The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association recently sponsored a meeting for state and regional poultry association executives at Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta. All the state and regional associations affiliated with USPOULTRY were invited.
“We already develop and support the information technology and web presence for several state organizations. So, we wanted to ensure that all the states were aware of the availability of that kind of support. Our goal is to make us all more effective and efficient in serving and representing our industry,” USPOULTRY President John Starkey said.
Another purpose of the meeting was to describe the services and expertise available from USPOULTRY on issues such as human resources, employee safety, risk management, food safety, live production and environmental management. Active USPOULTRY programs in all those areas can provide the latest information and technical assistance to industry organizations and member companies.
The meeting also offered the states an opportunity to exchange ideas on programs they found to be successful and might be adopted in other states. One of the popular topics in the idea-sharing segment was on energy saving. A variety of methods for saving energy was described by several state executives. Abit Massey, president of the Georgia Poultry Federation said, “The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association meeting for affiliated states was the most productive joint meeting that I have attended. It was a giant step forward in association cooperation and relationships. Even those of us who have worked closely with USPOULTRY learned more about their expanded activities and assistance to state associations. It gave state association executives a unique opportunity to get better acquainted and compare notes on a wide variety of programs. It was very beneficial to all, and Mike (Giles) and I feel that it sets the stage for even greater cooperation,” Massey said.
“Everyone who attended was very positive about the opportunities the meeting offered,” Starkey said. “The state executives agreed to examine and address common issues in the months to come, then plan to meet again next year to follow up,” he added.
