David Van Hoose has been selected to receive the 2014 Poultry Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Poultry and Food Distributors Association (NPFDA). NPFDA began awarding the Poultry Lifetime Achievement Award annually in 1991 to a poultry industry leader. The award will be presented to Van Hoose on Wednesday, January 29 at the Annual NPFDA Awards reception at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Van Hoose with more than 45 years in the poultry industry has had significant impact of the advancement of the industry as well as the companies for whom he has worked. Van Hoose began his career in the poultry industry after graduating from Ohio State with a degree in Agriculture and joining Perdue Farms. He started as a broiler technician, moved to sales, then to plant manager at Accomac, Virginia, and then on to grow-out manager.
He subsequently worked for Hillcrest in Maine as general manager, at Valmac Industries in Arkansas as plant manager, then complex manager. He worked in Mississippi at B.C. Rogers as general manager and at Mountaire Farms, first as complex manager and then vice president. He worked with Cargill as general manager for their Delaware poultry operations and, while there, served as president of Delmarva Poultry Industry for one year.
He moved to Pilgrim’s Pride in 1988 as executive president over processing and was promoted to general manager of the company’s Mexican operations and, in 1995, became president and general manager of those operations. He was then promoted to president, chief executive officer, and chief operating officer of Pilgrims. He retired from Pilgrim’s in 2003.
He went to work for Case Foods in September 2003 as president and COO until 2009. He was asked back to Case Foods in 2011 where he again worked as president and COO until February 2012. He still holds a seat on the Case board.
