July 2011 Highlights « Back

Fuel Up to Play 60 in Oklahoma

Midwest Dairy Council, along with Dairy MAX, recently sponsored the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) Annual Conference, which was held in Tulsa in June. As co-sponsors, we brought in National Dairy Council speaker’s bureau expert, Dr. Robert Heaney, to present on vitamin D. We also provided Saturday’s breakfast and lunch, at which we provided opening remarks encouraging family physicians to follow the Dietary Guidelines recommendations for dairy and get involved in Fuel Up to Play 60. This marked a special year for Midwest Dairy and Dairy MAX as we were named OAFP’s Partner of The Year at an awards banquet Thursday evening.

Eddie Kennison, former NFL and Chiefs player, was recently trained to be an ambassador for Midwest Dairy and Fuel Up to Play 60. He stopped by the Overland Park office this summer and joined the staff for lunch. The staff enjoyed visiting with Eddie and talking about his two kids, his post-NFL journey and the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. He demonstrated that he truly is the perfect representative as he spoke to us about his own kids eating healthy and staying active. Eddie explained, “When I heard about this program, I knew it was a perfect fit. It is so important for all kids to eat healthy and stay active.”  He continued by stating, “I mean, we all have our bad days, like me eating this cupcake right now. But, really, this was a no brainer. I’m excited to get started.”

Other Oklahoma Updates

We’ve said “so long” to our industry relations intern in the Kansas City and Ozarks Divisions as of last week. Alan Thompson of Nicollet, Minn., fulfilled the intern role for us throughout the summer.  Alan grew up on a dairy farm raising and showing registered Holsteins. He is an accomplished 4-Her and has received recognition for his dairy judging. He is attending Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, studying English, Spanish and international studies. Alan has helped at various shows and events in Midwest Dairy region. His Spanish writing skills have been put to the test this summer as we have asked him to translate some of Midwest Dairy’s consumer messaging documents to Spanish for use with the Hispanic population. Alan’s first day in the Overland Park office was unique for him as we had tornado warnings and had to spend part of the day in the building safe space. Alan worked with interns of other commodities in Missouri to keep the social media channels running for the Farmers Care program. He adjusted well to the office and to the heat and will be missed now that he’s returned to Minnesota.