Longtime
professor and poultry Extensionist, Dr. Mike Eckman, announced his retirement
effective December 31, 2003. A reception and roast was held in his honor on
February 19, 2004.
Eckman completed 26 years at Auburn University
after working for Dow Chemical and Norwich Pharmaceuticals prior to that. He
completed his Ph.D. at Auburn under the direction of Dr. S. Allen Edgar. He
has B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Northern Colorado in Greely.
Eckman’s
major extension efforts at Auburn involved helping Alabama poultry companies
in the areas of intestinal health, coc-cidiosis control, hatchery monitoring
and breeder issues. At the reception, various
groups presented Eckman with gag gifts. The poultry science department also
gave him a gift certificate for tools.
Eckman does not have any concrete plans for retirement,
but he does suggest not retiring in the winter, but waiting until the spring.
The
AP&EA Youth Committee held its annual fund-raising barbecue for Snead State
Community College on Tuesday, April 13, 2004, at the Bevill Center on the campus
of Snead State Community College in Boaz. Volunteers from throughout the poultry
industry gathered to cook chicken as well as serve the plates. Various companies
and organizations donated items to the barbecue.
This year's sponsors were AP&EA; Auburn University;
Aviagen N.A.; D & F Equipment; Embrex, Inc.; Fort Dodge Animal Health; Gold
Kist, Boaz; Intervet; Kingsford; Lawrence Wholesale;
Mitchell Grocery;
Snead
State Community College; Tyson Foods, Albertville; Wayne Farms, Albertville;
Wayne Farms, Enterprise; and Wynco, LLC.
Proceeds from the barbecue go toward scholarships for poultry science
students at Snead State. The barbecue was a success by selling a thousand plates.
AP&EA would like to thank John Huggins, the
AP&EA Youth Committee chairman; Dr. Tami Kelly; James Parrish; Dr. Roger
Lien; Frank Dillman; the Auburn University Poultry Science Club; and everyone
who helped with the barbecue to make it a success.
Do
you have a great chicken recipe? You can win the grand prize of $100,000 in
the National Chicken Cooking Contest! Runner-up prizes totaling $18,000 will
also be awarded.
One finalist from each state and the District
of Columbia will be selected to participate in the National Cookoff on May 13,
2005, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Each finalist receives an expense-paid trip
to the National
Cookoff. Submit recipe using chicken, whole or any part or parts; marinated
raw chicken, whole or any part or parts; pre-cooked chicken, whole or any part
or parts; or coarsely ground chicken.
The entry deadline is October 15, 2004.
Your recipe must be original, and other restrictions apply. Go to www.eatchicken.com
for more details.
