The American Dairy Products Institute invites the submission of nominees to receive its prestigious Award of Merit in 2009. This award was established in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the dairy products industry in such fields as processed dairy products, equipment, technology and domestic and international marketing and/or product promotion.  
Previous recipients include:

1992    -   M.E. "Mel" Franks (posthumously)
1993    -   William F. Dietrich & Nico van Zwanenberg
1994    -   Harvey H. Ebert
1995    -   Wesley E. Eckert
1996    -   William A. Diehl
1997    -   Donald C. Storhoff & Robert E. Vaughn
1998    -   Lyle Brenne
1999    -   Larry L. Claypool
2000    -   Mark Davis & A. Kent Keller
2001    -   H. Jack Pollei & A. Marriott Walker (posthumously)
2002    -   Warren Clark
2003    -   Harlan Mammen
2004    -   Bernard S. Horton
2005    -   William J. Merrick, III
2006    -   Bobby Hall
2007    -   John Burke
2008    -   John Whetten

The individual selected to receive the Award of Merit will be honored at the 2009 Annual Conference of the American Dairy Products Institute and American Butter Institute. This premier event will be held April 26-28, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

Persons wishing to nominate individuals to be considered to receive the ADPI 2009 Award of Merit may submit the candidate's name in a brief letter of nomination to either the American Dairy Products Institute, 116 N. York St., Suite 200, Elmhurst, IL 60126, or to Affiliate Member Committee Chairperson, Ms. M. Jane Carlisle Jr., United International Industries Inc., 104 Mullach Court, Ste. 1008, Wentzville, MO 63385. Nominees must be living at time of nomination.

Nominations must be received by Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. For more information on the 2009 Annual Conference you can contact the American Dairy Products Institute at 630/530-8700, or by e-mail at info@adpi.org.