At the fall Board meeting of the American Butter Institute (ABI) held last week in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Irv Holmes of Challenge Dairy Products, Inc. was elected President of ABI, and two new officers were seated: Dean Van Tuinen of Darigold was elected First Vice President, and John Ellenberger of Land O’Lakes, Inc. was elected Second Vice President. Each position is a two-year term. The institute also welcomed Doug Glade, a new ABI representative from Dairy Farmers of America. Glade replaces the long-serving board member and past ABI President Mark Korsmeyer.

New ABI President Holmes thanked the institute for electing him and expressed a desire to continue the great work that his predecessors have started. He noted that he had an opportunity to visit the ABI offices earlier in 2014 to discuss opportunities for the institute in the coming years. He noted that butter category has garnered a great deal of positive attention in the past several years. President-Elect Holmes thanked outgoing President David Riemersma for his years of service, and for the many contributions that he made to the betterment of the butter industry. Riemersma of Butterball Farms was presented a President’s Plaque.

President Riemersma thanked Korsmeyer for his many years of service, leadership, and contributions he has made to move the industry and institute in a positive direction. Riemersma presented Korsmeyer with a Special Recognition Award.

In addition to officer elections, Bree Hester, a food blogger whose site is called “Baked Bree,” shared her story of how she turned the love of cooking into a booming business. ABI’s Board also reviewed and approved the organization’s budget for 2015, and received an update on the successful national butter promotion program and its continued influence using social media to promote use of butter. The ABI board received an update on economic & market outlook, reviewed regulatory issues, and received an update on CWT and the REAL® Seal.

ABI’s next meeting will be held in conjunction with the American Dairy Products Institute April 26-28, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, IL.