Session 1 Synopsis

This first session was definitely a great kick-start to get the Dairy Leaders Program rolling this year.  I enjoyed getting to meet everyone as well as getting to learn more about the program and what it entails, in addition to getting to learn from the first few classes.

The first day was an excellent start to the program.  Dr. Neil Koenig gave a superb session on the basic roles of leadership, which got me focused on what the program is designed for right from the start.  In the evening we had a very nice dinner with guests Mr. and Mrs. John Vlahos.  John was very interesting to learn from as he had a very important part in sculpting the milk pooling system in place in California today. 

During the second day, we spent a majority of our time at the California Milk Advisory Board's office in San Francisco.  This was the media-training day.  We started out with Jennifer Giambroni, from CMAB, and also Jennifer Reinhard, by going over key strategies on how to talk to the media.  We focused on striving to tell the story we want to tell rather than what they are asking.  After reviewing and watching both good and bad interviews, we were up in front of the camera.  At the end of the day we went on a Sunset Bay Cruise with the group as well as our guests Mark Looker, and Mr. and Mrs. Dino Giacomazzi.

The third day was focused on marketing and the roles of both companies in the industry, as well as ourselves as producers.  Maureen Bligh came and talked about Dairy Council of California and all that they do promoting nutrition and milk as part of a healthy lifestyle, as well as educational events like the mobile classroom.  Then Kevin Vogt from Hilmar Ingredients came and talked to us about what they are doing to push not only cheese from the parent company, but to promote the value added products such as whey protein isolates.  From there, Mark Looker came and talked to us about marketing from a personal point of view and getting connected to the news we want right now.  Dino Giacomazzi finished off the point by explaining to us the different ways we communicate now and pointing out that we as an industry have lost touch with the common people and need to rekindle that through embracing current communication methods.  Finally Kris Costa from California Milk Advisory Board came and gave us an overview of CMAB's history and the role they play in marketing California cheese and milk products through advertising and other venues.

This session was very valuable to me, I feel I learned a great deal from it and came back encouraged with a new perspective on how important it is not to only take care of the dairy and be with the cows, but to get out there and be a voice for the industry as a whole.  A change that I would like to see made would be to have more time spent outside of the classroom in a more "lab" setting with the class. I thoroughly enjoyed the session, however, I would have to say that I really pulled a lot from Dr. Neil Koenig and Dino Giacomazzi.  I was challenged with a new perspective on my role as a producer in this industry, which I really enjoyed.  In conclusion, I am looking forward to the remainder of this class and am very excited to learn more and get to meet more people who share the same passion for dairy.