Blog
This year okPORK’s annual Swine and Stein dinner overlooked Oklahoma City’s Lake Hefner at Red Rock Canyon Grill. The evening featured a dynamic four-course meal perfectly paired with a beer from Marshall Brewing to complement each course.
The night kicked off with pork belly sushi and Oklahoma summer berries for a fresh and light start. Marshall Brewing’s Oktoberfest Lager, a Marzen-style lager, accompanied the first course.
Nothing kicks off the month of August quite like a good golf tournament. okPORK welcomed the last month of summer on August 1, at the largest okPORK Open Golf Tournament to date and the first to be held at Westwood Park Golf Course in Norman.
This also was the first okPORK Open to take place in August preceding the annual Oklahoma Pork Congress and the turnout was phenomenal. Twenty teams put on their golfing shoes and took to the greens for a day of warm weather, cold drinks and friendly competition.
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.
