Waters named NAMA president

Waters named NAMA president    The North American Millers' Association has appointed Mary K. Waters as president, effective Monday.
   'Her leadership roles in the public and private sectors, strong communication skills, and experience in Washington will be a valuable asset to NAMA and the future of our association,' said John Miller, the Washington-based association's chairman, in a statement.
   Waters joins NAMA from the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Farmer Mac), where she was vice president for corporate relations since 2005. She has directed congressional public outreach and communication efforts for the congressionally chartered company that provides a secondary market for agricultural mortgage loans.
   Prior to Farmer Mac, Waters was assistant secretary for congressional affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her four-year tenure at USDA included coordinating the agency's responses to homeland security efforts after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and food safety measures related to the 'mad cow' disease.
   Waters also spent 15 years as senior director and legislative counsel in the Washington office of ConAgra Foods.
   She replaces Betsy Faga, who retired from NAMA after 12 years as president. Faga will continue at NAMA in a consulting basis during the transition period, the association said.
   NAMA comprises milling companies that operate mills in the United States and Canada and associate member companies that represent the industries providing products and services to the mills. The aggregate production capacity of NAMA milling members represents about 95 percent of U.S. capacity, or more than 160 million pounds of product daily.