Butterball Announces Winners of 'Celebrating Turkey' Art Contest
Posted: 11-25-2009 : GARNER, N.C.

GARNER, N.C. – Butterball, LLC, America’s most well-known turkey producer, recognized the participants of its annual “Celebrating Turkey” Art Contest during special presentations. On Wednesday, Nov. 18, participating teachers and students enjoyed a visit from Butterball mascot, Buddy Butterball, and this year’s National Thanksgiving Turkey, raised in conjunction with Butterball and its parent company Goldsboro Milling Co.

Students from Alice Overby’s class at Polenta Elementary School and Jane Meekhof’s class at Timber Drive Elementary School received certificates for free turkeys from Butterball for the Thanksgiving holiday. The winning students, who will have their artwork displayed at the company’s Garner headquarters, were presented with special certificates in recognition of their accomplishment.

“I would like to congratulate all of the students and teachers who participated in this contest,” said Keith Shoemaker, president and CEO of Butterball, LLC. “Just as the third graders worked in teams to create art, we here at Butterball work together to produce healthy, quality turkey products for the people of North Carolina and the nation to enjoy during this special time of year.”

For the second consecutive year, Butterball invited third grade students at Garner, N.C. elementary schools to create turkey-themed artwork. The program was designed to encourage small-group collaboration to develop a piece of creative work and to help celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving. Students were given the creative freedom to utilize the artistic medium of their choice.

The winning artwork will be framed and permanently displayed in the memorabilia room at Butterball’s Garner headquarters, a space dedicated to showcasing special items commemorating the company’s longstanding history as the country’s leading turkey producer.

A panel of twenty military wives from Fort Bragg and Seymour Johnson Air Force base that participated in Butterball’s 2009 Thanksgiving cooking session, with the Turkey Talk-Line® experts, judged this year’s “Celebrating Turkey” artwork. The military wives judged the contest submissions on visual creativity, originality and how well the artwork incorporated the contest’s theme of celebrating turkey.

Editor’s Note: Included are pictures of the winning artwork that is currently being displayed at the Butterball, LLC Garner headquarters. The turkey likely to be pardoned during this year’s National Thanksgiving Turkey pardoning appears in the photos as well, along with Buddy Butterball. Also attached are pictures of the students that created the winning artwork. Picture 1: Students from Mrs. Meekof’s winning third-grade class, Timber Drive Elementary. Picture 2: Students of winning artwork, Mrs. Overby’s third-grade class, Polenta Elementary School.

About Butterball, LLC:
Butterball, LLC, the largest producer of turkey products in the United States, is headquartered in Garner, N.C. For more than 50 years, the iconic brand’s succulent whole bird products have been a central part of special moments. Today, the company also has a broad array of offerings for retail, deli and foodservice that help make meals something to celebrate every day. Butterball products are enjoyed domestically and internationally.

The company’s three-pronged approach to Doing Business Right focuses on self-governance, sustainability and social responsibility. The initiative plays a key role in providing internal oversight for integrating values that are important to the company.

As the industry leader in quality and food safety, the company employs numerous processes to ensure the health of flocks and implements recognized prevention measures to exceed food safety standards in its seven plants, located in North Carolina, Colorado, Arkansas and Missouri. In addition, Butterball has surpassed important workplace safety and health benchmarks set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program.

For more information about Butterball, visit www.butterball.com. You can also call 1-800-BUTTERBALL for answers to your most puzzling questions about turkey preparation.