of the book, "Search For Significance," and Derry Brownfield, founder of Brownfield Radio Network.

Also on the schedule are Ed Bell, a paraplegic farmer and roadside-market operator from Hagerstown, Ind.; Mike Salisbury of Eaton Rapids, Mich., a certified agricultural consultant and president-elect of the American Society of Agriculture Consultants; and the Rev. Carl Addison, pastor of Tanner Street Church of God in Sikeston, who is conference chairman and Adopt-a-Farm-Family chaplain.

"The purpose of the farm conference is to provide farmers with marketing and spiritual help," said Myers' husband, Peter C. Myers, of Myers Land Management Co. and a sponsor of the conference.

Workshops provide marketing information, economic outlooks for agriculture and other planning for farmers, said Myers. Other seminars provide spiritual and Christian fellowship.

This marks the seventh year of the conference, said Myers, who a former U.S. deputy secretary of agriculture who currently serves as president of Adopt A Farm Family of America, a Christian outreach program for farmers and ranchers.

The conference, which started in Memphis, Tenn., is Mary Myers' idea. The Myerses serve as conference and program coordinators.

President Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, and Tim LaHaye, whose wife, Beverly, founded the Concerned Women For America group, were keynote speakers at the first conference.

Farmers and their families are encouraged to attend the conference, organized and sponsored by the Adopt A Farm Family of America.

The 1997 conference starts with registration Sunday at 2 p.m.

McGee will address the group during a noon luncheon Monday, and Salisbury will speak at 8 a.m. Feb. 18, following a breakfast buffet at 7 a.m.

Brownfield, founder of Brownfield Network and a national radio personality of Centertown, Mo., will speak during a noon luncheon Feb. 18.

More than 20 speakers will cover an array of subjects. A number of workshops will be conducted during the three-day session. Subjects include soil life, crop performance, how to prosper as a grain producer, family business, estate planning for farmers, and setting goals with Christian principles.

Registration forms and additional information are available at several agri-businesses or at the Adopt A Farm Family office, P. O. Box B, Sikeston, Mo., 653801. Telephone (573)-472-4674.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Sunday

1 p.m. -- Registration.

5:30 p.m. -- Reception.

7:15 p.m. -- Welcome and opening session, worship service.

8:15 p.m. -- Speaker, the Rev. Carl Addison.

Monday

6:15 a.m. -- Prayer session.

7 a.m. -- Registration, breakfast buffet. Speaker, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.

8 a.m. -- General session, opening remarks by Steve McPheeters, executive director of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce. Speaker, Richard Wheeler.

9:30 a.m. -- Workshop sessions open to the public.

Noon -- Lunch buffet.

12:30 p.m. -- Speaker, Robert S. McGee.

2:15 p.m. -- Worship sessions open to the public.

6 p.m. -- Fellowship dinner. Speaker, Ed Bell.

Tuesday (Feb. 18)

6:15 a.m. Prayer session.

7 a.m. -- Registration, breakfast buffet.

8 a.m. General session. Speaker, Mike Salisbury.

9:30 a.m. -- Workshop sessions, open to public.

Noon -- Noon buffet, closing session. Speaker, Derry Brownfield.

2 p.m. Adjournment.