U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) promotes Amanda Spoo to Director of Communications in its Arlington, Va., headquarters. Spoo will continue to direct USW’s online communications efforts while supporting public relations and marketing communications outreach to overseas wheat buyers and U.S. farmer stakeholders. USW is the wheat industry’s export market development organization.
“Amanda continues to demonstrate a highly effective approach to her work with an increasing number of responsibilities,” said USW Vice President of Communications Steve Mercer. “Under her direction, we are reaching a much wider audience of buyers and farmers through social media and online tools. Her leadership on a very successful revision of our website, www.uswheat.org, was a crucial part of that effort and we are pleased to recognize her contribution.”
Spoo was Director of Communications with the Kansas Pork Association before joining USW in 2015 as a Communications Specialist and was promoted to USW Assistant Director of Communications in 2017. She grew up in Hermiston, Ore., and earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and journalism at Kansas State University. She worked three years as a Student Communications Specialist at the IGP Institute and as a Communications Intern in Government Affairs with ICM, Inc., a Kansas biofuels company. Spoo continues to be active in Agriculture Future of America (AFA) and currently serves as the AFA Alliance Chair and Representative to the AFA board of directors. She is also a member of AAEA-The Ag Communicators Network and the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
USW’s mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance wheat’s profitability for U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.” USW activities in more than 100 countries are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 17 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. USW maintains 15 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six U.S. wheat classes. For more information, visit the USW website at www.uswheat.org.
