KANSAS CITY —The Board of Trustees has announced that 12 new Members have been elected to the MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME. The Class of 2011 was chosen from a list of more than 60 nominees in voting last month by the Trustees and all the living Members of the Hall. The nominees included industry executives, scientists, innovators and association leaders from all sectors of the livestock, meatpacking and poultry processing industries.
"This year’s class is representative of some of the industry’s true pioneers," said Chuck Jolley, President and Founder of the MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME. Our Trustees and Members have chosen an elite group of leaders who have not only achieved remarkable business success but have spent their careers contributing to the progress of the entire industry. We are delighted to be able to honor this group, who truly represent the best of the best, both in business and in life."
Representing the best of the poultry industry in this year’s Class of 2011 is George Watts, the recently retired president of the National Chicken Council. A graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science, Watts joined the National Chicken Council in 1972. He has a long and distinguished career with the poultry industry including service as past president of the Georgia State Society, a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Food and Agriculture Committee, president and director of the Commodity Club of Washington, and chairman of the Food Group. He also served on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board from 2006-2009.
Watts currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Poultry Development Program joint-venture broiler project in Russia (Elinar Broiler). He received the Poultry Industry Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Poultry and Food Distributors Association in January 2002 and the Merial Distinguished Poultry Industry Career Award at the 2009 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting.
John Starkey, president of USPOULTRY and a member of the Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees, commented about Mr. Watts when he was awarded the Harold E. Ford Lifetime Achievement award during the International Poultry Expo in January:
"George has been influential in leveraging industry effectiveness through the development of partnerships and collaborations with other trade associations. The hallmark of George’s career has been the integrity which forms the foundation of every relationship he cultivates. George’s voice is heeded, respected and trusted by friend and opponent alike, in good times and in bad."
The Induction Ceremony for the new MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME Members will take place on Nov. 1, 2011, at Chicago’s famed Union League Club. The dinner and presentation ceremony coincides with Process Expo, the food industry’s leading trade show and a HALL OF FAME sponsor.
Here is the MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME Class of 2011:
- Alan Simon, Chairman and CEO, Omaha Steaks (retired)
- Clarence Becker, President, Becker Food Company (posthumous)
- Dale Huffman, Ph.D., Professor and Researcher, Auburn University (retired)
- Eldon Roth, Founder, BPI Inc.
- George Watts, President, National Chicken Council (retired)
- Jack Allen, Professor Emeritus of Food Marketing, Michigan State University
- John Bryan, Former Board Chairman and CEO, Sara Lee Corp.(retired)
- John Story, Vice President of Meat Marketing, Fairway Foods (retired)
- Manny Rosenthal, Chairman Emeritus, Standard Meat Co. (posthumous)
- Mel Salomon, Chairman, Allen Brothers (retired)
- Phil Clemens, Chairman, Hatfield Quality Meats
- Robert Madiera, Executive Director, American Association of Meat Processors (posthumous)
To learn more about the MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME, go to www.meatindustryhalloffame.com
MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME BOARD OF TRUSTEES SENIOR MEMBERS
- Deven Scott, Vice President, North American Meat Processors Association (Retired)
- Rosemary Mucklow, Executive Director Emeritus, National Meat Association
- Steve Krut, Executive Director, American Association of Meat Processors (Retired)
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
- Dr. Dell Allen, Vice President, Excel Corporation (Retired)
- Dr. Gary Smith, Monfort Endowed Professor, Colorado State University (Retired)
- Greg Henderson, Editor, Drovers/Cattlenetwork
- Jan Kuhlmann, President & CEO, Multivac, Inc.
- Joel Brandenberger, President, National Turkey federation
- John Starkey, President, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
- John Stika, President, Certified Angus Beef Michael Strauss, Partner, RMH Foods, LLC
- Phil Hinderaker, President & CEO, ALKAR-RapidPak, Inc. (Retired)
MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME Class of 2009
- Del Allen, Excel Corporation
- Dr. Donald Houston, FSIS
- Donald Tyson, Tyson Foods
- Earl Olson, Jennie-O Foods
- Frank Perdue, Perdue Farms
- Dr. Gary Smith, Colorado State University
- Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean Sausage Co.
- Joseph Luter III, Smithfield Foods
- Kenneth W. Monfort, Monfort, Inc.
- Lawrence Starr, Koch Equipment, LLC
- Louis Mick Colvin, Certified Angus Beef
- Mel Coleman, Sr., Coleman Natural Beef
- Paul Engler, Cactus Feeders
- Phillip Seng, U.S. Meat Export Federation
- Ray Townsend, Townsend Engineering
- Richard Knowlton, Hormel Foods
- Richard Lyng, American Meat Institute
- Robert Peterson, IBP
- Rosemary Mucklow, National Meat Association
- Dr. Russell Cross, Texas A & M University
- Dr. Temple Grandin, Colorado State University
Class of 2010
- Dave Thomas, Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers
- Deven Scott, North American Meat Processors Association
- Col. Harland Sanders, Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Dr. Jeff Savell, Texas A & M University
- Joel Johnson, Hormel Foods
- Ken Johnson, National Live Stock and Meat Board
- Ralph Cator, Cardinal Meat Specialists
- Ray Kroc, McDonald’s Corporation
- Richard Bond, Tyson Foods
- Robert Rust, Iowa State University
- Dr. Roger Mandigo, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- William Farr, Farr Feeders
Source: Meat Industry Hall Of Fame