BUFFALO, Minn. — Have you taken a peek at PEAK 2023?
I couldn’t resist that play on words. If you haven’t heard by now, the Midwest Poultry Federation Board of Directors last summer took a leap of faith and made the decision to rebrand its convention and trade show after 51 fantastic years of the “MPF Convention” – often referred to as “The Midwest.”
We will forever be grateful for all the history and incredible memories behind The Midwest, but we are marching firmly and with intention into the future with a new name — PEAK! — and a new brand that better reflects the growth of the show well beyond its Midwestern roots.
We know change can be, well, difficult. We understand this. And we are here to tell you that many of the reasons you have always loved this show will only get better.
Our show has always been about the people — just as the poultry industry has always been about relationships. We remain committed to ensuring PEAK is the best show in North America to connect to the heart of the poultry industry — its people.
We are also excited about some of the plans for the future of PEAK. We need to evolve just as you and your companies and farms evolve. We want to be right there with you, every step of the way.
Take our Student Careers Program. We just announced an important reboot of this program which shifts our target audience to both students and their instructors in two-year technical and community college programs. We realize that this audience is underserved by the poultry industry and may not know anything about what your companies do and what kind of career opportunities are available.
We aim to reach students in a variety of programs, from IT/technology, robotics, trucking/transportation to engineering, marketing and so much more. In other words, if students and instructors think the poultry industry is only about on-the-farm production jobs, we’re about to bust that myth wide open!
We also believe connecting with instructors is almost equally important as reaching students. Instructors will help the poultry industry bridge the knowledge and awareness gap with students who know absolutely nothing about poultry production and processing. Instructors will be the poultry industry’s lobbyists; they just need to learn more about you, your companies, and what you need from employees.
PEAK Poultry Ambassadors
To help us make our Student Careers Program an epic networking opportunity for everyone involved, we are seeking PEAK Poultry Ambassadors, who will meet with students and/or instructors at the PEAK show, show them around the trade show floor, introduce them to colleagues, and truly give them a bird’s eye view (see what we did there?) of what the poultry industry is all about.
If you are interested in participating as a PEAK Poultry Ambassador, please send an email to info@midwestpoultry.com and we’ll be in touch with all the details.
PEAK remains the show that belongs to our state poultry organizations – all 11 of them in 9 states, to be exact. We plan to live our truth through the letters of PEAK, which stand for Progress, Experience, Advancement and Knowledge. And the MPF Board is committed to distributing the show’s profits to our member organizations to assist with their important programming. PEAK will continue to be about giving back to the poultry industry.
We hope you will meet us at PEAK 2023 in Minneapolis, April 11-13!
We look forward to showing off our new look — while honoring all the things you have always loved about our show. For more information about PEAK 2023, please visit www.midwestpoultry.com.
Lara Durben is half of Empowered Events LLC, the company that manages the Midwest Poultry Federation. She and her business partner, Teresa Sorenson, handle all the logistics, planning, sales, and marketing for the PEAK Convention.
