By Mandy Gross, FAPC Communications Services Manager

(Stillwater, Okla. – Aug. 24, 2017) Three food industry leaders have been reappointed to Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center’s Industry Advisory Committee for a 3-year term.

Joe Ford, Shawnee Milling Co.; Ed Clements, Clements Foods Co.; and David Howard, Unitherm Food Systems, will continue their services to FAPC’s 16-member advisory board.

“The Industry Advisory Committee offers counsel, makes decisions and takes leadership action to ensure FAPC makes sound short- and long-term plans to accomplish its mission and objectives,” said Roy Escoubas, FAPC director. “We are glad to see the return of these members to the committee and looking forward to the next three years of service.”

Ford, re-appointed by OSU’s vice president of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, is the senior vice president of operations for Shawnee Milling Co. in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Ford is responsible for all operational activities of the company, including day-to-day management and decisions for manufacturing, accounting, selling and marketing of products made under the Shawnee Milling brand and made to the specifications of Shawnee Milling’s customers.

Despite significant growth over the years, Shawnee Milling Co. hasn’t lost track of its roots. The core values of Shawnee Milling Co. focus on a tradition of family values; an insistence on quality products; a record of dependable, personal service; an offering of consistent value; and a family of friendly, knowledgeable and dedicated employees.

Clements, re-appointed by the governor of Oklahoma, is the president and chief executive officer of Clements Foods Co. in Oklahoma City. Clements joined the workforce of the family business in 1985 and has held multiple roles including assistant sales manager and vice president. He is currently responsible for the profitability and well-being of the company.

Clements Foods Co. is located on the original site, which it was founded in 1952. The company is known for its reputation as a manufacturer of quality branded and private label fruit preserves and jellies, syrups, mayonnaise and salad dressings, barbecue sauces, mustards, vinegars and peanut butter.

Howard, re-appointed by the president pro tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, is the president and CEO of Unitherm Food Systems in Bristow, Oklahoma. Howard launched Unitherm Food Systems in England in 1983 to develop and build thermal processing systems for the United Kingdom’s food industry. Projecting greater opportunities in growth, Howard relocated his business to the United States in 1995.

Unitherm Food Systems is a market leader in innovative equipment technologies for pasteurization, cooking and chilling of raw, partially cooked and fully cooked food products and agricultural food commodities. The company is known globally throughout the food-processing industry for its innovative approach to the design and creation of machines and systems to maximize yields and reduce processing times, while enhancing safety and profitability.

In addition to Ford, Clements and Howard, other members of the committee include Scott Dvorak, Dvorak Farms; John Griffin, Griffin Foods; Tommy Kramer, Durant Industrial Authority; Erica Hering, Ralph’s Packing Co.; Virgil Jurgensmeyer, J-M Farms; Rodger Kerr, Southwest Technology Center; John Patrick Lopez, Lopez Foods; Max McDermott, deVine Water; David McLaughlin, AdvancePierre Foods (retired); Philip Payment, HAC Inc.; Paul Schatte, Head Country Food Products; Mark Vaughan, Fresh Avenue Partners; and DASNR’s Tom Coon, ex-officio, OSU vice president for agricultural programs.

“Through the visionary leadership of certain state representatives and senators, such as Sens. Bruce Price, Paul Muegge and Bob Kerr and Rep. M.C. Leist, State Statute 2-5-60 was established in 1997 to provide an advisory committee for FAPC,” Escoubas said. “Appointed by the highest positions of the Oklahoma state government, FAPC is privileged to have oversight by this committee of key agricultural and business leaders.”

FAPC, a part of OSU’s DASNR, is celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2017. Since its inception in January 1997, the center’s research laboratories, pilot-processing facilities, educational programs and seminars have kept food and agricultural processors and entrepreneurs on the forefront of cutting-edge value-added processing and technology.

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Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 25,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 260,000 students who have been serving Oklahoma and the world for 125 years.