New members appointed to FAPC Industry Advisory Committee
STILLWATER, Okla. – Two new members have been appointed to the Industry Advisory Committee of the Food & Agricultural Products Center on the Oklahoma State University campus.
David Howard, president of Unitherm Food Systems in Bristow, Okla., was appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, and John Williams, president of Chef’s Requested Foods in Oklahoma City, was appointed by the dean and director of Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
“We are pleased to have both Mr. Howard and Mr. Williams on our Industry Advisory Committee,” said J. Roy Escoubas, director of the FAPC. “The center will benefit from both individuals’ experience and leadership in the food industry.”
Howard’s company, Unitherm Food Systems, is a market leader in innovative technologies for pasteurization, cooking and chilling of raw, partially cooked and fully cooked food products and agricultural food commodities.
Howard is dedicated to funding research for safer processing technologies and has helped shape the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service policy for food safety.
“I am proud to help out at the FAPC any way I can,” Howard said. “I hope to bring an innovative approach so it can grow and prosper.”
Williams entered the food industry while pursing a master’s degree in agricultural economics. After completion of the advanced degree, he launched his own food processing business, Chef’s Requested Foods.
Chef’s Requested Foods employs more than 200 Oklahoma residents. The company is a growth driven, value-added meat processing company selling to the wholesale market throughout the continental United States. Some of the major clients include Wal-Mart, Albertson’s, Safeway, Kroger, US Food Service, Ben E. Keith and SYSCO.
“My vision is to provide support to those initiatives that continue to provide economic growth to the state of Oklahoma through enrichment of our internal resources,” Williams said. “This includes all facets from the farm to the plate.”
As a member of the Industry Advisory Committee, Williams said he plans to continually ask the how, why, what and when of the economic impact that the FAPC activities will return to the Oklahoma economy and to the betterment of the producers, processors and residents.
The Oklahoma State Legislature established the FAPC Industry Advisory Committee in 1996 to serve in an advisory and oversight capacity for the FAPC. Each appointment to the Committee is to represent a particular sector of the food and agricultural industries in Oklahoma.
The FAPC opened in January of 1997 in an effort to discover, develop and deliver technical aid and business information to enhance and support value-added food and agricultural product processing in the state of Oklahoma.
Under the guidance of the Industry Advisory Committee, the FAPC has assisted more than 850 Oklahoma businesses with more than 1,100 projects affecting more than 8,000 direct food-processing jobs and more than $500 million in direct food processing revenue in Oklahoma.
For more information on the FAPC, visit www.fapc.biz or call (405) 744-6071.
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Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating. The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.
