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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) The first annual Women In Leadership Development (WILD) conference will be held on Sept. 21 and 22 at the North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) State Office in Jamestown. The conference is open to all women.

The event is designed to empower women to become more involved in their communities and organizations. The theme is “Find Your Voice, Tell Your Story.” Keynote speaker is Jessie Veeder, a writer, singer and rancher who lives near Watford City, N.D. She has her own album on iTunes and occasionally appears on NPR and in agriculture magazines.

Also speaking at the event will be Pam Gulleson, who is running for North Dakota’s lone congressional seat in the U.S. House, and Kelly Schmidt, North Dakota state treasurer. Schmidt is the only woman currently holding an elected statewide office and is running for re-election.

A variety of hands-on interactive breakout sessions will be conducted. A live video tour of NDFU’s Founding Farmers restaurant in Washington, D.C., will be shown and lunch prepared from restaurant recipes.

The event starts Friday, Sept. 21, at the Quality Inn at 6 p.m. with a pre-conference social and ends on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 5 p.m. Conference partners include the Farm Service Agency, Red River Valley Research Corridor, Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives, and USDA Rural Development. Register at www.ndfu.org/wild or call 800-366-8331 ext. 127.