On August 2, 2019, okPORK honored Senator Julie Daniels and Representative Mark McBride with the Outstanding Legislator Award during the 60th annual Oklahoma Pork Congress.

In 2010, the Oklahoma Pork Council established the Outstanding Legislator Award to honor members of the Oklahoma legislature for supporting Oklahoma’s pork industry. Since joining the Oklahoma Legislature, both Daniels and McBride have continually stood behind the pork industry in support of farmers. 

On August 2, 2019, okPORK will honor Oklahoma Youth Expo and Tulsa State Fair Swine Committee members Rusty Gosz, Rose Bonjour, Jason Harvey, Guy Shoulders, Brett Ramsey and Steve Thompson, with the 2019 Ambassador Award during the 60th annual Oklahoma Pork Congress.

Rusty Gosz, youth livestock specialist at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla., said the both livestock shows have been going on for more than 60 years and the youth livestock industry is robust, active and flourishing.  

On August 2, 2019, okPORK will honor Donna Jackson with their Distinguished Service Award during the 60th annual Oklahoma Pork Congress.

For more than 18 years, Jackson dedicated her time making okPORK what it is today. She served as the office manager at okPORK from 1999 to 2017 where she handled billing, accounts receivable, human resources, and many other activities related to keeping the okPORK office running smoothly. 

On August 2, 2019, okPORK will honor Jim Seward, of Tyson Foods, with their Excellence Award during the 60th annual Oklahoma Pork Congress.

Seward is an alumni of NEO A&M College in Miami, Okla., and Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. He began working for Tyson Foods on May 23, 1977, and retired on June 1, 2019, after more than 42 years of service and loyalty to Tyson Foods and The Pork Group.   

On August 2, 2019, okPORK will honor Curtis Creed, of Smithfield Foods, with their Excellence Award during the 60th annual Oklahoma Pork Congress.

Creed began his career in the hog industry in 1997 as a contract truck driver. He hauled feeder pigs from Lonestar Nursery, a contract farm of Murphy Family Farms, now known as Smithfield Foods. He would load feeder pigs on a Monday morning and haul them to a finisher in South Dakota, come home, wash the truck then load the next barn on Thursday and make the haul again. 

For the past 13 years, the Oklahoma Pork Council and the Oklahoma Blood Institute have teamed up for the annual Memorial Day Blood Drive held during the last week of May. This year’s event included the theme “Give Local” where 1,697 donors were accounted for at the OBI buildings and busses around the state. A total of 3,741 lives were saved.

Feral Hog Management, Soil Health and USDA Program Updates will be the topics at a FREE workshop and dinner on June 20 in Spiro and Smithville. The event is presented by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other conservation partners.

Roy Lee Lindsey, executive director at okPORK traveled to Washington, D.C., for two days as part of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Legislative Action Conference.

okPORK once again teamed up with the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and the Beer Distributors of Oklahoma to create and host a food and beverage friendly event known as the Legislative Round-Up.

Not only does a blue and gold corduroy jacket represent leadership and hard work, it acknowledges a commitment to care for the land and animals that feed us. The okPORK team spent May 1 and 2 among these great Oklahoma FFA students proudly parading their “Blue and Gold”.