There are many yearly events that are simply staples in the okPORK world. It’s easy to see that the annual Bacon & Bourbon dinner has become one of those events.

The venue, VAST, offers the tallest, most breathtaking views of the Oklahoma City metro area. Chef Kevin Lee’s prowess for preparing pork shines each year. And the crowd keeps growing. 

On another chilly and rainy October day, pork producers from all over the state of Oklahoma gathered together, stocking caps and all, at the John Conrad Golf Course in Midwest City, Okla., for a day of golf.

Just like past years, the purpose of having the yearly tournament in the middle of the state was to attract producers from all over Oklahoma to come mingle, eat pork and of course play golf.

Sights, smells and sounds surround the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds for two weeks, every September. This year you could hear things like - “Get your corndogs here,” “Come taste the turkey legs,” and “HAWGZILLA!”

After a couple years hiatus, okPORK’s Swine and Stein dinner came back with a roar. Sean Cummings Irish Restaurant was the perfect venue for the group that gathered on August 12.

Chef Chris Bickel prepared four amazing courses featuring pork and the evening’s theme was Mexican. The first course featured puffed chicharrons with a salsa trio featuring guacamole, salsa fresca and salsa verde. These puffed and fried pork skins were far better than convenience store pork rinds and each salsa option was full of flavor.

okPORK is pleased to introduce four new board members. They were elected to the board at Oklahoma Pork Congress on June 29. We are excited to have them on the board and hope you’ll say “howdy” to them when you see them at the next okPORK event. 

Karen Hiltbrand’s time as the okPORK summer intern is drawing to a close. We’ve loved working with Karen and are excited to see all the big things her future holds. Karen wrote a recap of her summer okPORK adventure so read more to find out about her internship.

okPORK took a new approach to the finale of Oklahoma Pork Congress this year. We decided to honor our award winners at lunch and then make the evening all about fun and food. Thus, Viva Las Bacon was born. Read on to find out how our first casino night went,

Youth Leadership Camp is one of okPORK’s biggest events of the year. Read on to find out how #YLC2018 went, what the 12 students saw and learned and what they had to say about their experience.

Every year okPORK members from across the state travel to Norman to be a part of the Oklahoma Pork Congress. After rescheduling the event from February to June, swine producers and okPORK members still managed to make the trip for a fun day of in meetings, meals, learning and sharing along with a new, fun-filled casino night.

During the work on last year’s warthog bill, it became clear to okPORK that Senator Eddie Fields would be a perfect recipient for the 2018 Outstanding Legislator Award. 

“It was great to work with the Oklahoma Pork Council,” Senator Fields said. “We established a great working relationship during the warthog bill and made sure they were not going to be imported into the state,”