Business View Magazine | May/June 2022

98 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5 AT A GLANCE THE LEAGUE OF AGRICULTURAL AND EQUINE CENTERS WHAT: A professional association for operators of agricultural and multi-purpose facilities WHERE: Based in Dripping Springs, Texas WEBSITE: www.laec.info AGRICULTURAL NTERS T he League of Agricultural and Equine Centers is a professional, membership- based association providing valuable support, continuing education, and industry networking to those operating agricultural and multi-purpose facilities across the United States and Canada. An incomparable resource, it assists managers and their supporting staff to explore and tailor best practices and protocols in areas such as long and short-term financing, community and economic impact, sales and marketing, annual and discretionary budgeting, human resources, and energy conservation… just to name a few. First conceptualized by a newly appointed agricultural facility director in Hall County, Georgia, the League was born of a desire to meet other executives in the business and to confer about shared challenges such as facility design, management strategies, and operating procedures. In winter 1996, the first meeting of minds took place as three directors representing three facilities came together for discussions. The resulting enthusiasm for gathering with this purpose was so great that a second meeting followed in 1997, and by 2003, the regularized meetings that began with just a trio of directors grew into the incorporated League itself – with the formal mission to support and promote management personnel and their operational practices at Agricultural and Equine Centers throughout the Nation. Today, the League welcomes over 130 annual members and continues to grow in both size and scope. Those early, once intimate meetings evolved into an annual LAEC Symposium beginning in 2003. The adopted Symposium format features a panel of diverse experts who share with attendees fresh, innovative concepts in facility management as well as continuing education and networking opportunities for facility directors and their staff alike. Additionally, the Symposium is held in coordination with hosting member-facilities, providing attendees the exceptional occasion to tour other active centers and to see, hear, and learn how they are planned, built, and managed. On a solid footing