25 Years of USAIN

The following is a series of brief articles written in 2013-2014 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of USAIN.

The Pin

The pin was originally given to attendees of the first USAIN conference in 1990 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe pin was originally given to attendees of the first USAIN conference in 1990 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign



The archives and USAIN documents don’t shed much light on the history of the USAIN membership pin, so we’re forced to rely on the memories of some of our more senior members.

There have been 3 versions of the “official” USAIN pin. All three issues use the wheat sheaves and the acronym from our logo to create the design. The first issue of the pin was a smaller rectangular shape with a black enamel background and gold lettering.

At some point along the way, additional versions of the pin were purchased, most likely to replenish a dwindling supply. The second issue was a slightly larger version of the original design but replaced the black background with green. Later, members received the third version, which returned to the original design with the black background, but was the same size as the green pin.

To mark the 25th anniversary of USAIN in 2013, the Executive Council commissioned a new pin design. Megan Kocher, a science librarian at the University of Minnesota, chair of the USAIN Communications Committee and someone with considerable graphic design talent, volunteered to create a new design that would be a remembrance of this milestone. She presented several options to the EC and the chosen design was made into a round silver and enamel embossed pin. Each current USAIN member will receive a pin in the mail within the next few weeks, so watch your mail. (Not a current member? Join now and you, too, will receive a pin.)

For the coming year, the anniversary design will appear along with our traditional logo in recognition of 25 years of USAIN. We hope to see it adorning many badges and lapels at the upcoming conference in Vermont, May 4-7, 2014. -- Connie Britton

next chapter: the start

USAIN Celebrates 25 Years

A special logo and member pin was issued for the 25th anniversary

USAIN was founded in 1988 as a network of agricultural information professionals. Today, the organization still fosters collaboration, advocacy and professional development in support of agricultural information.

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software