Inaugural Class elected to the Meat Industry Hall of Fame

The initial class has been elected to the newly formed Meat Industry Hall of Fame, according to Hall officials. The 21 new members were chosen in voting by the Hall's Board of Trustees from among more than 70 executives, researchers, innovators and association leaders across all sectors of the industry.

"We are thrilled to include in our first class a group of truly outstanding leaders," said Dan Murphy, Executive Director and co-founder of the Hall. "These are men and women credited with fostering much of the profound change, remarkable progress and substantive success of the industry. We're proud to celebrate their legacies."

Members were elected by a Board of Trustees chosen for its expertise and industry service. The induction ceremony for the new Members (see list below) will be on Oct. 27, 2009, at Chicago's Hard Rock Hotel.

"That will be a night to honor a virtual 'who's who' of the industry," said Chuck Jolley, Meat Industry Hall of Fame President and co-founder. "This elite group truly represents the best of the best."

Here is the 2009 Inaugural Class of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame:

     • Dell Allen, Ph.D., former Professor, Kansas State University and Vice President of Technical              Services & Food Safety, Cargill Meat Solutions

     • Donald L. Houston, former administrator of FSIS, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service

     • Donald Tyson, former Senior Chairman, Tyson Foods

     • Earl Olsen, former Chairman, Jennie-O Turkey Co.

     • Frank Perdue, former Chairman of the Board, Perdue Farms

     • Gary C. Smith, Ph.D., Professor, Colorado State University

     • Jimmy Dean, Founder, Jimmy Dean Sausage Co.

     • Joseph Luter III, former Chairman and CEO, Smithfield Foods

     • Kenneth W. Monfort, former Chairman and CEO, Monfort Inc.

     • Lawrence Starr, former CEO, Koch Equipment Co.

     • Louis "Mick" Colvin, Founder and former Executive Director, Certified Angus Beef

     • Mel Coleman, Sr., Founder, Coleman Natural Meats

     • Paul Engler, Founder, Cactus Feeders

     • Phillip M. Seng, President and CEO, U.S. Meat Export Federation

     • Ray Townsend, Founder and former Chairman, Townsend Engineering

     • Richard L. Knowlton, former Chairman, President and CEO, Hormel Foods

     • Richard E. Lyng, former USDA Secretary and Chairman, American Meat Institute

     • Rosemary Mucklow, former Executive Director, National Meat Association

     • Robert Peterson, former Chairman, IBP Inc.

     • Russell Cross, Ph.D., Professor and Administrator, Texas A&M University

     • Temple Grandin, Ph.D., Author and Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University