FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marti Hogan
mhogan@idfa.org
(202) 220-3535
(Washington, D.C. – June 2, 2016) The National Cheese Institute is now accepting nominations for its highest honor, the NCI Laureate Award. The award winner will be recognized at a special ceremony during IDFA's Dairy Forum 2017, January 29-February 1, at the J.W. Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla. Nominations must be submitted by June 30, 2016, and there is no fee to enter.
Candidates should be business or academic leaders who have made significant, prolonged contributions to the development and growth of the cheese industry. The award recipient is selected by a panel of industry professionals based on the nominee's overall career achievements.
"The ongoing growth of the U.S. cheese industry continues to be propelled by talented individuals who are dedicated to quality cheesemaking and open to fresh ideas that will meet changing consumer needs,” said Connie Tipton, NCI president and CEO. "Send us your nominations so we can celebrate those important individual contributions with the 2017 award."
Past Winners
Past award winners have ranged from cheese company founders and marketers to dairy microbiologists. Previous winners of the NCI Laureate Award include Gary Vanic, Fritz Leeman, Robert G. Bush, Larry Jenson, Lou Gentine, Emanuele (Lino) Saputo, Mark Johnson, Jerome Schuman, Larry Ferguson, John Jeter, Mark Davis, Wes Allen, Elmer Marth, Max Gonzenbach, Rudy Nef, Betsy Holden, Don Menzner, Don Storhoff, Lester Kielsmeier, Hans Epprecht, Norm Olson, Vince Zehren, Jack Budahn, Leonard Gentine Sr., Raymond Goldbach, Harold Steinke, John Nelson and Dave Nusbaum.
This year's winner will receive free registration, airfare and hotel accommodations to IDFA's Dairy Forum, January 29-February 1, at the J.W. Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla., to attend the awards ceremony. (The winner will be responsible for all tax liabilities.) IDFA's Dairy Forum is widely regarded as the most important conference of the year for dairy processors, producers, suppliers and policy makers.
For more information, contact Tracy Boyle, IDFA director of boards, employee relations and administrative services, at tboyle@idfa.org or download the nomination form.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.