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MEDA to mark 60 years at Wichita convention MEDA’s 60-year history of tackling poverty through business will be celebrated at the organization’s annual convention, Nov. 7-10 in Wichita, Kansas. The agency was established in 1953 to provide assistance and investment capital so Mennonite refugees in Paraguay could start businesses. The idea caught on and soon MEDA was assisting the poor around the world. Today it works with 227 partners in 56 countries to improve the lives of 18 million families. Some of that history will be reviewed during an evening of storytelling led by Tim Penner, a MEDA board member from Kansas, Kim Pityn, MEDA’s chief operations officer, and Wally Kroeker, director of publications. A live auction of unique items will cap the evening, with proceeds going to MEDA’s GROW project (Greater Rural Opportunities for Women) in Ghana. The convention’s plenary topics include: • “Global Food Production and Security: Solutions Creating Hope for the Planet” with Robert Thompson, visiting global food scholar at Johns Hopkins University and former World Bank director of agriculture and rural development. He will address challenges facing smallholder producers in the developing world and farmers in North America. • “Dreaming of Synergy: Leverage for Impact Beyond Our Success” with David Haskell, co-founder of Dreams InDeed, which seeks
Timothy Moll will address succession, balance, legacies and working through conflict to bring about healthy change. More than 30 seminars will explore professional development, business and MEDArelated topics. Such as: • What Matters to Your Employees • Building Leadership Opportunities for Women • The Keys to Sales Success • What Boards and Board Members Need to Know • Whole-Hearted Leadership in a Noisy World • The Entrepreneurial Spirit
of Orie O. Miller • Making the Internet Work for You Local tours will visit businesses like Excel Industries, Learjet, Harper Industries, Belite Aircraft, Jako Farm, Mennonite Press and Flint Hills Design, and attractions such as an underground salt museum, historic Wichita, Cosmosphere and Space Center and Kauffman Museum. Sessions will be held at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. For more information go to www. medaconvention.org or call (800) 665-7026. ◆
Merle Good drama set for Off-Broadway Merle Good is a rarity among Mennonite entrepreneurs — a businessperson who is also a playwright. His long record as an artistic entrepreneur includes summer theatre, a movie (Hazel’s People) based on one of his books, magazine publishing and the founding of Good Books and Good Enterprises Inc. Now his newest play is opening Off-Broadway. The Preacher and the Shrink runs Nov. 2 to Jan. 5 at the Beckett Theatre, two blocks west of New York City’s Times Square. Good has described the play as a story of alienation between a father and a daughter and the people who try to help. It includes pastors, mental health professionals and sexual harassment in the church. He told the Mennonite World Review that the story idea grew out of his observation that mental health professionals were taking “listening
to strengthen social entrepreneurs in difficult regions. He will illustrate principles that unlock the power of networks to dramatically improve transformational outcomes. • “Overcoming Obstacles on the Path of Hope” with Marion Good, entrepreneur, former credit union executive and now development officer with MEDA. She will share stories from around the globe of overcoming barriers to achieve success. A pre-convention seminar on “Sustaining Your Family Business” will be held the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 7. Family business specialist Lance Woodbury and attorney
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The Marketplace September October 2013
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Merle Good roles” previously filled by ministers. His play explores the impact of that shift on human communication, asking “Are the listening professions doing it better or differently?” The seven weekly performances will be at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, with afternoon matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available online at www. Telecharge.com or by calling 1-800-432-7250. ◆
