PHOENIX, Ariz.—Maybe the main
attraction was 1970s TV celebrity Bob Ewbanks. It might have been the program that included a discussion of
business ethics, and a company profile of Clover Stornetta, or just the warm,
inviting Arizona location that brought a record crowd of 341 attendees to the
49th annual convention of All Star Dairy Association Inc. It could have been
all those things and more.
The meeting was held March 28-31 at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs
Resort. President Richard Washburn and
Executive Director Jeff Sterne presided over the convention, which included
attendees from 48 dairy, water, and custom mold members representing 64
plants.
“Between the programs and the locations we have more people returning and more
giving us a try for the first time,” said Sterne. “The resort was very nice,
and although it started cool, each day it got a little warmer. We had some very
good speakers, and altogether, it made for a very nice convention.”
The convention featured a presentation from Rich Lewis of Dairy America and
Mark Risinger of Cargill Sweeteners discussing commodities, while professor
Marianne Jennings of Arizona State University covered business ethics. Dairy
Foods’ Donna Berry covered new product trends, and Kevin Imm of Clover
Stornetta spoke about organic and natural products, and how the bay-area
processor has differentiated itself. IDFA’s Chip Kunde gave a recap of
activities on the Washington scene.
Newly elected board members are John Bedrosian, Unified Western Grocers; Carl
Colteryahn III, Colteryahn Dairy; Larry Kurz, Readington Farms; and Robert
Mertz; Schneider Valley Farms.
An important part of the convention each year is the awards recognition. See
box for details.
The $5,000 John D. Utterback Annual College Scholarship were awarded evenly to
the following member employees or dependants to be used toward a Food Science
degree:
- Allan Gillis, Scotsburn Dairy, Cape Breton University
- Emily Caldwell, Marburger Dairy, Penn State
- Tiffany Boudreau, Scotsburn Dairy, Cape Breton University
- Tobin Breland, BGC Southwest, University of Texas, Tyler
- Logan Meisler, Toft’s Dairy, Bowling Green
University
All-star started in 1955, has 190 member companies representing 289 plants in
46 states, Puerto Rico, and Nova Scotia.
In 2008, the association will host its 50th convention, and the location will
be San Antonio, Texas, at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort. Initial plans call for a Texas BBQ reception
and a play-stakes Texas Hold ‘Em poker competition.
