AMSA honors Benjy Mikel with service award
The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) has announced that William Benjy Mikel is the recipient of the 2017 Intercollegiate Meat Judging Meritorious Service Award.
The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) has announced that William Benjy Mikel is the recipient of the 2017 Intercollegiate Meat Judging Meritorious Service Award. The award is sponsored by Food Safety Net Services and Agri-West International. Mikel will be honored at a special awards banquet at the AMSA 70th Reciprocal Meat Conference on Tuesday, June 20 in College Station, Texas.
For more than 35 years, Benjy Mikel has supported the youth and intercollegiate meat judging programs in an effort to enhance critical thinking, decision making, and communication skills of the future industry, academia, and governmental leaders. His career in meat judging began at Auburn University and moved to Mississippi State University and University of Kentucky. Perhaps his biggest impact was resurrecting and revitalizing the meat judging programs at these three institutions.
After leaving academia, Benjy Mikel spent time consulting as a trainer, auditor, processing expert authority, and technical advisor to many companies and non-government organizations. He has an outstanding international and national record of achievement in food and meat science, extension, and industry service in agricultural and food security capacity. He is currently the chief business development and sales officer for John R. White Company, a food ingredient distribution company based in Birmingham, Ala. He has recently served as the president of the American College of Animal Sciences, president of the AMSA, president of the Intercollegiate Meat Coaches Association, and president of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists Department. He is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists.