Two guiding principles for all Oklahoma pig farmers are providing nutritious food and giving back to our communities. Recently, those two activities converged, and the kids at OU Children’s Hospital received the benefit.

okPORK was asked to add to the festivities at Okie Tonk Café in Moore during the OU versus Texas football game. So, Events and Outreach Coordinator Lloyd Hawkins fired up the smoker and prepared smoked pork loin for sandwiches. Hawkins and okPORK staff handed out the pork sandwiches to hungry football fans for free and accepted donations which would go toward the OU Children’s Hospital Volunteers.

Each year, the Oklahoma Pork Council works with Oklahoma’s Ag in the Classroom program to provide teachers with grant money to purchase supplies needed to teach Ag in the Classroom curriculum. Teachers can request up to $500 for supplies. This fall, six teachers were the recipients of the Fall 2020 Ag in the Classroom grants provided by okPORK in the amount of $2,870.27.

The funds were used to purchase supplies such as recipe ingredients, craft items, gardening supplies and library books to help teach the Ag in the Classroom curriculum. With the help of these lessons, students will learn more about the diverse agriculture in Oklahoma and the importance of agriculture in our lives.

VAST is Oklahoma City’s top-of-the-world restaurant. From its 49th floor windows, you can see a 360-degree view of central Oklahoma. Located on the top floor of the Devon Tower, VAST was the venue of okPORK’s tenth annual Bacon & Bourbon event on Nov. 6.

After adding additional tables from last year’s sold out event, this year was no different.

Oklahoma Pork Council is excited to announce they have filled the communications specialist position with a team member who has remarkable abilities to contribute to the swine industry. Paige Endres was officially welcomed to the team at the end of October.

“We are excited to have Paige Endres join the okPORK team,” said Nikki Snider, director of marketing and communications. “Her excellent communication skills and desire to learn about Oklahoma’s pork industry will make her a valued member of our organization.”

With so many uncertainties in 2020, okPORK was excited to host our annual golf tournament.

Fifteen teams gathered at the Turkey Creek Golf Course in Hennessy to engage in fellowship, eat pork, and most importantly play golf.

The day started out cold, but it ended with lots of sunshine and laughter from everyone involved.

Pork and Cork has become a staple in okPORK’s yearly calendar. This year’s edition featured a young chef and one of the best, newest venues in OKC.

On October 1, 23-year-old Chef Ryan Hunt brought four amazing pork dishes to life. Forty guests arrived at Birra Birra, a modern Italian eatery that has grown in popularity since it opened. Ruffino wines were featured with each course.

Earlier this month, Governor Stitt, Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur, Commissioner of Health Col. Lance Frye, M.D., Senator Casey Murdock and Representative Kenton Patzkowsky traveled to Guymon, Oklahoma, for a tour of the Seaboard Foods processing facility.

“Any day we get some facetime with Oklahoma elected officials is a good day,” said Roy Lee Lindsey, okPORK executive director. “And we were excited to welcome Governor Kevin Stitt, members of his cabinet and other elected officials to the Seaboard Foods processing plant.”

okPORK is excited to introduce two new board members. They were elected to the board at the 61st annual Oklahoma Pork Congress on August 7. The new board members are happy for the opportunity to serve others who are involved in the pork industry.

Sheila Kelso works as a financial analyst in the hog production division of Smithfield Foods. She spent 10 years of her 17-year career in the swine industry, working on sow farms in different management roles.

A new venue for Swine and Stein brought with it five courses of pork goodness large enough to be a meal on their own and delicious craft brews. Hatch on Broadway in Oklahoma City was the place to be on August 21st. Cabin Boys Brewery out of Tulsa was there to provide the drinks.

“Teaming up with Hatch made a lot of sense for us. Their food is outstanding, and they have become a staple to OKC,” said Roy Lee Lindsey, okPORK executive director. “They are only open until 2 p.m. each day so we could have the whole restaurant for the evening event.”

As we all know 2020 has been nothing like we may have planned, but I have always been told to keep a steady head and roll with the punches. In March, when I accepted my internship with okPORK I had a whole list of things I thought I would get to experience. But, with shortened events, virtual meetings and mask mandates, this summer was far from what I expected.

This, however, was not a bad thing! The staff at okPORK welcomed me with open arms and a beautiful vase of flowers on my first day. From that moment I knew I was in the right spot, even if we didn’t know where the summer would lead us.